Table of Contents

Cherish Those Around You
Mig Fu 5

The Body Remembers
Tiny West 6

Gleaning Taste
Siu To 8

Interview with Evelyna Liang
Siu To 10

An Afternoon with Michael Wolf
Yeung Yang 16

Recipe Index
280


Love

My workmates at the garment factory made a beautiful embroidery for me with the names of all our wedding guests on it. For me, that embroidery is my marriage certificate.
Chan Hor Chun 28

There would be several barges lined up in a row. Dozens of tables would be set up. What a scene—all jolly and boisterous!
Lai Wai Chen 34

I kept my head down. That was when I got my first glimpse of my future husband holding a wine glass.
Leung Kwai Fong 42

When I used to cook for everyone at home, I would buy four chickens—
that’s eight wings for the four of us. Sometimes, we would fight over them!
Li Ho Yin Kwok So Ying 48



Bitter Days

The police were throwing smoke bombs out on the streets. It was horrifying.
Kam Shu Ying 58

The Japanese distributed milk and long pieces of bread to all those
on board.
Lai Chen 64

I still remember the Japanese with their rifles coming for a haircut.
Ho Suk Fong 70

He was so deeply in debt from gambling that as soon as I arrived he sold me. I was twelve.
Li Mui Nui 76

Often I hid my young brother and three sisters in the hills to protect them and brought them home only when it was dark.
Ko Kui Ngun 82

Those were difficult times, but as I quietly stirred the soup, listening to the scratching of the sesame against the pot, I felt calm.
Wong Chui Ping 88

Much of my early life was spent alone and miserable. Now, I have a family of ten. For me, it’s quite a blessing.
Yuen Foon 94



Play

When I was still young and living in Malaysia, we used to wait by the coconut trees for the crabs to come down and eat the coconuts.
Yung Mui Sin 102

One day when mother wasn’t home, we all sneaked out with our neighbours and played with firecrackers.
Wong Choi Ngun 108

My family grew corn, so I guarded the fields.
Li Sin Yau 114

I am brilliant in poetry and history!
Li Kai Tong 120

I still have my Chinese nanny’s outfit: a snow-white top and black silk pants. It’s a status symbol.
Leung Sung 126




I Am

Only the boys in my family went to school.
Wong Yuk Ying 134

That’s when I decided to `comb up my hair’ and never get married.
Luk Chu 140


My parents called me a `free girl’.
Leung Wong Kin Sum 146



I Learn

I got a job as a nurse at a school in Fujian.
Liu Sau Hua 154

When I was twelve, I came to Hong Kong to be a tailor’s apprentice.
Leung Siu Kam Tong Sun Yiu 160

A friend helped me get a job at the Kowloon Canton Railway. At first, I was responsible for cleaning the engines…
Chu Hui Tsi 170

When I was young, I helped out at a bakery.
Mak Cheung Shui Yee 174

I used to catch chickens that had escaped while being unloaded at the Dai Fung Sing shed.
Leung Yiu 180


I studied Japanese for just five or six months, but it was good enough to use when I worked in a trading company.
Pun Nui 186

In the evenings, we would sometimes go to Lai Chi Kok for a night swim.
Tang King 192

When I turned eight, I began working at home and cooking for my family.
Lok Kwan Hing 198

Usually, we woke up early in the morning and went to Yuen Long for morning tea.
Hon Kwok Shuen 204

I still remember my mother saying how important it is to treat your employees well.
Lo Kan Wai Man 210

When I got angry, I would draw blowfish. I used them to remind myself to be patient.
Chan Fat Hing 216



I Taste

I had to get up at four in the morning, even during winter, to prepare the fire to cook for him.
Li Kan 226

The telephone wasn't very common. If you wanted to call someone, you needed to get the help of an operator.
Chow Wa Ying 232

Without work, I had to go to the Mainland. I started selling herbal tea on the streets.
Lam King 238

Our family had farmland called squash fields, and fish ponds. We grew everything we needed.
Zhou Daeh 244

Even just one outfit was very precious. In my family, each one of us had three outfits .
Hou Lai Tong 250

When I saw the grain worms wriggling, I wouldn’t dare go near them.
Tang Yuk Kam 256

Everyone fought for the chicken legs, but I could never get them.
Yau Wai Kiu 262

I learned most of what I know from cooking programmes on television and from books.
Chan Wai Hing 268

I use bamboo or winter leaves, and we still steam them on a wood fire. I think that’s why my family’s dumplings are special.
Yim Ka Yan 274

Promotional Information

Focused mailings and eblasts to large Cantonese immigrant communities and cultural organizations in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver
Sunday "cook offs" will be scheduled in these communities where individuals will come together to cook recipes from the book and retell stories from their previous lives in Hong Kong and their adopted homes.

About the Author

Evelyna Liang: An artist and art educator who works with community Art in Hong Kong, China and Asia. She founded Art in Hospital and Art for All in the early 2000s. Both groups aim at using art to help the needy and underprivileged communities.
Michael Wolf: Born in Munich, Germany, Wolf grew up in the USA and studied at UC Berkley and at the University of Essen in Germany. Living and working as a photographer and author in China for ten years, Wolf has been intensively concerned with vernacular culture.
Yang Yeung: An independent curator, writer and university lecturer, upon graduating from Yale University with an M.A. in anthropology, she worked as a documentary video director at Radio Television Hong Kong. In 2008, she founded ‘soundpocket’ to promote sound art and its research and education.