Junzi man posing for a picture!

It was 12:30 AM in the morning. My suitemates and I had just finished watching a movie, and we didn’t like any of the options on Postmates. The surprisingly chilly weather almost stopped us from our venture for food, but we bundled up and headed outside. Everyone else on the street was dressed up and ready to top off their night in true Columbia fashion–at Mel’s or 1020, but we were walking with determination in our eyes. We had one goal– Junzi After Hours.

I have frequented Junzi After Hours not for the aesthetic of the juice-box cocktail, but for the dumplings, fried chicken, and various other snacks that help me fill the void in my heart that is my longing to be back in Asia. Junzi is a soulful, interdisciplinary, cultural melting pot that is a work of genius, combining the simplicity of made-to-order food and the rich flavors of Asia. At night, creativity is elevated by having various street-food-esque snacks– dumplings, Chinese fried rice, two types of fried chicken, and fried custard buns– that are typically found in Asia at little metal food carts by the street after a night at the club.

However, my focus was not on the exciting and mouth-watering flavors of Junzi After Hours…my focus was on the man standing just outside Junzi, in a short-sleeved T-shirt, handing out a tray of free dumplings. The throngs of heel-clad girls and bomber-wearing guys stopped routinely, loudly exclaiming with their overzealous voices how nice it was that he was passing out free dumplings at this hour. The weather was chilly and the first hints of winter were approaching, so the man visibly shivered every time a gust of wind came by. But nothing stopped him from fervently calling out “free dumpling samples!” and just being the highlight of every slightly-intoxicated person’s night.

This is not a call-out post, this is a shout-out post. I sat inside Junzi and continued to watch the man alternate between going outside and passing out dumplings and coming inside to retain his body heat. Every group who walked by left with slightly fuller bellies, wider smiles, and a happier heart. It is often easy to forget the small things that people do for us. In the midst of this busy midterm season, we forget to take note of the little details and we forget how much workers in the service industry have done for us.

Junzi dumpling man, wherever you are, I hope you read this and I hope you know that you are appreciated. On that night, you filled so many Columbia students up with not only dumplings, but joy. They may not have thought that it was a big deal in the moment, but their bliss was apparent in their smiling faces.

Photo via Vivian Zhou