About you
My name is Tegan Smyth and I have been based in Hong Kong for work for the last 11 years. I am from Australia originally but I went to high school in Hong Kong. Table of Two Cities: Untold Stories of Refugees in Hong Kong is my second book (my first is a collection of poetry), and the first to be published for my charity, Grassroots Future. Our organisation works with refugees and asylum seekers in Hong Kong - the Table of Two Cities project spanned 7 years and collected stories and recipes from members of the refugee and asylum seeker community based in the city.
Your Inspiration
This book was a labour of love over many years and the list of authors who inspired the work really vary. I would say the key influences on this body of work were Yasmin Khan (particularly her interviews of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean and their recipes) and Olia Hercules in terms of how we set out the interview / recipe format. As there is also an event element to our organisation and this project, I was also influenced by food powered initiatives engaging refugees around the world such as Migrateful (UK), Give Something Back to Berlin (Germany), Parliament on King (Australia), Tanabel (USA) and PichaEats (Malaysia).
Favourite thing to do or see in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a food lover's paradise so travelling around to different districts for food is high up as one of my favourite things to do. I also love finding new places for coffee in the city - Hong Kong has so many amazing options these days.
Your favourite food to eat in Hong Kong or a restaurant you could recommend?
Dim sum is not negotiable in Hong Kong. I would recommend Maxim's Palace at City Hall (if you want a more traditional style experience) or LockCha Teahouse in Admiralty (if eating with vegetarians). My mother's family are Hakka, the best Hakka restaurant I have tried is Sun Hon Kee in Fanling - it's worth the trip.
