Have You Eaten Yet? Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World

Filmmaker Kwan explores the Chinese experience through the lens of Chinese restaurants the world over in his charming debut. His travels take him from Outlook, Saskatchewan, Canada, where he visits prairie cafés that serve American Chinese rather than “anything remotely resembling Chinese food,” to Mombasa, Kenya, where he discovers a restaurant that offers stir-fried beef with watermelon, and double-boiled papaya chicken soup, a dish that reminds Kwan of the Cantonese cuisine his mother used to make. Inspiring profiles of chefs and restaurant owners are interwoven throughout; such as that of Bar Pekín chef Abel Lam, a Black man of Chinese Cuban heritage who follows the culinary traditions of his grandfather at his Havana restaurant. Kwan sheds light on how Chinese cuisine has integrated itself into cultures across the globe (when visiting Peru, Kwan learns that “words such as sillao (soy sauce), chaufa (fried rice) and kion (ginger) are part of Peruvian lingo”), as well as its cultural centrality (the colloquial Chinese greeting of “Have you eaten yet?” is akin to asking “How are you?”). Expertly told, this is a winning blend of travel, food, and culture writing. Readers will be enlightened. Agent: Chris Casucio, Westwood Creative. (Jan.)