Chinese Parents Don't Say I Love You

CANDICE CHUNG is a Glasgow-based writer and editor. Her work has appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Food, The Australian Gourmet Traveller, The Guardian, Gutter, and more. She is a founding member of Diversity in Food Media Australia, which supports and promotes underrepresented voices in food. Her story ‘Why Chinese Parents Don't Say I Love You’, first published on The Sydney Morning Herald, generated more than 2 million page impressions.

‘Chung's prose is as deliciously playful as her palate' Leah Hazard, author of Womb ‘Chung’s poetic prose blazes on the pages’ Jessie Tu, author of The Honeyeater ‘A wonderfully heart warming memoir with lots of foodie insights.’ Rachel Khoo ‘A world-spanning love story, a book of philosophy via the dinner table, a tender portrait of family trying to communicate ... a vital new literary voice’ Rebecca May Johnson, author of Small Fires  ‘Hilarious, heartfelt and incredibly perceptive ... Candice Chung’s memoir stayed with me like the warmest of memories’ Lee Tran Lam, Should You Really Eat That? podcast ‘A touching, poignant love story ... at times heartbreaking, complicated and bittersweet, but also, uplifting and full of tenderness’ Huma Qureshi, author of Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love ‘A comforting hotpot of a book. Every page offers a new surprising morsel about connection and choice; always nourishing, always delightful, always tender’ Benjamin Law, author of The Family Law ‘A delicious and moving treatise about love and longing, and all the ways families express or hide these life-sustaining things’ Alice Pung OAM, author of Unpolished Gem and One Hundred Days‘Shows us how love and releationships can be influenced by food culture, and how our dinner tables have shaped the way we understand the world, as well as ourselves.’ Xiaolu Guo‘Beautifully written, lean and nourishing, Candice Chung’s Chinese Parents Don't Say I Love You is an astute, moving and often amusing memoir that does a profoundly affecting dive into how rituals around family dining are used as a vehicle for expressing what we really want to say, and how we really feel’ LoveReading‘A thoughtful and compelling pastiche of fragments, lists, and literary reflections, Chung’s memoir revolves around her personal history with food, family and culture, but also around writing: Deborah Levy, Nora Ephron, Helen Garner and Craig Claiborne are all name-checked, and their influence is felt throughout.’ Steph Harmon, Guardian Australia'A delightful portrait of love expressed through the delicious business of eating out together. I adored this book’s wit and wisdom, and Chung's capacity to delve into the complexities of the relationship between the first and second generation with such tenderness and lightness of touch. A funny, generous, and joyously relatable memoir.' Chitra Ramaswamy, author of Homelands  'Packed with heart, humour, and those tender moments around a dinner table, Candice manages to capture the everyday comforts and the sometimes unsaid things that bring us together over meals. A must-read.' Angela Hui, author of TAKEAWAY: Stories From a Childhood Behind the Counter