Goodbye Chinatown

by Kit Fan

As her native Hong Kong seethes, torn between two world powers, Amber Fan tries to build a career as a chef in London’s Chinatown. Amber Fan, a young Oxford-educated chef, opens the first Chinese fusion joint in London’s Chinatown following the failure of her father’s traditional restaurant. When her parents decide to return to Hong Kong, taking with them their young son Bobby as well as the haunting secret surrounding his birth, Amber is left alone in London. That is, until a woman called Celeste hires out the restaurant, coughing up three grand for a dinner for one. Who is this extravagant stranger, and how did she get so wealthy?

Set in the aftermath of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule, Goodbye Chinatown shows a family torn between two countries. Amber throws herself into her career to escape the painful cycle of family separations and reunions. The tastes and smells spark off every page in Kit Fan’s latest novel, making for a truly multisensorial reading experience. Offering a behind-the-scenes of this iconic hub of London’s hospitality economy, and using food to reflect on identity, Goodbye Chinatown paints a portrait of an enterprising émigré who, faced with divided loyalties, invents her own language for home through the culinary arts.

Genres: Fiction, Foodie

253 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 2, 2026

About the author

Kit Fan is a novelist, poet and critic. His first novel Diamond Hill (2021) was published with critical acclaim. Goodbye Chinatown (2026) is his second novel. His third poetry collection, The Ink Cloud Reader (2023), was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize and Forward Prize. He was shortlisted twice for the Guardian 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize, and was a winner of the Hong Kong University International Poetry Prize, Northern Writers Awards for Poetry and Fiction, Times/Stephen Spender Poetry Translation Prize and POETRY’s Editors Prize for Reviewing. He has written for the Guardian, Times Literary Supplement and Telegraph. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Vice-Chair of Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), Co-Chair of the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA), and a Trustee of New Writing North. He was born and educated in Hong Kong and now lives in the UK.

Reviews

[Mai H.]

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and World Editions

[Emily Poche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to World Editions Group for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Goodbye Chinatown by Kit Fan is the intimate portrait of the Fan family, who crisscross the globe between England, Hong Kong, and mainland China. Focused mainly around the daughter (and secretly, mother) character, Amber, the story is framed deeply by the trajectory of the culinary career.

Within this story there are three primary topics that are interwoven to create the narrative; cooking, family, and political activism in Hong Kong. Developed to different degrees, the author makes it clear how inextricably linked these three things are. Amber, a chef, is deeply bound to her roots through her childhood in her father’s London Chinatown restaurant, but uses her own cooking to relate to her identity. From the earliest moments, the remnants of the British Colonial system and the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square massacre shape the family’s path and trajectory.

These three different story lines and themes are executed to varying degrees of success. The author’s descriptions of food are lush and detailed, jumping off of the page. The story of Amber working through different types of restaurants is also beautifully framed by the descriptions of the food scene and different types of restaurants. However, the parts of the story containing the family dynamics are the least interesting. For some reason, despite the level of drama and secrecy, this felt like the least developed part of the story. At times the story felt uninspired; taciturn father, parents that are at odds but won’t divorce, etc. I just felt like the arc was very, very predictable once the political elements are taken away.

While I did enjoy this book and believe it to be very tenderly written, it wasn’t particularly gripping. The food elements and discussions of issues for citizens of Hong Kong were very interesting, but I didn’t particularly enjoy the story tying these elements together. 3/5 stars.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to World Editions and NetGalley for this copy.


I chose this book because of its premise: the story of a chef torn between her "homeland" and the England that raised her, even if not always kindly. I found the concept interesting, especially because it seemed like a reflection on Hong Kong itself, conveyed through the words of one of its fellow citizens.
The book didn't actually convince me right away, it felt very slow-paced although I found Amber's story fascinating. I liked to see a point of view (I was a kid and I don't remember it very well) on SARS and the xenophobia that came out of it and in the very concept of what a 'Chinatown' is. And I enjoyed the second part of it, with Amber struggling between her career and -her son-; and I also appreciated the cosiness of her delicious recipes written between the pages. Then Amber leaves London and her son, and don't get me wrong, Bobby's pov was very appreciated by me, and getting an insight into what Hong Kong's citizens between my age faces daily was very interesting. The ending was the most disappointing part for me. Although it ended "right" it felt incomplete. I wish I got more information on Bobby's side on the protests; Amber thoughts and motivations.. I don't know just...something more.
Anyways it was an entertaining read and I wish that someday it will be translated in italian too, so I could re-read it in my mother tongue.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodbye Chinatown spans roughly twenty years in the lives of the Fan family, moving between England, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. It’s quite fast-paced, and I was reasonably engaged throughout, especially in the first half.

