Scan barcode
hweezbooks's review
4.0
I have always love Cheryl Tan's writing and so I read her first book and enjoyed her journey tremendously. If I were to be objective - yes, I think it was disconnected in some places. But it depends on what you expect from the book if, after all, it is a memoir, then it does have to take a journey through her (disconnected) thoughts. I think this book is still a commendable effort and I can only think that with more experience, she will do a lot more in inspiring through her writing. At any rate, I bought this book together with Amy Chua's "other" Tiger book and I found Cheryl much more focussed, grounded, and in touch with herself!
rebecca_bc's review
3.0
Explores the importance of family, of spending time together, and of preserving family traditions and values through food.
teresachappell2's review
3.0
2.5/3.00 stars - really wanted to love this book - esp. because I have a similar background to the author & grew up eating a lot of the same dishes. There was a lot of classicism and traditional gender roles interwoven into the book as a way of narrating that felt tone deaf to me. Also, sometimes the chapters felt a little messy like the content didn’t feel quite as cohesive as it could’ve been
archytas's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
This was a book club read, and I enjoyed it well enough. It made me hungry though, I did far too much midnight snacking while reading it. The net of relationships in her life and cultures in Singapore is well evoked through this food. So is the food - did I mention hungry?
anneaustex's review against another edition
3.0
I've enjoyed reading quite a few food related books by the likes of Ruth Reichl, Anthony Bourdain, and Julie Powell's Julie and Julia. It's with this last book that I think this book will most often be compared but it is so much more.
Cheryl Tan, born in Singapore but living in New York City has begun to miss the flavors of her childhood food but has absolutely no idea where to begin to replicate them. So she sets out on a mission to visit her family members and to learn how to prepare the favorite family foods and others she learns about along the way.
Cheryl tells us about her family, her extended family and the stories she learns while spending times in the kitchen with her grandmother, her aunties and even her own mother and father. And then she tells us about the recipes, the sometimes strange and stranger ingredients and the process of learning to feel the food--agak-agak--despite her need to measure every ingredient and every time interval with precision.
It's fun through the course of her story to watch Cheryl grow in her heritage and in her confidence in the kitchen. I think this book is a must read for anyone who loves food, enjoys time in the kitchen or reading about others who do.
Cheryl Tan, born in Singapore but living in New York City has begun to miss the flavors of her childhood food but has absolutely no idea where to begin to replicate them. So she sets out on a mission to visit her family members and to learn how to prepare the favorite family foods and others she learns about along the way.
Cheryl tells us about her family, her extended family and the stories she learns while spending times in the kitchen with her grandmother, her aunties and even her own mother and father. And then she tells us about the recipes, the sometimes strange and stranger ingredients and the process of learning to feel the food--agak-agak--despite her need to measure every ingredient and every time interval with precision.
It's fun through the course of her story to watch Cheryl grow in her heritage and in her confidence in the kitchen. I think this book is a must read for anyone who loves food, enjoys time in the kitchen or reading about others who do.
rainyoctober's review against another edition
3.0
This was the first nonfiction novel / memoir I've ever read for "fun", and it was certainly an interesting and enjoyable read. Tan's story is fascinating in large part because it weaves together the author's past memories and present life not just through reflection upon each of the dishes she cooks, but because the journey she details in this book is also very much a physical one; in order to learn how to recreate pineapple tarts, braised duck, and other remembered favorites, she takes it upon herself to make periodic trips across the Pacific ocean to learn firsthand from her relatives all of the recipes that have been passed down for literally hundreds of years. In addition to learning how to cook, she also learns more about her family's history and ultimately grapples with her own identity. If you're interested in exploring underrepresented genres/styles or reading memoir focused on cultural identity, I absolutely recommend this book.