March 2, 2022 | Cheuk Kwan: Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World

Filmmaker Cheuk Kwan talked with reporter Ann Hui about his new book, Have You Eaten Yet? Hosted by Vancouver Public Library.
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Chinese restaurants can be found in every corner of the world-they are icons of immigration and good food, and serve as community hubs for the Chinese diaspora. Behind these family-run places, there’s stories of resilient people who left their homeland in search for security and a better future.
Filmmaker and writer Cheuk Kwan talked about his new book, Have You Eaten Yet?, where he travels to fourteen countries to meet the chefs, entrepreneurs, labourers, and dreamers who populate Chinese kitchens worldwide.
He appeared in conversation with The Globe and Mail’s national food reporter, Ann Hui.
Cheuk Kwan was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, and has also lived in the US, Saudi Arabia and Canada. He is the co-founder of The Asianadian, a magazine dedicated to promoting Asian Canadian arts, culture and politics, and a film production company, Tissa Films. His documentary Chinese Restaurants: Latin Passions won the Special Jury Prize at the 24th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.
Ann Hui is The Globe and Mail’s national food reporter, using food as a lens to explore public policy, health, the environment, and agriculture. She is the author of the bestseller Chop Suey Nation.
This event was funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

[@Laowei1]

Thanks for sharing this excellent book discussion! Fascinating! 😃👍

[@muoian]

From the Vietnamese diaspora side , Kim Thuy’s works and life speaks to the importance of restaurants within the Vietnamese community and bridging to the larger Canada 🇨🇦. I’m very excited to read Anna’s and Cheuk’s works now .

[@347gibson]

I just read this book, and it brought back a flood of memories for me as a kid who grew up working in my Dad's cafe serving Chinese and Western food. I got a ton of stories from this part of my life. The book is very entertaining, humorous and well researched. Its interesting that these stories are very similar regardless of where the diaspora ends up. Well done and highly recommended.

[@muoian]

Great conversation.

[@sianwarwick633]

a fascinating book . Wide ranging discussion of the Chinese Diaspora and Chinese food restaurants worldwide

[@avit9071]

Just finished reading this book. Loved it ❤both for the style and content. I am a non-Chinese and reside in one of the cities covered in the book-I look forward to visiting that restaurant. Also await more such writing. Best wishes👍😊