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Grace Choy: Japan is so close, yet so far, from authentic Chinese cuisine

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Grace Choy was a run-of-the-mill office worker before finding her true calling in the kitchen dreaming up new spins on classic Chinese dishes. | COURTESY OF CHOYCHOY KITCHEN

By Grace Choy
Contributing writer

Jul 16, 2023

After my third time getting fired, I realized maybe being an office worker wasn’t for me.

I grew up in Hong Kong, but I don’t come from a wealthy family. Somehow, my mother managed to save up enough money to send me to study in the United Kingdom, but it wasn’t enough to help me keep up a corporate career back in Hong Kong. It was November 2010, and it felt like I’d lost all my self-respect.

With nothing else to lose, I used what was left of my savings to open a small restaurant, ChoyChoy Kitchen, in the Yuen Long district of Hong Kong.

Grace Choy: Japan is so close, yet so far, from authentic Chinese cuisine

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