The novel weaves together a lot: the aftermath of Tiananmen Square, the 2008 financial crisis, Hong Kong being handed back to China, and later the protests and political activism that shape Bobby’s storyline. In contrast, Amber’s thread focuses more on food and ambition and her journey towards Michelin stars. I enjoyed those parts a lot; the writing around food and the atmosphere of Chinatown was vivid and comforting in places.

There’s also a strong family element running throughout: secrecy, conflict, parents at odds, and this sense of a family pulled between two countries and two identities. The question of “Where is home?” sits quietly beneath most of the book.

If anything, I found myself wanting more from Amber’s time in Shanghai; those chapters felt quite light, and I would have liked to see that part of her life explored in more depth. Overall, it’s an interesting novel with plenty of drama and movement, but it didn’t fully land for me, hence the three stars.
I received an advance review from NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

[Kaylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and World Editions for the advanced reader copy to review.

Goodbye Chinatown was truly a delight to read. It felt intimate, like you were a fly on the wall, observing the Fan family and their interactions with one another. It was also tender, a love letter to food, family and the cities we try to find homes in.

I did struggle with my apparent lack of knowledge around political events in Hong Kong - that's on me. Regardless, it was still captivating to read about the opinions towards such events. We're presented with a range of different responses to what was happening in Hong Kong and it was fascinating how they overlapped and intertwined.

I would have just liked a bit more of everyone and everything. I could have read an entire book on Amber, and her trying to make it as a chef. I could have read an entire book on Bobby, detailing the live events we were only given a brief insight into. I could have read an entire book about Amber's parents, and the dynamics of their relationship as they tried to do what's right for their family. They were all such special stories that I couldn't help but feel like some of their depth was glossed over.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
It’s always a pleasure to have the ability to read these ARCs as you can read books and authors you may not otherwise come across or choose to read.

Themes covered:
Food, ambition, pressure and expectation, education and opportunity, purpose, growth, immigration, belonging, identity, culture, family, conflict, censorship, distrust, turmoil and instability - politically, financially, emotionally within relationships and the character’s self, and loss.

In Goodbye Chinatown, we meet the Fan family (Mum and Dad, siblings Amber and Bobbo/Bobby), with the story based around our main female character Amber, who left Hong Kong following the Tiananmen Square protests in the late 1980s (Amber was 11). We join them towards the end of 2001 where they are navigating the aftermath of 9/11 and its impact on their industry (hospitality) and London’s Chinatown, and along the way (across 20+ years) they have to endure the bird flu virus, global financial crisis, the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China, and then more recently the political protests in Hong Kong. There’s a hint towards the recent COVID pandemic in the closing chapters which I expected to be developed more but maybe that would’ve been too much.

Alongside these challenging events, the Fan’s are navigating their tricky familial relationships as Amber attempts to make a success of her first restaurant, Luna, in the heart of Chinatown, to fulfil her ambitions and prove herself especially to her Dad (recently retired from running their own restaurant there too - though fed up and unhappy being so!) There’s a constant thread weaved throughout relating to immigration, culture - especially when you feel caught between two or latterly three cultures - a sense of rootlessness, identity, and belonging, and how each character manages this. For me, there felt like a real sense of “Who am I?” as well as “Where am I or where should I be?” for all the characters and it was interesting follow their paths, some were less developed than others which was a shame.

