漢堡蛋的故事

這叫「漢堡蛋」，雖然名字含漢堡，但是在美國肯定吃不到，只有台灣有。

這是一種所謂台美結合口味漢堡，幾乎全台灣的早餐店都有，「漢堡蛋」裡面肯定有蛋，還有一層薄薄的牛肉，一定要薄，厚的牛肉餅做「漢堡蛋」反而不好吃，或者說吃不出台灣特有的味道。

台灣的「漢堡蛋」口味有點甜甜的，有時候裡面還加了美乃滋，夾層裡面有青瓜、番茄，還有幾片菜葉，這樣一口咬下去感覺很爽，很滿足，是那種不僅口感好，而且吃起來還有聲音的滿足。原來吃拉麵可以有聲音（特別是當你堅持把湯都喝完），吃到美味的漢堡，也可以一口咬下去有嘎吱嘎吱的聲音，以示滿足。

「漢堡蛋」在台灣的歷史無從考究，有人說和1951年台美簽訂《聯防互助協定》有關，隨著大批美軍官兵抵台交流，台灣人的早餐口味從原本中式、日式，慢慢開始接納一些新口味，也就是美式早餐，比如熱狗、三文治以及漢堡等，之後也就有了符合台灣人口味的改良版漢堡，即「漢堡蛋」，而且很快在全台早餐店普及開來。

吃過Five Guys、Shake Shack，還是只有美西才有的In & Out，我想每個台灣人心中都會有一家自己念念不忘的早餐店，回到台灣，吃一口「漢堡蛋」，走得再遠，突然間還是覺得家是最好。

Probably the Best Pork Belly in New Haven

We spent our night at Barcelona Wine Bar to celebrate the 2023 graduation of a friend of mine from Yale School of Management. My favorite here is the pork belly, which reminds me of the best fried belly I had in Korea — yes, Korea has the best pork in my humble view!

We completed the dinner with the sweet, warm, and freshly baked oliver cake. I feel like I need to do some jogging tomorrow. I also learned about a new kind of drink tonight, Arnold Palmer.

What a memorable night in New Haven. I actually never saw so many people in New Haven in a restaurant. All the happy and smiling faces. Once again, congratulations to the Class of 2023!

Barcelona Wine Bar
155 Temple St, New Haven, CT 06510

The Best Bagel in New Haven

New York has its famous Ess-a-Bagel. New Haven has our very own Olmo bagels, voted by customers as the best in Connecticut.

I heard about the bagel shop for a while, which especially got its good reputation among Yale SOM students given its location very close to Yale School of Management — right around the corner of Trumbull and Whitney Ave.

Today I went to try on my own. Wow! I was immediately impressed by its diverse menu. I picked the Osaka-style Okonomiyaki bagel and it also allowed me to add an extra slice of ham — yes, I was hungry. It just tasted so good!

Olmo first opened for more formal and relatively high-end restaurant business in 2018 but the small dining room was not conducive to a global pandemic. The owners quickly pivoted the restaurant into a bagel shop knowing that New Haven, the Elm City, was a bagel desert. And the rest is just history, as people say.

Today the small bagel shop is often ranked by the press as the best bagel place in the Constitution State. And btw, in case unknown, Olmo means Elm Tree and New Haven is known as the Elm City of course.

Olmo Bagels
93 Whitney Ave, New Haven, CT 06510

A Museum Restaurant in New Haven

Have you thought about having a good meal inside a centuries-old museum full of art masterpieces? There’s one restaurant like that in New Haven, the college town for Yale.

Harvest Wine Bar of New Haven is a part of the British Art Centre and its architecture is in fact the last building designed by the internationally acclaimed American Architect Louis I. Kahn, of the 20th century design. The restaurant also has the large space that boasts a large open-air, stone outdoor dining room, surrounded by one of the museum’s greatest treasures.

Do you know the British Art Centre is also the first museum in America that agreed to have a restaurant as part of its facilities?

Food is delicious. I like New England-style mussels for starter or you can get the fresh-cooked broccoli sprouts in an artistic setting for plate. The bonus? Enjoy New Haven’s blue sky and don’t forget to pay a visit to another good museum, the Yale University Art Gallery after your good meal, and that is just right across the street.

Harvest Wine Bar & Restaurant
1104 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510

Tai Chi for Bubble Tea

Miss Taiwan bubble tea? New Haven has bubble too.

Taichi is an Asian fusion food restaurant est since 2015. Here you can choose Japanese ramen (beef, chicken, or shrimp) or go for healthy food, like Hawaii-style rice bowl — yes, it looks very colourful and every bowl is unique, pending on your own choices of ingredients, from seaweed, to pineapple, and to the most popular avocado of course.

The restaurant is also full of big and small panda. Want to bring one home? Ask the boss.

I first got to know Taichi when I went to Yale University Theatre for a Chinese drama based on Shanghai-Hong Kong author Eileen Chang’s famous novel, Red Rose and White Rose. Taichi was a sponsor for the students-led performance. Kudos to its efforts to support Yale Asian and Chinese students!

Tai Chi Bubble Tea
200 College St, New Haven, CT 06510