THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER

Natalie Tan returns to her once thriving San Franciscan Chinatown neighborhood home after hearing the news of her mother’s death. Natalie left seven years ago, after fighting with her agoraphobic mother about her desire to become a chef, like her grandmother before her. After all this time, Natalie finds that the neighborhood is not as she left it, now facing the threat of gentrification and capitalism. Natalie inherits her grandmother’s restaurant and hopes reopening the restaurant will help to revitalize the neighborhood, bringing back some of their history. She meets with the neighborhood seer, who tells her that success will come by cooking three recipes from her grandmother’s recipe book, that will help the neighbors. Natalie is hesitant, for she resents the neighbors she believes left her alone to tend to her mother growing up. But, when Natalie starts cooking, she finds many surprises and opportunities as the result of her food. After just reading a book involving fo...