So much so that How are you?
is often replaced with Have you eaten yet?
(To my delight, a restaurant was serving the fragrant dish within walking distance from my hotel.
Chinese lanterns in the Chinatown neighborhood of Richmond, British Columbia.Credit:annhfhung/Getty Images
Back at home, an old friend was shocked I didnt wake up thinking I was Asian every morning.
But the truth is that whenever I was in Asia, I was called an outsider.
Yet here in Canada a country that I had no ties to I finally felt seen.
Writer Rachel Chang while exploring Richmond’s Chinatown.Rachel Chang/Travel + Leisure
Here, everyday life felt like a slice of those two sides of my identity.
(And, of course, that extra dose of Canadian kindness was just an extra cherry on top.
)With that newfound acceptance, I leaned in even deeper.
A Lunar New Year celebration in the Aberdeen Centre of Richmond.Rishad Daroo/Courtesy of Richmond Tourism
atCHJ Bistro, so reminiscent of my favorite ones in Taipeis Raohe Street Night Market.
After all, in British Columbias largest city,13 percent of the population speak Chinese at home.
Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, andChinatown Storytelling Centre.
