Natalie is an aspiring Chef, with big hopes of opening her own Chinese resturant one day. It is not a path her Ma wanted for her... leading to a seven year departure from home. As Natalie learns her trade, she recieves a phone call to come home: her housebound Ma has passed away. Upon her return to San Francisco chinatown, Natalie is offered the opportunity to revive the ailing chinatown with her laolao's secret recipes...

"The neighbours could have left at any time...but roots run deep...."

The story delves into filal piety, the Ma-Daughter bond, parental mental health, physical x mental health conditions, unspoken shame, and how family business remains behind closed doors in order to save face. However it also speaks to gratitude, community resilience and love languages in the form of service.

"A gathering fog brews at the base of the gate, the way steam rises from a perfect bowl of noodles soup"

Set in San Francisco (where I am hoping to go in the next few years), Roselle Lim, a Filipino Chinese heritage author has used food analogies throughout the book to highlight the scenes. You can tell she has taken care with her depictions of food and its rituals within Chinese culture: I certainly had a craving for yingyang fried rice, crab and dumplings afterwards! The importance of food, and how very simple ingredients can be changed by dips and sauces is decribed in careful detail. The familiar tug of war dance where the highly prized traits of generosity and hospitality made me smile.

This was the perfect weekend read; suitable for YA, although there are some serious topics - it was more of a light touch. Some supporting character scenes were whimsical, and far fetched, but it is a light touch.

I will miss Miss Yu's curated teas, Mr Kuk Wah's erhu, older Chens bookstore, younger chess herbal store, the chuis convience store, and Celias gift shop.