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I was telling my wife today that I feel like when I order snacks from the Asian grocery, I feel so excited in a way that.. isn’t just about the snacks.

I think it’s that since becoming an immigrant, I’ve become acutely aware that most grocery store standards here were made for people who don’t have the same taste as me. I don’t like the candy, I dont even like the potato chips, I don’t have comfort snacks. (Not just a I don’t like American food thing; it’s a flavor profile thing)

Things are sour when I want savory; things are sweet when I want salty. Things have the wrong texture. Not having snacks I want to eat make me sadder than not having the food I want to eat. They make me feel very far from all of the warmth and deliciousness that I associate with being ‘back home’, where ‘back home’ is ‘Singapore / Malaysia / Thailand / Indonesia’ and all of the incredible foods that I have been so lucky to have experienced.