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Chop Suey Nation: The Legion Cafe and Other Stories from Canada's Chinese Restaurants by Ann Hui
fionacashell's review against another edition
5.0
I did not expect to be crying by the end of this book when I started it. Ann Hui dives into a question anyone who has driven in rural Canada has asked in passing - who is running the Chinese restaurants in these small, majority white communities? The mission is framed in the beginning of the book to find a singular moment in history that sets a precedent for these restaurants, but as Ann comes to learn on her trip across Canada, the stories are largely personal and familiar.
Intercut with the road trip, Ann learns more about her own father’s past in the restaurant industry, a story he has largely kept to himself for years.
The parallels drawn between the Hui family’s story and those of restaurant owners across Canada paints a picture of families putting everything they have to secure a future for their children, always from an angle of reverence. It definitely made me re-examine my own Western rooted views of living for yourself versus living for others. Highly recommend to people interested in migration stories, Canadian history, and the evolution of diaspora cuisine.
Intercut with the road trip, Ann learns more about her own father’s past in the restaurant industry, a story he has largely kept to himself for years.
The parallels drawn between the Hui family’s story and those of restaurant owners across Canada paints a picture of families putting everything they have to secure a future for their children, always from an angle of reverence. It definitely made me re-examine my own Western rooted views of living for yourself versus living for others. Highly recommend to people interested in migration stories, Canadian history, and the evolution of diaspora cuisine.