I absolutely loved Amber and was cheering her on throughout and liked the rest of the family and their quirks which we followed through ambition, compromise, growth and loss with high emotion but also humour. I felt the food was a big “character” too - as was Chinatown with its highs and lows, and need to adapt to survive - and I honestly spent a lot of time, particularly in the first half, salivating and marvelling at the descriptions and creations by Amber as she makes a success of her restaurant, Luna, and achieves her Michelin star. There is a big storyline in her personal life too but I feel if I even broach it, it could enter spoiler territory, so I’ll leave it there.

Overall, I’d give this a 3.5 stars I think but unfortunately you can’t rate half scores here. I absolutely loved the majority of this book, and found myself salivating at the food, and was on course to give it a glowing review and score (4/4.5) but then the ending was so abrupt (to the point where I thought I’d accidentally skipped ahead on my Kindle and had to double check) and thoroughly disappointed after becoming so invested in the Fan family and what they’d gone experienced and achieved, and I think there was so much more to offer.

Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

[Brice Montgomery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley & World Editions for the ARC!

Kit Fan’s Goodbye Chinatown is a novel that stews simmering drama into comfort food.

On its surface, it’s a cozy story about Amber, a woman who runs a fusion restaurant in the UK while navigating her relationship with her parents and brother (who is actually her son). Throughout the novel and its many time skips, the family moves around the world in response to national and global political tensions. It’s all approached so quietly that the book feels more like a flavor or mood than a story, even when it's explicitly naming the problems that animate the plot.

I was 14 during the 2008 financial crisis, young and insulated enough to have little more than a vague awareness that money was tighter for some people. Fan makes the interesting decision to keep Amber similarly protected, which creates an odd sense of narrative distance—we’re experiencing global crisis the way one might hear their neighbors arguing on the other side of the wall. It doesn’t quite ring false because there are always people who are spared, either through financial mobility or sheer luck, but it may cause readers to wonder why Fan uses these political backdrops when he doesn’t engage with them in any depth until the book’s final third about the 2019 Hong Kong protests.

At the same time, I think this may be an instance where my American is showing. The fraught relationship between Mainland China, Hong Kong, and the colonial shadow of the UK permeates the atmosphere more than a single event, so Fan’s characters don’t think twice about building identities with that tension humming in the background. It’s a part of life, not an interruption to it. Amber and Bobby—her son—recognize that they will always feel caught between different kinds of political instability, and they adapt accordingly.

All of that said, I don’t find these characters and their lack of interiority terribly convincing. They seem to have preferences instead of desires, so the plot never really gains momentum. Amber thinks it would be neat to have a Michelin-starred restaurant, so it just kind of happens. She feels bad about hiding Bobby’s parentage, so she reveals it casually and without build-up. Furthermore, Fan’s decision to repeatedly jump the story forward several years undermines character development; they are dropped cold into scenes every decade or so, and once they respond to their situation, they are plucked from it for a future issue.

Goodbye Chinatown isn’t exactly a memorable novel, but I found myself appreciating how little it asked of me. Depending on the reader, that’s either a damning critique or baffling praise, but there’s something appealing about a story that uses all of the ingredients for drama to resist it. Kit Fan gives his readers no surprises, and in doing so, he leads them to question their appetite for surprise. Maybe we all need a more refined palate.

[Artemisthepinkreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Kit Fan, and World Editions for the electronic ARC. All opinions are my own.

Goodbye Chinatown is exactly why I seek out ARCs. I actively try to diversify my reading, and I’m grateful to have discovered this novel. It serves as a quiet reminder that while we are absorbed in our own lives, others are carrying invisible histories and difficult choices.

The story follows Amber, who immigrates to England from Hong Kong with her family after the June Fourth Incident. Unlike many immigrant narratives that center on financial hardship, Amber’s parents are educated and professionally accomplished. Their migration is not driven by poverty and this distinction gives the novel a different emotional texture.

Amber’s parents give high importance to her education, envisioning a secure and prestigious future. After graduating from Oxford, Amber discovers that she is happiest in the kitchen, and her culinary Luna journey begins. At the same time, her parents contemplate returning to Hong Kong, but the political tensions start to resurface.

On the surface, they appear to be a successful immigrant family. Through carefully placed flashbacks, however, we see the compromises and quiet fractures beneath that success. The novel portrays a functioning yet emotionally strained family without resorting to melodrama — a choice that gives the story restraint and credibility.

