My cousin Simone lent me Sweet Mandarin for my plane ride back from Sydney, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. From cover to cover. In fact, I’ll recite part of the back cover for you as I don’t think I could describe the book any better: “Spanning almost a hundred years, this rich and evocative true story recounts the lives of three generations of remarkle Chinese women… Sweet Mandarin shows how the most important inheritance is wisdom, and how recipes – passed down the female line – can be the most valuable heirloom”.
I earmarked many pages in this book (sorry cuz, i hope you don’t mind!), and I loved Helen’s use of chinese proverbs at the beginning of each chapter, no doubt i’ll be referring to these often for everyday inspiration.
Should you ever happen to be in Manchester, Helen’s sisters run a (very inexpensive) Chinese restaurant in the city centre and you can try some of her grandmother’s original recipes.
October 25th, 2009 | #
Thanks m, I will definitely check this out!
November 12th, 2009 | #
sounds like just my kind of book! i love to study Eastern cultures.
December 12th, 2010 | #