Cafes and Culture

Happy Saturday, everyone! I am one lucky woman and have zero plans for the day. My only plans are to spend the day immersed in really good books and hopefully getting another chapter or two written in my latest novel.

Minor Update: Yes, I am still loving Scrivener and will likely be purchasing it to continue writing.

Back to what’s really important. 85 Degree Bakery. The one by my home opened almost two years ago (I think…), and I have been visiting regularly every since. It originated in Taiwan and features delicious pastries and yummy drinks! Check out the pastries in the right picture… So savory. So sweet. So amazing.

This bakery location is in an Asian shopping center that already has several businesses that I frequent. As an Asian woman trying to find community, I really enjoy coming here. There’s something about doing daily tasks and errands without being the minority that is really comforting.

For those in the majority: that kind of awkward and weird feeling you get when you are suddenly the minority in a situation? That’s what marginalized people feel all of the time unless we are in a space like this is for me. There are zero comments about my lack of accent or where I come from.

I’m a fairly boring eater, so this last picture is a pretty big deal for me. I took a bite out of savory hot dog pastry and instantly, my morning was made.

Now, I’m not sponsored by 85 Degree Bakery… I wish I was because then I could eat delicious food all of the time. I just want to highlight the importance of being in a space where you can be in the majority and starting the day with yummy food. Many of my readers are in the transracial adoption community. If you are an adoptive parent, I highly recommend you find spaces where your child can be in the majority group and eat foods they may have eaten in their birth culture.

Instead of hitting up your typical local coffeeshop (don’t get me wrong, I LOVE coffeeshops and visit mine almost daily to work), try something new! And regardless of your culture and family dynamics, if you have an 85 Degree Bakery by you, I highly recommend it 🙂