The pacing did not always work for me. At times it felt uneven, shifting between slower introspective sections and moments that moved too quickly. The narrative also attempts to weave together numerous themes — identity, generational pressure, political uncertainty, ambition, belonging — and occasionally this breadth makes the story feel slightly overcrowded. These issues led me to give 3.5 stars to this otherwise very successful novel.

That said, I appreciated Kit Fan’s clear and direct prose. I prefer narrative momentum over dense, highly ornamental writing or extended streams of consciousness, and this novel delivers a clean, accessible style without sacrificing emotional depth. The pain carried by its characters is expressed with elegance and control rather than excessive emotional outburst.

At its core, Goodbye Chinatown asks enduring questions: Where is home? Where do we belong? And is belonging ever permanent? One does not need to be an immigrant to feel the weight of those questions.

A thoughtful and restrained exploration of migration, ambition, and identity, Goodbye Chinatown offers a nuanced perspective on what it means to build a life between places.

[Billie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and World Editions for providing me with an e-ARC of this novel.

One of the things I immediately loved about this novel was how beautifully food was woven into the story. The descriptions of Chinese cuisine felt vivid and intimate, revealing how deeply culture, memory, and identity can live within a meal. Even though I haven’t tried many of the dishes mentioned, the writing made them easy to imagine …rich with warmth, comfort, and history.

I also found myself drawn to the friendship between Amber and Celeste, both described as “Tiananmen orphans” whose families emigrated to protect them . Their connection may have formed quickly, but it felt believable because of the shared displacement, loneliness, and history they carried within them. There was something quietly moving about the way they recognized pieces of themselves in each other.

My favorite part was the novel’s multi-sensory reading experience. Food became more than nourishment; it became a bridge to memory, belonging, and cultural identity. Through these details, the story also offered a glimpse into Hong Kong’s changing political climate and the emotional toll it took on families forced to leave parts of themselves behind.

The writing itself felt lyrical, immersive, and quietly melancholic. Beneath the reflective tone was a deep exploration of identity, displacement, memory, and belonging. I especially appreciated how the novel captured the pain of searching for connection while navigating cultural expectations, loneliness, and change.

While I did wish for a little more depth from some of the characters, I still genuinely enjoyed the reading experience. The pacing can be slower at times, but I felt it suited the contemplative nature of the story …especially if you’re in the mood for literary fiction that invites reflection rather than urgency.

Overall, Goodbye Chinatown is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that will likely appeal to readers who enjoy literary fiction centered on migration, identity, memory, and human connection.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodbye Chinatown is a novel about food, family, and belonging, as a chef is torn between priorities in a changing world. Amber Fan moved to England from Hong Kong as a child, studied at Oxford, and is now opening a Chinese fusion restaurant in London's Chinatown. Her parents are returning to Hong Kong with young Bobby, but Amber is determined to make it, and even more so when mysterious Celeste offers money towards Amber's restaurant. As the years go on, their lives change, and they are all caught between cultures and secrets.

This is a beautifully written novel that really paints a picture of Chinatown as it has changed over the years, and then of Hong Kong and its changes too. The narrative comes in stages, jumping in time to show how the world changes, and purposefully never quite giving closure from one section to another. I liked the descriptions of food, particularly in the earlier parts of the novel where it is most prevalent, and the way that you get not just Amber's perspective on her food, but also, later, Bobby's perspective on her obsession with food too.

Due to the structure and style, you often feel like you're peeking at the characters rather than getting more deeply to know them. One side character in particular seems important initially and then basically disappears for the rest of the book, so it's not the sort of novel in which everything comes together, but more like a sequence of different events and choices, reflecting life. The political and familial tensions are carefully woven together, not offering answers, but instead showing the complexity of people.

Goodbye Chinatown is a fascinating look at ideas of belonging and authenticity. I think the food angle will draw people in—novels focused on food seem to be having a bit of a moment—and this one offers food as sumptuous description but also as a cultural marker, a passion, and a metaphor.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodbye Chinatown tells us the story of three generations of the Fan family.

