Celestial Peach's Year of the Rabbit 2023-24 round-up
(Read the Year Of The Ox 2021-22 round up and the Year Of The Tiger 2022-23 round up)
January 2023
The global Chinese and luni-solar abiding community welcomed the Year of the Water Rabbit, and I picked up where I left off the other side of the new moon by hosting a Green Lunar New Year supper club on the theme of sustainability for Museum of the Home. My diners answered questions as they ate dishes that interrogated cultural symbols: ‘prosperity salad’, ‘longevi-tea noodles’, ‘treasures within porridge’ and ‘fish of abundance’.
For DELLI, I hosted a Lunar New Year panel of favourite ESEA producers who champion their heritage in their food. We talked on the theme: 'Beyond The Label', discussing identity, labels (on and off the jar) and the maker’s journey.
March
On the eve of my birthday, I launched my Substack, a new house for short to mid-length writing.
A new recipe storytelling project began with Asian Slaw Alliance, inviting Asian food lovers to reclaim and re-imagine the ‘Asian’ in ‘Asian slaw’ according to their heritage and memories.
My friends at Curry Club asked me to contribute a dessert for 70 people; I admire their ‘Pay What You Feel’ model. I’ll be joining forces with them more regularly.
The Pepper Power Rangers (Melissa Thompson, Mandy Yin of Sambal Shiok, Chloe-Rose Cabtree, Tomas Heale of Naifs and myself) assembled for Anna Sulan Masing’s Pepper Party at Spiritland - a live culmination of her narrative Whetstone podcast Taste Of Place. We collaborated on a diverse menu using pepper in all its guises.
April
My background in and love for music started coming to the fore this year and the combining of food, community and music is something I want to do more of. I joined my old friend Emmy The Great onstage for her last ever gig at Kakilang Festival - 15 years after I started playing in her band. It was my first time singing in Cantonese and English while playing the violin. Quite the challenge!
A mini-spring series started with my Lo-Fi Teahouse takeover at Rouge in Stoke Newington. On the menu: slow cooked congee, lo-fi tunes from friends and discounted shopping.
May
Potluck #14 took place, on the theme of CAKE.
More modelling this year (anyone interested in casting an elder millennial!? I would love to do more) at the Yicrafts & Friends fashion show as part of Cultural Style Week.
Friends of Halkevi took place, a fundraiser I organised to bring more attention to other community centres in the Hackney Lunch Club Network. It was a beautiful evening at the Halk Evi Turkish & Kurdish centre with lots of food, music, poetry and dancing. Expect more of these inter-community gatherings from me.
June
Lo-Fi Teahouse returned.
June always means Dragon Boat Festival. I helped to organise a zongzi workshop fundraiser for Hackney Chinese Community Services, generating £1,300 for the centre.
Then came the HCCS Dragon Boat party, where potluck #15 also catered for the ravenous guests.
July
Summers are technically ‘off’ for me to catch my breath, but I couldn’t say no to playing more music with Emma-Lee Moss, Eva Liu (mui zyu) and Ben Lee at a gathering celebrating the 30th anniversary of Cantopop band Beyond.
I also couldn’t refuse running a joint supper club with legendary Guan Chua, serving my vegetable and fermentation-heavy specialities alongside his Nyonya and Malaysian crowdpleasers.
August
I did nothing! Well done me.
Sep
East and Southeast Asian Heritage Month takes place every September. This means one thing: no sleep until October.
The epic month of ten events kicked off with my second contribution of the year to Curry Club - a celestial salad bar at the last of their summer barbecues.
At Soho House, Dr Anna Sulan Masing and I were in conversation on the topic ‘Does Community Really Exist?’
My main contribution to ESEA Heritage Month was In Our Prime, a panel I curated with guests Wiz Wharton, Qu Leilei and Bich Tyler, discussing how they found their voice and built mental resilience as reflected through their unique lived experiences and unconventional paths. Read some timeless wisdom and my own reflections.
