Love Tsai

I am on the off-campus meal plan, which means that I have around $1,000 to use in Dartmouth dining halls but no meal swipes to use at the main buffet-style dining hall, which students affectionately call FoCo but is actually called Class of 1953 Commons.

Therefore, I have to be a bit more creative with my meal choices so that I make sure I get in all my vegetables and protein.

One way I do that is to get stir-fry at Collis Café! Collis serves stir-fry Subway-style during lunch; at dinner, they serve pasta instead. I like getting beef and vegetables with mine, and I usually add General Tso's as my sauce.

Dartmouth students usually have a few opportunities to leave campus during the term, whether it be for sports, conferences, or fun excursions to Boston or New York City.

I ended up having the chance to go to a conference around Week 4 and we got Smashburger on the way back! Hanover doesn't have much in the way of fast food or other restaurant chains, so while I enjoy small-town living and being able to support local businesses at school, the occasional french fry or pizza has become surprisingly reminiscent of home since that is when I normally can have it!

All this to say—any time I get to eat something like Smashburger, I happily indulge.

This year, Collis Café started serving fresh, hand-made sushi!

It can be very pricey compared to the pre-packaged ones (one nigiri piece is almost $4!), but sometimes you just need a pick-me-up in the form of salmon nigiri and eel sushi. I shared this plate with my friend and we both thought it was quite good for being from the Upper Valley. Dining Services is always trying to improve and listen to student voices, and I greatly appreciate all that they do in making multicultural food for Dartmouth students.

I am living in a Living Learning Community this term, which is why I am on an off-campus meal plan.

My stand-alone LLC has a fully-functioning and equipped kitchen, which means that I have the pleasure of cooking more often! My mom helped me pick out a bunch of groceries at the start of school, so I froze them and have been using them in dishes as the weeks go by.

During week 3, I made a Chinese-style soup with pickled cabbage, tofu, and pork shoulder. The food lasted me around four meals and I stored left-overs in our communal fridge.

One of the perks that one gets by living in an LLC is having community-building nights!

Although my house currently doesn't have an undergraduate advisor (UGA), one of the residents organized a dumpling-wrapping night. It was a lot of fun to do something like cooking with friends, since our times together usually involve stressing over school, doing extracurriculars together, or perhaps going out at night.

Being able to cook and eat together at "home" was a really nice change of pace! 

I was raised to be relatively cautious of what I eat since my parents are very health-conscious. Whenever I'm craving something sweet, I try to reach for fruit instead of processed sugar like cookies or cake.

Ever since the new computer science center opened and the neighboring Fern café started serving acai bowls, I've gone a few more times than I care to admit. You can try the classic bowls, banana blast bowls, or a tropical-inspired one with fruits like pineapple.

Being in college means that you have to get creative with your food.

Sometimes, I like to buy things at the dining halls and bring them back to my dorm to mix with other food that I'd made that week. This sort of mixing-and-matching is actually really fun, and I like stopping by all the various cafés to get items like eggs, avocados, cheese, or pasta!

Dartmouth recently hosted its first "Innovation Fest"!

On Saturday, May 14th, 2022, the school invited a bunch of food trucks and caterers to the West End, which houses the new Computer Science, Engineering, and Irving Institute buildings.

I've seldom seen such a big event on-campus before and it was super fun to see people visiting the school, families wandering around campus, and everyone eating together outside. It took me almost 20 minutes to get this blueberry ice cream, but I would say that it was definitely worth the wait.

And lastly, I sometimes order food from Hanover!

Some of my favorite restaurants include Han Fusion, Molly's, and Lou's. I particularly like ordering Han Fusion when I'm missing home or when I'm having a meal with friends.