Amber is an up and coming chef who has helped her parents run their Chinese restaurant in London's Chinatown but with the change of government in Hong Kong, her parents have decided to return to their homeland. However they take Amber's son, Bobby, with them leaving Amber behind to run her new venture, Luna, with friend Jasmine.

As the years roll by the situation in Hong Kong becomes increasingly dangerous and with the banking crash of 2007 comes change that will affect Amber profoundly, propelling her back to her parent's orbit. But how will things work between herself and Bobby - who still believes her to be his sister.

The book is divided into three main timelines with dates that coincide with both profound changes in China/Hong Kong and the UK. As the countries undergo change so does the family.

I found the characters really interesting with their different attitudes to family, country, roots and belonging. I liked Amber, even though she is single-minded almost to the point of self-destruction. The book also gives us an accurate look at what changes occurred in the hospitality industry during the beginning of the 2000s.

On the whole this was an engaging look at how things have changed for China and Hong Kong along with their populations over the past 20 years. We stop just before Covid hits, by the way. Kit Fan certainly covers enough ground without dealing with that particular crisis.

There are some difficult themes in the novel - Tianamen Square, Chinese repression, the banking crisis and subsequent recession along with more personal issues such unwanted pregnancy and parenting issues.

I would definitely recommend this novel whether you have an interest in politics or the hospitality industry or not. It is well written with good characters and a strong storyline.

Thankyou to Netgalley and World Editions for the digital review copy.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks World Editions and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy!

I have a thing for own-voice novels and, as a British-born Chinese reader that has lived in the UK and Hong Kong, was incredibly excited to read a novel set in both London and Hong Kong with themes that always resonate with me: food and family.

Goodbye Chinatown sadly fell flat for me. It felt disjointed and lacked focus, and there wasn't nearly enough character development across the fairly small cast of characters. We open with a heavy focus on food and learning that Amber Fan is a budding chef following in the footsteps of her restauranteur parents in London's Chinatown – somewhere I have spent plenty of time. In the opening pages, Fan brings his world to life with zingy, beautiful descriptions of Chinatown's atmosphere and Amber's menus.

I fear that Fan was trying to do too much here. It felt as though conversations about culture, immigration, filial piety, food and familial relations, plus politics, were crammed into a plotline where not much actually happens. We learn a little about Amber's world, thus Bobby's world, and then we're thrust into another little something about her parents, then about the political tensions between Hong Kong and China, and so on. I was taken out of the story simply trying to work out what exactly Fan was trying to accomplish. The writing is lovely line by line, but the story ultimately fell flat because it was low stakes and there were a lot of 'things' going on that either didn't make sense or never went anywhere.

I also felt that this would be rather more difficult to digest for readers unaware of the political tensions and disaporic complexities across the UK, Hong Kong and China. It suddenly makes up a large part of the story, especially in the middling chapters, and felt so random when we'd just started getting somewhere with Amber in London. Also, I wanted more of Amber and Jasmin!!

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 3 out of 5]

The foundation of the Fan family is rooted in food and education, having left Hong Kong after Tiananmen they forged a new life for themselves with their young daughter Amber in London's Chinatown. Educated at Oxford and allied with generous and wealthy friend Jasmine, Amber launches a successful fusion restaurant named Luna. The mood of the grand opening is dampened however by the imminent departure of Amber's parents with her beloved little brother Bobby for repatriation to Hong Kong. Throughout this story, themes of borders and belonging bang and blare. Author Kit Fan does an amazing job illustrating the relationship between Amber's parents and their triangulation with Bobby, how confusing tweaks can render straightforward notions of motherland and motherhood into enigmatic trauma, and of course the power of food.