For the first ESEA LitFest, five bakers from the Asian Dessert Exchange served up a Not Too Sweet breakfast.
Mid-Autumn Festival also fell in September, so it was back to the HCCS community kitchen to volunteer at the members’ party. I hope to never deep fry 384 king prawns again.
More hosting duties, as I interviewed Becca Jeffree and Kelvin Chan on their collaborative photography exhibition ‘Manifestations: Lion Dance & I’.
On Mid-Autumn proper, I hosted the most wholesome community full moon(cake) picnic that I will remember forever, where we sat and watched the moon rise for three hours. Thus concluded the month of madness.
Oct
Nourishing Connections took place at BFI; I spoke alongside Zarina Muhammad, Kannan Arunasalam and Dominique Lecchi on food in film and its various symbolic meanings.
Following my nomination as Person Of The Year in 2022, I was honoured to be a judge at the BeInclusive Hospitality awards.
Nov
Potluck #16 was themed MY SMELLY LUNCHBOX. The themes get sillier and I’m glad everyone is down with it.
December
My final offering to the community was Gather - with special musical guest Palestinian oud player Saied Silbak and food donated from the most talented chef friends. This event was the most significant and emotionally healing for me thus far. Read my reflections on communal grief, brown-ness (of food or people) and admire the glowing faces, food and friendships from the evening.
One final stint of volunteering at the HCCS Christmas lunch before taking a break.
January
Kicked off the Gregorian new year of 2024 kicked off by delivering a seminar at the SOAS Food Studies Centre for members of the Food Forum. Revisiting the #ChineseFoodiesOfIG100 project, it was a nice opportunity to feel proud of what I worked so hard on.
Started running plantbased Chinese workshops and congee sessions from home.
February
Finally, the news is out! I am writing a book called An A-Z Of Chinese Food (Recipes Not Included). Pre-order now.
Lunar New Year appearances geared up as I hosted a panel talk at Royal Museums Greenwich, talking all things Asian Slaw Alliance with Chris O’Leary of Fatboy Zine.
Potluck #17 was also the third annual banana leaf rice banquet - this year A.K.A. the GREAT WALL OF RICE.
🐉
Bring on the Year of the Dragon 2024
In last year’s round-up, I strove to balance three overarching themes: self-expression, collaboration and groupwork. An equal focus on these three pillars - which are about developing relationships with myself, my peers and my community - ensures that I feel spiritually and creatively fulfilled.
Self-expression = developing an authentic public voice and identity
Collaboration = multidisciplinary partnerships with other creative practitioners that I admire
Groupwork = collective healing and co-creating through community group activities
I’m proud that I managed to do that in 2023, and will continue to build on this trifecta going forward.
In review, the theme of last year was Return. Different strands of my past - such as my background in music - came back to the foreground, and intertwined with newer pursuits in a harmonious way. Members of the community became close friends, and old friends became absorbed into the community. I returned to my family home in Hong Kong and returned my father’s ashes to the ocean. I felt a deep spiritual return too, as I entered a renewed relationship with myself.
For 2024 I want to add a further consideration:
Self-protection = recognise and state your wants and needs (and balance the books)
Aside from stating my wants and needs in all matters personal, self-protection looks like learning to say NO! to projects that will drain me. I want the opportunity but I need to protect my energy. It also looks like drawing a hard boundary when corporations ask me to work for peanuts. I want the recognition but I need to earn money. I am learning to stick a 0 at the end of all my quotes. There is also the growing creep of people feeling entitled to accessing my time and knowledge, which looks like a constant influx of DMs and emails. I want to be helpful but need my own time.
Without self-protection you cannot work on the other good kinds of self-: like self-fulfilment or self-esteem.
What’s in the pipeline? I will continue using food as a form of social organising technology, for free and for good where possible. I’m building my voice towards the book launch, starting a newspaper column, teaching plant based workshops, looking for more panel hosting and public speaking opportunities, returning to Asian Slaw Alliance and potentially starting research for the next book (via a podcast?!), while helping HCCS launch the community kitchen at the new centre.