Invitation to a Banquet
from learning the story of Chinese food from a Brit to tasting it in Flushing, Queens
In this week’s blog post I share my mixed feelings about learning “the story of Chinese food” from a British author, as well as discuss the experience of cultural food as lived vs learned. I also share a list of some of my recommendations for Chinese food in Flushing, the OG Chinatown of Queens, which includes a map and notes on my favorite bites at each spot! Hope you enjoy 🙌
Before we begin…
After publishing 50 free articles, which will continue to remain free for all, I have turned on paid subscriptions. As I make the transition to full-time content creation, I have had to start thinking about my food blog as a business as well as a passion project. It’s a foreign approach for me, and one that doesn’t come naturally. I’ve had to carefully consider the balance between advocating for the value of my work and maintaining accessibility in order expand the reach of food stories worth sharing.
To that end, I’ve come up with the following paid subscription system:
Free tier
Continued access to stories at the intersection of food, community, and culture
Paid tier ($8/month or $80/year)
Everything in the free tier +
Occasional offers at featured restaurants
Access to personal essays about food, content creation, etc
Biweekly curated neighborhood food tours complete with maps and menu recommendations
Founding member tier ($160/year)
Everything in the free and paid tiers +
A direct line to ask for personalized recommendations in NYC
Access to a physical BFL zine published twice per year!!!
I truly appreciate you being here, and it would mean the world to me if you would consider supporting me in my food storytelling endeavors! Until September 6, subscribe using this link to access a special friends & family promo 🫶🏼
If you’d like to support me, but can’t commit to an annual subscription, I would be equally grateful if you bought me a coffee! And if you really want to read my work, but are unable to make a financial contribution at this time, shoot me an email at brooklynfoodlady@gmail.com and I’ll add you to the list!
Now without further ado…
Who gets to tell the story of Chinese Food?
I recently started reading the book Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food by acclaimed British author and Chinese food writer Fuchsia Dunlop. I’m still in the early chapters of this book, and I may be breaking the cardinal rule of never judging a book by its cover, but I feel particularly conflicted about this one.
My very first thought was, “Why is a white person explaining Chinese food to the world?” Surely there must be someone among the billions of Chinese people in the mainland or among the millions of members of the Chinese diaspora who could serve as an authoritative voice on our cuisine?
After perusing the introduction and dust cover flaps, I learned that Fuchsia has lived in China and studied at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine, and has been researching and cooking Chinese food for thirty years. That’s longer than I’ve been alive. Despite my being born there, Fuchsia has probably lived in China for longer than I have.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Brooklyn Food Lady to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.