Connecting Through Cuisine at Global Café: Flavors of China

The Chinese American Student Organization (CASO), in partnership with the CGE, invites the campus community to gather over food, culture and conversation at Global Café: Flavors of China on April 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Globe Dining Room. Guests will experience Chinese flavors while enjoying meaningful community connection through cuisine.

Guests at Global Café: Flavors of China can expect a thoughtfully curated menu that goes beyond standard restaurant offerings, including Mapo tofu with white rice, Chinese cucumber salad, vegetable egg rolls, mango sago and a Hainan coconut milk drink. “We tried to pick items that aren’t always available,” Mi Le (year three, biology/premed, CASO PR chair) noted. When asked about favorite menu items, the CASO executive board shared one clear consensus: the Mapo tofu and mango sago are a must-try.

Food plays a central role in CASO’s programming and identity. For many Chinese American students, cuisine is deeply tied to family, culture and upbringing. “Food is a really big part of Chinese culture,” Spencer Choy (year four, computer science, CASO president) said. “It’s tied to tradition, celebration, and the sense of family growing up—like what your parents cook for you.” Joyce Bun (year three, English lit./social sciences, CASO cultural chair) echoed this sentiment, reflecting on her recent visit to China over spring break. “In China, they say food is the way you love another person,” she shared. “We show our love through cooking.” That connection between memory and food is exactly what CASO hopes guests will experience at Global Café. “We want people to bond over food the same way we do with our families,” Livia Noyes (year four, international affairs, CASO vice president) said, “and really connect with each other.”

According to Choy, CASO’s mission is to provide “a safe and fun environment for Chinese American students to hang out, learn more about their culture and discover people in their community they might not otherwise meet at FSU.” Noyes shared that CASO also plays a vital role in helping new students transition to campus life. “Everyone is nervous as a freshman,” she explained, “so we try to make our general body meetings more fun by playing games and encouraging people to really connect and talk to each other.” Through social events, monthly meetings and leadership development opportunities, CASO emphasizes both friendship and personal growth. One such opportunity is CASO’s shadow program, which allows interested members to learn firsthand how the organization operates by shadowing executive board officers and observing how CASO collaborates with the Asian American Student Union.

Global Café: Flavors of China is an invitation to taste, learn and connect. Whether attendees come for the food, the culture or the community, CASO hopes everyone leaves feeling more connected than when they arrived. This event will be the final Global Café of the 2025–2026 academic year, taking place on April 10 in the Globe Dining Room from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., or while food lasts. Plates are $12 per person, credit card only.