I did wonder what was it about Amber that attracted such stalwart, powerful, ever more wealthy friend-saviors to her. First Jasmine, and then Celeste the daughter of the Chinese billionaire. It didn't seem that Amber took time away from her restaurants to do much of anything in return. I marveled also at her utter nonparticipation in dating essentially her entire life, along with the fact that nobody around her ever brought that up. The pros far outweigh any cons here, I love the parallels between American and Chinese politics ie. MNE-Moral and National Education, and the realistic way this book ends with such love and uncertainty, along with a wink and a nod to COVID-19.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodbye Chinatown opens in London, 2001, in the aftermath of 9/11 and the bird flu pandemic, and our protagonist, Amber Fan, has just opened her own Asian fusion fine dining restaurant in a slowly vanishing Chinatown. Spanning two decades, this novel examines the changing political and social landscapes of London, Shanghai and Hong Kong from the perspectives of Amber and her family members.
Kit Fan dives deep into the complex topics of motherhood, immigration, and unconventional family dynamics. And amidst the redevelopments of Chinatowns and the violent and heartbreaking Hong Kong protests, Fan does an excellent job navigating the political tensions between Mainlanders, Hong Kongers, and the people caught in between.
At the forefront of this novel is the language of food, from simple homemade Cantonese dishes to the bougie world of Michelin-rated restaurants. In this book, food is not only a means of sustenance, but it’s a means to success and creative expression. It’s a political tool, but also a language of love. Ultimately, Goodbye Chinatown is an articulate exploration of homegoing and homecoming, balanced by a sharp wit and dialogue, keen cultural observations, and a love for Hong Kong.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

[Anna W]

I read just over half of this book and decided against continuing.

Amber is a Hong Kong native Chinese-British chef who has opened up a new fusion restaurant in a Chinatown where more traditional restaurants are dwindling. Her family moves back to Hong Kong after the sale of the traditional Chinese restaurant she grew up in and Amber is left to grapple with her restaurant's success and being away from her family. She meets Celeste, a mainland Chinese woman who partners with her towards the success of her restaurant.

I quite enjoyed the descriptions of food in this book. I also found a lot of the references to the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, bird flu, and other historical events especially interesting as I am Chinese- American.

However, I decided to stop reading because the writing and style did not work for me. I felt some ideas were spoon fed to me, and yet other times I would get lost in the scene and could not decipher quickly where a character stood in a setting, or who was speaking. I found the rhythm stilted so could not be immersed in the story. But I do think the plot and story is one worth telling.

Thank you to NetGalley, World Publishers, and Kit Fan for the advanced ebook copy.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodbye Chinatown by Kit Fan is a lovely novel about food, family, and friendship. Amber and her parents immigrated from Hong Kong to London after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. Now in the early 2000s, her parents have sold their restaurant in Chinatown and returned to Hong Kong, leaving Amber to chase her dream of running a successful fusion restaurant on her own. She befriends Celeste, the daughter of a wealthy developer who is largely responsible for the stripping of cultural authenticity from the businesses in Chinatown. Celeste champions Amber's cause and encourages her to aim for a Michelin star. The story begins just after the events of 9/11 shocked the world and progresses through the years to the early 2020s, following Amber and her family and friends as they adapt to the changes brought by time.

The descriptions of the dishes Amber creates are sumptuous and will appeal to readers who enjoy food-related stories. The book is a great character study of Amber and the people who revolve around her. I really enjoyed the time I spent with this book and I highly recommend it to fans of international literary fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Bao Bao · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not just about Chinese food and relationships, it's also about Hong Kong and China's politics.

The story spans from 2001 up to 2020. From the era of the Credit Crunch to the Hong Kong riots.

Amber starts up her new restaurant Luna after her parents close their own restaurant Golden Dragon in London Chinatown and move back to Hong Kong.
Amber even has a secret son raised by her parents, and never even finds out who the father of her son is.

The Mainland Chinese have mostly taken over London Chinatown and it looks like Amber needs to make a choice of expanding herself elsewhere after many years of developing Luna.

Amber's family make bold decisions here and there on jobs, locations and riots so you will get to listen to their viewpoints as well as some thoughts from Celeste (a Mainland Chineee business woman) who shapes Amber's ambitions.

A good read but a bit too political for me.
Readers who have enjoyed Tongueless by Lau Yee-Wah or Taiwan Travelogue might like this book.
Sour Sweet by Timothy Mo is also a recommendation which describes how and what Chinatown was before and after in the 1960s.

Thanks to Netgalley and World Editions for a copy of this ARC!

