Summary - Stories from Chopsticks or Fork?

Why does every country town in Australia have a Chinese restaurant?

Chopsticks or Fork? is a collection of stories and recipes from Chinese restaurants in regional Australia, based on the six-part ABC series created by Jennifer Wong and Lin Jie Kong.

In this Perspectives Asia lecture, writer and comedian Jennifer Wong takes us behind the scenes of Chopsticks or Fork? to explore Chinese restaurant life, and the impact of these restaurants on Australia’s cultural and culinary history - from the early days of sizzling Mongolian lamb and lemon chicken to the whole steamed fish and potstickers of more recent times.

The lecture considers the stories of immigrant and refugee families who run Chinese restaurants from Queensland’s Hervey Bay to Western Australia’s Dunsborough, and the recollections of diners’ experiences of Australian Chinese cuisine, dating as far back as the 1940s. Jennifer Wong presents surprising insights on cultural preservation; the interior life of restaurant owners; the diversity within restaurant families; and the nostalgic appreciation for the country town Chinese experience, especially as many of them are now closing.

Jennifer Wong is a writer, curator, comedian, and co-author of Chopsticks or Fork?: Recipes and Stories from Australia’s Regional Chinese Restaurants (Hardie Grant) with Lin Jie Kong.

Her humorous writing about food, culture, and mental health has been published in The Guardian, SBS Food, The Big Issue, and Admissions: Voices within Mental Health (Upswell), and she’s been a guest on The Cook Up (SBS), Rick Stein’s Australia (SBS), Celebrities Letters and Numbers (SBS), and ABC Radio Sydney’s Thank God It’s Friday.

Jennifer has written and performed in two food+theatre shows produced by Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP): The Serpent’s Table (2014) and Double Delicious (2022).

In 2022 and 2023, she was the curator of OzAsia Festival’s writers and ideas program, In Other Words, which featured more than 100 Asian Australian and international writers.

Jennifer is the presenter of Chopsticks or Fork? (ABC), and creator and host of FEAST: live storytelling events for people who love books, food, and comedy.

Chopsticks or Fork?: Recipes and Stories from Australia’s Regional Chinese Restaurants will be for sale at the event