Food is the first step for many newcomers adopting new life in Canada. And in a city shaped by global migration, food is more than sustenance. It is a way to share culture and build community in a new land — forming our Canada. 

“You want people, other people from other cultures to try your culture, the best way is to try your food,” said Harvey Lin, one of the partners of Marathon Cafe. 

Marathon Cafe is well known for its award-winning Hong Kong-style milk tea. It has won several awards in the past few years. Lin purchased and took over the business in 2008 and now operates four branches across Toronto. 

A sense of belonging and place

The city is well known as one of the most multicultural cities in the world. According to Statistics Canada, more than half of Toronto’s population are racialized groups, which also accounted for more than one-quarter of Ontario’s total racialized population. 

Zhixi Zhuang, academic director of the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement, described these restaurants as “third places” — community spaces that encourage social interaction and help promote a sense of belonging and place. 

“Food is so fundamental, so critical, and it means so much for [immigrants’] integration process. They feel good when they see the cultural foods being displayed,” Zhuang shared in a research and innovation magazine published by the Toronto Metropolitan University in 2024.

‘A good connection for cultures’

Each morning at Marathon Cafe, Lin brews Hong Kong-style milk tea, drawing locals and Hong Kong immigrants to his restaurant. Ultimately, it becomes more than a place to eat. 

Lin came to Canada from Taiwan at the age of 14 and was raised here. His family now lives in Canada as well. 

For him, serving this milk tea and running this restaurant is more than just providing a place for people to eat.

“When I was in my teenage years, in the early 20s, I [would] always go to that place to have Hong Kongese food, like drinks and everything,” said Lin. 

Since then, he has had a passion for promoting Hong Kong culture by serving Hong Kong-style food.

People from diverse backgrounds come together to enjoy Lin’s hometown cuisine. The simple act of tasting new dishes becomes a form of cultural exchange, helping to build connections among communities.

He said sharing food has become a “good connection for cultures.” 

Liveliness and livelihood of Toronto’s cuisine

In just one block in Toronto, you can travel the world by taste — steaming bowls of pho from Vietnam, butter chicken from India, jerk chicken from Jamaica or a cup of signature milk tea from Hong Kong. 

“Food is a wonderful way of connecting people … it encourages people to share their culture and eat together,” Jeffery Pilcher, a professor of food history at the University of Toronto, said. 

The “liveliness” and “livelihood” of Toronto’s cuisine was mainly driven by immigrants, he said. 

Immigrant communities help fill the cultural gap by bringing their cultural cuisine. “It’s not just the recipes, but also the food marketing that immigrants played an outsized role in actually provisioning the city,” Pilcher said. 

‘A little United Nation’

“I guess my point of view to the world is totally different because now I’m in like a pretty multicultural place,” Lin said. “I get to meet people from all the backgrounds. 

“Toronto is like a little United Nation,” he said.

Multiculturalism, an official government policy, was brought up by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau in the 1970s, making Canada the first country in the world to establish its multiculturalism policy in legislation. 

Pilcher described multiculturalism as an “interesting” thing in Canada. “It becomes so central to our notion of what Canadian is.

“[In Canada], you don’t see the kinds of anti-immigrant, political discourse that you see in the United States,” Pilcher said. 

In such a diverse city filled with rich cultural cuisine, a restaurant is more than just a place to eat. It carries the weight of connection, memories and belonging. For immigrants, it offers a sense of community. For others, it opens a door to taste different cultures and stories. 

This story is part of the Toronto Observer’s Our Canada feature package. Check out more stories and videos.