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The description gives the impression the book’s focus is mainly on Amber’s culinary career. Although I enjoyed this element and was interested in how her menu gradually expanded beyond the ‘traditional’ Chinese dishes served in the family’s restaurant, this wasn’t the most interesting part of the book for me.

It was when the focus moved to political events in Hong Kong, the impact of its return to Chinese rule and the pro-democracy demonstrations, that the book really came alive for me. There’s a particularly brilliant chapter which provides an insight into the harshness of government attempts to repress the protests, told from the point of view of Bobby, Amber’s son, who has become involved in making video films of the demonstrations.

My favourite character was Amber’s mother, Mrs Fan. The events in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 are seered in her memory and as a teacher she experiences first-hand the changes imposed as a result of the handover of Hong Kong to China.

Celeste couldn’t be more different from Mrs Fan, especially in her political views. Although Celeste’s investment in Amber’s restaurant comes at a crucial time, she comes across as a ‘collector’ of people, in the way someone might collect art or antiques, taking pleasure in their possession rather than having a genuine interest. She obviously revels in her behind the scenes influence and ability to fix things with a word in the right ear.

There were scenes in the book I found absolutely fascinating. For example, a Taoist funeral where professional mourners cry throughout the funeral, expressing the sorrow that family members are not permitted to show, and paper effigies of luxurious objects are displayed – a Rolls Royce, Rolex watches, a jacuzzi – for the deceased to enjoy in the underworld.

Goodbye Chinatown weaves together a lot of different elements: the progress of Amber’s culinary career, her difficult relationship with her son Bobby, the impact of ‘bird flu’ and the 2008 financial crisis on the Chinese hospitality industry, as well as political events in Hong Kong. In many ways I think its exploration of cultural identity reflects the author’s own experience of being born in Hong Kong but living in England. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that the family’s name is Fan. However, at the end of the book I was left with the feeling I would have liked more generous helpings of some elements and less of others.

[Wioletta Maj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodbye Chinatown by Kit Fan is another book I picked up for the food—but it turns out to be about so much more than that.

Yes, the food writing is beautiful and vivid, especially the Chinatown setting and Amber’s journey as a chef. But what really sits underneath the story is this quiet exploration of identity, belonging, and what “home” actually means when your life is split between countries.

The novel moves across years and places, touching on family dynamics and the political backdrop of Hong Kong. I found those elements interesting, though at times I wished there was a bit more emotional depth, especially in the heavier moments.

It’s not the most gripping read, but it’s thoughtful and atmospheric, and it lingers in a quiet way after you finish—especially if you enjoy stories about heritage, food, and finding your place in the world.

3.5 rounded to 4 for the atmosphere over the plot

[Ellie Moon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and World Editions for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was looking forward to reading this book, hoping it would be a love letter to Chinatown and Hong Kong, but “Goodbye Chinatown” left me disappointed. The booked lacked the interiority and emotional resonance that is needed in these sorts of character-driven books. I found the writing and narrative to be utterly boring. No stakes, no lead up to a climax, and no major source of internal or interpersonal conflict. No evocative descriptions of Chinatown or Hong Kong to give the reader an idea of the setting. The choices made by the main character made absolutely no sense to me. The relationships between the characters were not at all compelling. Even the descriptions of food were disappointing—I am somehow personally offended by the idea of a “deconstructed mooncake.”

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get what Kit Fan wanted to do with this novel - a family saga centered around a mother (a London chef who finds success in Chinatown, London, under the patronage of wealthy Celeste Gao) who left her son to be raised by her parents in Hong Kong, and who is torn between her family and her identity in Hong Kong and her roots in London. I loved the descriptions of the food and her restaurant business, but the family life and the political situation in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tiananmen Square were interesting in theory but I found these parts poorly executed, a bit slow, dragging on a bit. The novel read a bit like a pathchwork of sorts and it didn't quite work for me.

Free ARC sent by Netgalley.

