This was a fascinating read that was also very different from the food-themed books I’ve read in the past due to how much ground it covered theme-wise. While on the surface, this book sounded to me like a travelogue food memoir, I quickly discovered that it was actually so much more than that – the food (especially Chinese cuisine) played a huge role of course, and the author, Cheuk Kwan, also spoke a lot about his personal family history and experiences, however there were also elements related to travel, history, politics, culture, immigration, etc. that made this book stand out. Cheuk Kwan was born in Hong Kong, but also grew up in Singapore and Japan and at different points in his life, lived in various countries including Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Canada. As a documentary filmmaker, magazine writer, and activist, Kwan spent most of his career traveling around the world, profiling Chinese restaurants in different countries and documenting the stories as well as experiences of the Chinese diaspora from a global perspective. Starting off in Canada, where Kwan currently lives, he travels across several continents – from Israel to Madagascar, to the Caribbean, Kenya, Mauritius, Turkey, Norway, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Peru (and so many more) – interviewing a diverse group of restaurant owners, workers, chefs, etc. who were ethnically Chinese, but from different backgrounds. Many of them had vastly different experiences in terms of how they (or, in many cases, their ancestors and other family members) arrived in the country where they ended up as well as how they got into the restaurant business. Most fascinating to me though, was learning about the evolution of Chinese cuisine around the world and seeing the different ways in which so many of the Cantonese dishes I was most familiar with were adapted for a variety of reasons (i.e. to fit the tastes of the local population or to accommodate the lack of particular ingredients, etc.). This was a lot of fun for sure (especially the sections where the author would describe some of the dishes in detail, which made my mouth water) -- but not only that, it also brought back fond memories of my previous visits to Asia and all the wonderful food I got to try.
As I mentioned before though, this book went beyond just talking about food and restaurants. On a deeper level, the narrative was also an exploration of immigration, community, assimilation, and ultimately, cultural identity. This was the aspect that resonated most with me – especially since, like the author, I’m also a “card-carrying member of the Chinese diaspora” and so I was able to relate to many of the experiences that were brought up. At one point, Cheuk Kwan also explores the question of nationality versus ethnicity – he says that in his travels around the world, “meeting with far-flung members of the Chinese diaspora, one question always came to mind: Are we defined by our nationality or by our ethnicity? Nationality is a legal construct that can be easily given – or taken away – while ethnicity always stays with us. It’s in our blood.” This intrigued me because, despite struggling with the issue of cultural identity my entire life, it was never something that crossed my mind much, until now. I appreciate when books make me ponder things that I might not have really thought about before, which this one definitely does.
With all that said, of course, this book wasn’t without flaws – the writing was a bit all over the place at some parts and some sections were in need of further editing (the version I read was missing punctuation at some places and also kept referring to the United States as “the us”, which got a bit annoying after a while), but overall, the content made up for it. Flaws aside, I still definitely recommend this one (though maybe read the published version instead?), as I found the plethora of insights it provides interesting and invaluable -- even with my familiarity of Chinese history and culture, I still learned a lot, which I absolutely appreciate!
Received ARC from Pegasus Books via Edelweiss
No comments:
Post a Comment