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    Everything I Learned, I Learned from a Chinese Restaurant | A Panel Conversation

    Event Details

    What if the most important lessons about identity, resilience, and belonging came from a Chinese restaurant?

    Inspired by the memoir "Everything I Learned, I Learned from a Chinese Restaurant" by Curtis Chin, this panel conversation explores the lived realities of the Asian diaspora through story, culture, and entrepreneurship. Set against the backdrop of 1980s Detroit, the highly acclaimed book offers a sharp, funny, and deeply human look at growing up Asian in a world that often sees things in black and white, while quietly unpacking the cultural and political currents that still shape our communities today.

    But this conversation doesn’t stop at this chapter.

    In the heart of Toronto’s Chinatown, sisters Jeanette Liu and Joanna Liu are living that story in real time. As the next generation behind Yueh Tung Restaurant, they are carrying forward a 40-year family legacy while redefining what it means to lead, adapt, and belong in a changing cultural landscape. This is more than a restaurant. It’s a lens into the immigrant journey. A front-row seat to identity in motion. A place where tradition meets reinvention, and where every dish carries a story.

    Together, we’ll unpack:

    • How Chinese restaurants became cultural anchors across North America
    • The intersection of family, identity, and entrepreneurship across generations
    • What the Asian diaspora experience can teach us about today’s political and cultural shifts
    • Why these stories matter now more than ever

    Because sometimes, the best lessons don’t come from where you expect. They come served with a side of rice and a story.  Everything I Learned, I Learned from a Chinese Restaurant can be purchased online with Curtis Chin offering book signing at the event.

    Introducing special guest panelists...

     

    CURTIS CHIN:  A co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City, Curtis Chin served as the non-profits’ first Executive Director. He went on to write comedy for network and cable TV before transitioning to social justice documentaries. Chin has screened his films at over 600 venues in twenty countries. He has written for CNN, Bon Appetit, the Detroit Free Press, and the Boston Globe. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Chin has received awards from ABC/Disney Television, New York Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and more. His memoir, "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant" was published by Little, Brown in Fall 2023. His essay in Bon Appetit was selected for Best Food Writing in America 2023. His latest film for PBS, Warren King: King of Cardboard, will premiere in May 2026.   Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant has been featured in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, CBS Saturday Morning News, NBC News and profiled in the New York Times a few months ago. View the PBS Newshour segment. 

     
     

    JEANETTE LIU is a second-generation co-owner of Yueh Tung Restaurant in Toronto’s Chinatown. A former journalist, she now helps share the story of her family’s restaurant and its place in the community. Her work is rooted in food, culture, and preserving family legacy.

    JOANNA LIU is a second-generation co-owner of Yueh Tung Restaurant in Toronto’s Chinatown. She helps lead the kitchen and carry forward the recipes and traditions built by her parents. Her work is grounded in family, food, and cultural continuity.
     
     

    Wednesday, April 22, 2026; 
    6:00pm - Registration Check-in

    Yueh Tung Restaurant
    126 Elizabeth St,
    Toronto ON M5G 1P5
     

     

    NAAAP Members with priority access: $10.00
RSM InspirAsian Members: $10.00
FACL Members: $10.00
Non NAAAP Members:  $20.00

    REGISTER ONLINE by or before Wednesday, April 22, 2026; 12:00 pm noon
    Advanced Registration is required - subject to capacity

    NAAAP Toronto's collaborated event presentations with corporate and community partners are designed to be your community forum for personal growth. Enjoy lively conversation, mix and mingle, build new contacts while getting re-acquainted at some of Toronto's top corporate and evening venues.  

    Inquiries & Questions: connect@naaaptoronto.org
    Ticket Name Sale Ends Price Quantity
    NAAAP Members-Login to your account
    22 Apr 2026
    $10.00
    Log In Required
    RSM InspirAsian Members 22 Apr 2026 $10.00
    FACL Members 22 Apr 2026 $10.00
    Non NAAAP Members 22 Apr 2026 $20.00
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    When

    22 Apr 2026
    6:00pm - 8:30pm EDT

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    Location

    • Yueh Tung Restaurant, 126 Elizabeth St, Toronto ON M5G 1P5
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