Book Launch: Chopsticks or Fork? - by Jennifer Wong and Lin Jie Kong in conversation with Gavin Chan

You're invited to a special book launch event hosted by The Book Cow, Cook & Co and Winning Appliances as we celebrate the release of Chopsticks or Fork? by Jennifer Wong and Lin Jie Kong. 

If you enjoyed the ABC iview series of the same name, you will love this collection of recipes and stories from Australia's Regional Chinese Restaurants and the conversation between the book's authors and local guest Gavin Chan from Happy's Chinese Restaurant.

The book lovingly captures the stories of ten very different families who run Chinese restaurants, from Queensland's Hervey Bay to Western Australia's Dunsborough, and features 32 classic Australian Chinese recipes. As well as revealing the secrets behind everything from sizzling Mongolian lamb to deep fried ice cream, Chopsticks or Fork? includes trivia on the lazy Susan, encounters with the country's biggest Chinese restaurant fans, a game of Chinese restaurant bingo just waiting to be played on your next night out, and more Chinese restaurant 'takeaways' than you can poke a (chop)stick at.

This is a unique celebration of an integral part of Australian cultural and culinary history.

Pre-order a copy of the book from the Book Cow and pick it up at the event. Use this LINK to make your purchase and use the delivery code EVENT to collect at the event

Wordplay-loving food enthusiast Jennifer Wong is a writer, comedian, and presenter of Chopsticks or Fork? (ABC). She’s a columnist for The Guardian (Jennifer Wong’s Class Act), and curator and host of FEAST, a storytelling event about how we eat and how we live. Her humorous essays and reporting about food, culture, and mental health have been published by ABC Everyday, ABC News, The Guardian, Monocle, SBS Food, SBS News, and The Big Issue. Jennifer’s comedy in English and Cantonese has been seen by millions online, and her stand-up shows have sold out around Australia. Her latest, The Sweet and Sour Hour of Power, is touring Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide in October and November. Details at jenniferwong.com.au.

Lin Jie Kong is the producer and director of Chopsticks or Fork?. She has worked across many facets of television and digital content. She fell in love with films and television as a six-year old growing up in Sydney, Australia. To help her learn English, Lin Jie’s parents let her rent as many movies as she wanted from Blockbuster during the school holidays, which kick-started a lifelong obsession with telling stories. Since 2011, Lin Jie has produced and directed a vast range of shows for the ABC, including Good Game, rage 30, What is Music, Hilltop Hoods Live, and In The Room: Leigh Sales with Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Gavin Chan is the owner and chef of Happy’s Chinese restaurant in Civic, which was opened by his grandfather Happy Chan in 1962. Gavin has run the restaurant with his wife May since 2007, continuing the family’s 60-year tradition of serving Cantonese cuisine to Canberrans.

Jointly hosted by The Book Cow. Cook & Co and Winning Appliances, we look forward to welcoming you for an afternoon of wonderful entertainment and light refreshments.