[Mary C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodbye Chinatown follows the Fan family as they leave China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest in China. They settle in London, where the parents end up running a Chinese restaurant in order to give their daughter a better life. While the daughter becomes a successful restauranteur, her parents return to Hong Kong with their young son who is actually the daughter's child due to the changing political climate. The daughter eventually leaves London to settle in Shanghai, starting over. As the daughter and her son navigate their relationship, the return of Hong Kong to China will have them returning to England for safety.
#GoodbyeChinatown #WorldEditions #NetGalley

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a look into a Hong Kong / British family ranging from 2001 - 2019.
Amber is the protagonist of most of the book, and an avid food lover and chef. Historical fiction is gently woven into a story about belonging and identity.
The pacing was languid, but still very pleasant. I did enjoy reading this book, but I felt like depth was missing at times. For small portions another narrator takes over and while their story is very interesting and relevant, their tone/cadence/speech does not differentiate enough trom Amber unfortunately.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book centers around Amber and her family and their lives during pivotal points in time in the UK, Hong Kong and mainland China. I think having at least some prior knowledge of the history of Cantonese people settling in the UK and Hong Kong's more recent history post-handover is beneficial to this story as potentially some of the story could get a little lost but I equally also think that the story tells the experience of Cantonese people in UK really well.

I really enjoyed this, propably the first half more than the second and the ending felt a little abrupt, so this is probably more a 3.5 than a 3. Overall I think the storyline about Bobby's birth felt a little unnecessary, not sure it added too much to the story, and I much more enjoyed reading about the lives of Amber and her parents and their friends - Celeste was also an interesting character from a mainland China perspective. Overall good story and well written.

ARC/Netgalley.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about immigrant family from China after the Tiananmen protest to England then to Hong Kong.
Political subjects, food, relationship and differents cultures are discussed.

I have to admit that I was here for the description of food and to see how the family struggles between the cultures in differents countries, as a third generation with mixed cultural background.


Thanks NetGalley for this copy !

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A read that fills the senses in the best possible way. Not only does it make the mouth water from the delicious sounding food descriptions, but it engages the brain with how money affects ethnic enclaves and the constant seeking of belonging. Traversing through London's Chinatown, to the student uprising in Hong Kong, this read was just so satisfying.

I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.

[Sarah Rossi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I so wanted to love this book. Life between London and a changing Hong Kong and China is something I would be so interested to learn more about, especially with food as a backdrop. For me sadly this did just miss the mark. I found the dialogue very laboured and unrealistic. Most of the characters were fairly one dimensional. I won't give spoilers but there were a couple of storylines that were major life moments which really were not delved into at all.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anybody who knows me, knows I'm a sucker for food fiction. Goodbye Chinatown is right in my wheelhouse.

Telling the story of a family across two countries, figuring out family dynamics, expectations and dreams given up - Kit Fan has created a really powerful story with many twists and turns. Food clearly is the main red thread between each of the family members, for different reasons, but the unexpected addition of politics took me by surprise. At times it felt hard to follow, mostly due to my lack of knowledge in regard to the history of Hong Kong (something I am now diving head first into) - but overall I felt the balance was good between Food, Family and the impact of Politics and Free Speech.

It took me a little while to get used to Kit's writing style, but once settled, I enjoyed the read and the unexpected twists and turns of Amber's life.

[An eARC from NetGalley & World Editions - Thank you!]

[Joanne Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to give this book a 4, but I wasn't ready to let go or the family story to stop - and then it stopped. I flipped back and forth, looking for the rest. I loved this book. And I was prepared to give it a 4... but I dropped to a 3 because of the end.

I'll be back to write my thoughts because, truly, over all, the story is lovely.

continuation:::

I loved this story. And after thinking and sleeping on this I decided to raise it back to a 4.

A young woman whose family was from war-torn China lives in Homg Kong. Her showing of love is with the knife in her hand and the food she prepates with her love of Chinese cuisine.

The family dynamic, societal dynamic, and historical context were fantastic. I wasn't ready to let the characters go- but I am glad I got to have the time with them I did.

It's such a beautiful book.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book. The descriptions of food were vivid and detailed. The scenes between Amber and her family, particularly Amber and her dad, were written with such a fine balance of love, awkwardness and familial distance.

There were some important scenes that felt missing. There was some interesting POV switching that was confusing and felt unnecessary.

3*

Thanks to World Editions for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.