Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant

September 11, 2023
Chin, a cofounder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, debuts with a captivating account of growing up gay and Chinese in 1980s Detroit. After immigrating to the U.S., Chin’s paternal grandfather opened Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine in the city in 1940, and his descendants continued operating the restaurant until 2000. In sections organized like a Chinese dinner (“The Tea,” “Main Entrée,” etc.), Chin illuminates the ways that Chung’s provided solace to his family and other local misfits: “It was one of the rare places in the segregated city where everyone felt welcome. Black or white, rich or poor, Christian or Jewish—the restaurant took anyone’s money.” In vivid and moving vignettes, Chin writes of drawing strength from meals at Chung’s after his family moved to the suburbs and faced racism from their white neighbors, and of queer patrons from a nearby drag bar helping him realize as a closeted teenager that “being gay wasn’t a death sentence.” He closes the book with his final meal at Chung’s before moving to New York City in his early 20s, observing that his time at the restaurant “taught me that life was full of endless possibilities. I only had to try new recipes.” In lucid, empathetic prose, Chin mounts an elegy for a now closed community center that doubles as a message of compassion to his former self. Readers will be moved. Agents: Sonali Chanchani and Erin Harris, Folio Literary.

Starred review from October 15, 2023
A charming, often funny account of a sentimental education in a Cantonese restaurant. Chin grew up in the 1980s and '90s as a not entirely willing exemplar of a "model minority." The latter term, he writes, is inadequate and incorrect, since in his hometown of Detroit, the white population was in fact smaller than that of people of color. His aspirational parents moved far from their downtown restaurant, where he worked alongside them throughout his adolescence, so that Chin and his siblings could attend good public schools in neighborhoods where "we were outsiders." That point was driven home by the brutal murder of a Chinese American friend by two racist white people who were given lenient sentences. The murder had the effect of galvanizing Chin, who had been charting a slow course from the desire to fit in with his suburban classmates, which "meant being a Republican," to someone aware of his differences and willing to speak to them. One was the dawning awareness that he was gay, fearful of revealing the fact to his family and a mother who won every fight because "she always outlasted her opponent." She also served the sex workers of downtown Detroit with the same hospitality that she extended to the mayor and the town's business elite. To all the obstacles that Chin faced, he added a switch from a prelaw major to a degree in creative writing: "I didn't know which truth would be more difficult to reveal--that I was gay or that I was going to be a poet." A happy if qualified ending awaits, and the author closes his affectionate, self-effacing narrative with a paean to the power of familial love, to say nothing of an expertly cooked meal. Chin is a born storyteller with an easy manner, and this memoir should earn him many readers.

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Starred review from December 1, 2023

Chin's memoir about growing up Asian American and gay in 1980s Detroit can stand proudly alongside the autobiographical works of David Sedaris and David Rakoff. Chin describes Chung's Cantonese Cuisine, the restaurant his grandfather opened in 1940 and operated until 2000. Here, Chin grew up learning about everything from food to family to racism. Chin narrates the audiobook, and his delivery will delight fans of Sedaris and Rakoff, as he uses similar self-deprecating humor to discuss difficult topics. He mixes heartbreak with humor, from recalling his hilariously youthful overconfidence to the painful realization that even trusted and admired adults might treat him differently because of his heritage. As he navigates racism and homophobia, he learns that he doesn't have all the answers. Luckily, as he tries to balance his own needs with those of his family, he meets people who give him new perspectives on life. Chin is unafraid to highlight parts of his life that don't portray him in the best light. This approach works with his narration, creating a feeling of sincerity that will have listeners rooting for him. VERDICT This strong memoir about intersectionality and acceptance will be at home in any library.--Matthew Galloway

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 12, 2024
Even in deeply divided 1980s Detroit, in a neighborhood overrun by street crime and drugs, everyone came to Chung's. The mayor was a regular, and even Yul Brynner once dined at the Chinese restaurant run by Chin's American-born father and Chinese immigrant mother, where customers would sit at the windows to make sure their cars weren't being stolen. In this clear-eyed memoir, Chin recounts his formative years confronting racism and his growing awareness of his attraction to other boys. While crack cocaine and a botched robbery turned homicide threatened to wipe out Chinatown, his family's restaurant was the last to remain open. As his parents moved their six children to the suburbs, Chin endured many varieties of discrimination and developed a passion for conservative politics. Confronted at the same time with the dangers of homosexuality during the growing AIDS epidemic, he resolved not to be gay. Chin eloquently shares how, with time and support, he found a way to be true to himself and honor the strength of the family who kept their business going despite every obstacle.

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