As a food eater, I see that there is a gap in diverse global cuisine offerings. While "Chinese cuisine" generally exists in the Ann Arbor Area... as a first generation immigrant from Hong Kong, I had difficulty finding food from my taste of home (namely Cantonese Cuisine).

To use an analogy, lets talk about Pizza (stick with me here). Michiganders would confidently agree that a Detroit dishpan pizza is not the same as a Chicago deep-dish pizza and DEFINITELY not the same as New York Style thin-crust pizza. All these pizzas originate from one country (USA) yet they're completely distinct from each other.

On the other hand, Michiganders tend to categorize "Asian food" in broad buckets by country like "Chinese / Japanese / Korean / Indian". If we double click into just one of these (specifically Chinese food), there are significant differences between "Hunan Food" vs "Cantonese Food". In fact... there are actually Eight major category's of Culinary Cuisine Traditions in China, each of which can essentially be it's own "country". 

This manifests itself during my search for a brick and mortar location in subtle and unexpected ways in Michigan. For example, most shopping malls or building complexes prefer to avoid tenants competing with / cannibalizing each other. Since the subconscious way to categorize global cuisine is "by country", you'll often see 1 Chinese restaurant and an Indian Buffet next to a sushi place, but rarely see multiple "Chinese" restaurants next to each other. The closest you'll find is perhaps a Chinese restaurant next to a Chinese bakery (since they're different enough). This made it tremendously hard for Marupo Eats to get considered at any shopping mall strips with any resemblance of Chinese food present.

In contrast, After having the privilege of living in different states (California, Chicago, New York etc.) as well as travelling internationally for work (France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Singapore, Thailand) it is not uncommon to see multiple "Chinese" restaurants directly next to each other,. For example... one store focusing on the Spicy Szechuan cuisine could be right next to a Dim Sum (Cantonese cuisine). Walking across the street... there'd be a dumpling specialty store boasting Shanghai style soup dumplings from Zhejiang. Essentially you'd have a "hub" or a "Chinatown" equivalent not just in one location but multiple smaller pockets across the state.

I believe helping spread awareness about the differences in these regional cuisines (I used China as an example, but the same applies to India, Japan, South east Asia etc.) would help the community realize how much of a synergy there is to having "similar" yet different restaurants in close proximity to each other, dramatically increasing the amount of available real estate to Asian Food Entrepreneurs.

• I am very versatile and good at adapting to ambiguity and unexpected surprises

• I excel at identifying problems/opportunities and setting realistic goals and timelines to drive them through resolution.

• I am a strong visionary leader, who excels at communicating clear ideas and goals for the future and fostering a community of collaboration and teamwork

• Professionally, I have also worked in multiple industry including traditional Accounting / Audit and Consulting (PwC) as well as Finance System and Process Optimization. 

• My contextual knowledge of having lived in Ann Arbor for 8+ years as a student, a young working adult and a business owner gives me a diverse range of perspective on the different strengths and challenges that residents in this locale face as well as recommendations on how to overcome them.

• I eat a lot, I travel to eat. Though I'm weak to spicy food

• I like Anime, and am a former 3-year executive board member of the UMich Student Organization Animania: The Japanese Animation Film Society

  • In that capacity, I organized Animania's annual convention Con Ja Nai on multiple occasion, co-created its original themed cafe, which has now grown into the reputable state-wide group known as Dreams Come Chuu (now officially part of Marupo ACTS). 

  • Favorite Anime: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

• Favorite Video Games: Dave the Diver, Overcooked, Don't Starve Together
  (did you notice they're all food themed?)

• I am the founder of the South Bay Current Anime Watchers group, a social group that is still active to this day (thanks to my best friend Matthew inheriting it)

• I am a proud member of the UMICH AAAPI Alumni Association

• I am the group manager of the Google Employee Umich Alumni Group (Wolverines@) with over 1000+ members

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This question reminds me of a cha caan teng, which is a traditional Hong Kong-style diner café. Growing up in Hong Kong, I’ve realised how special a cha caan teng is, and how I would consider it to be our cultural heritage. It is not just about the food, but the layout, the kind of tables you sit at, the crowds who come and go, the kind of banter and brusque demeanour you typically hear and see. Part of what makes the food great is the context itself. Even when we are far removed from the context, I realised that knowing the memories and stories behind a dish creates a personal human touch and lends to greater appreciation of it. 

My love for reading and research. My typing speed, and my addiction to adding happy emojis ^_^ 

If anyone knows a good simple recipe that involves earl grey and desserts, please let me know.