Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant

My parents weighed their kids’ future against the present. To get a good public school education, we just had to put up with a little discrimination.

This was a really interesting memoir about growing up in Detroit’s Chinatown in the 1980s. The author touches on many different aspects of his childhood and teenage years, ranging from racism, immigrant issues, and figuring out his sexual identity to the intricacies of running a restaurant and the complexities of his family’s relationship. There are some rather heartbreaking moments, as well as plenty of small scenes that made me smile or laugh. I enjoyed the whole framing device of the restaurant, and how the author drew parallels between his cooking (mis)adventures and his coming-of-age experiences.

I really liked how candid the narrative was. It’s rather obvious the author has changed his views on multiple political and social subject since he was a kid (don’t we all?), and he alludes to those changes pretty transparently, but then he immediately delves deep into the mindset he remembers having during the events he describes. I think it takes a lot of self-awareness to paint a frank, complete picture of your own lack of self-awareness in the past, and a lot of courage, too.

There were a few parts where I felt the narrative meandered or jumped around a bit, but overall, this was a great reading experience with a lot of food for thought. Also, with a lot of food in general—there are some great descriptions from the titular restaurant’s kitchen!