Rooted Recipes Project x Forging Our Futures
Storyteller Bios
Bijun Liang
website: https://art.bijunliang.com
Instagram: @bikgoon
Bijun Liang is an interactive media and installation artist from Chinatown San Francisco. Bijun reimagines the everyday to recognize the hidden "!" moments that are often ignored or forgotten.
Chelsea Hung
Instagram: @SFWashingtonbakery
Chelsea Hung is a San Francisco native and Former Miss Chinatown San Francisco. She is a goodwill ambassador for the Chinese community especially through performing arts such as lion dancing and Chinese Opera. Chelsea graduated from UC San Diego with a B.S in Management Science and Minoring in Accounting. Upon graduation, Chelsea started her journey in finance in the thriving tech field. Her jobs took her across the coast to New York before she decided to give up her comfortable tech lifestyle to begin her ever-changing journey as an entrepreneur. Three years ago she took over her parents' restaurant of 23 years, Washington Bakery & Restaurant, in the heart of SF Chinatown. She strives to give back to her community and wants to encourage the next generation to also support and preserve our historic Chinatown.
Dorothy Quock
Ms. Dorothy Quock was born in 1934, to immigrant parents in SF Chinatown. She was one of eight children growing up during the Great Depression. Her family was poor and their meals were simple and sometimes meager. On her steamed egg recipe shared below, “I remembered one dish I particularly still liked, even though I am not into cooking. In fact my attitude is, I eat to live, not live to eat." Today Ms. Dorothy still lives in Chinatown where she leads tours through Wok Wiz, regaling visitors with her fascinating stories. She was a researcher/field producer for local filmmaker James Q. Chan’s documentary Forever, Chinatown and is often featured on the Instagram account “Chinatown Pretty” for her unique and inventive style.
Ms. Dorothy’s steamed egg recipe:
Whip up well 4 eggs, add sprinkle of salt
2 c. water (preferably cool that was boiled) & whip well after adding 1/2 c. at a time
Baste shallow bowl with sesame oil before hand
Steam for 10-15 min.
Swirl drops of soy sauce
Add Tbsp. cut-up green onions & serve with rice.
Junmei
Instagram: @flopadvice
Junmei is an emerging writer and washed-up Neopets omelette chef living in Boston on Wôpanâak land. He descended from the Cygnus constellation in a shower of jacaranda petals 6000 years ago. His work is forthcoming in Queer Asian Project and The Untold Narratives.
Leland Wong
Born and raised in the heart of SF Chinatown, Leland is an artist, photographer, and dumpling master. His artistic focus is on his community —the streets, cafes, and people that have shaped his life and artwork. He created and manages the Facebook group, “We Grew up in San Francisco Chinatown.”
Lisa Lin
website: healthy nibbles
Instagram: @hellolisalin
Raised in San Francisco, Lisa Lin is the voice behind the website Healthy Nibbles. She often shares cooking videos on Instagram (@hellolisalin) featuring her sassy mother, Mama Lin. Through her website and cooking videos, Lisa hopes to honor the food and traditions that surrounded her Chinese American upbringing.
Tamiko Wong
Tamiko Wong was born and raised in San Francisco with roots in Japantown, Chinatown, and the Richmond district. Her work has been included in the Standing Strong! Fillmore and Japantown anthology, on Pacific Time, and in AsianWeek. She writes poetry, memoir, and song. Tamiko has also produced podcasts and zines.
Tracy Zhu
Tracy Zhu was born and raised in San Francisco to a Chinese immigrant family from the Toisan area of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province of Southeast China. Her time growing up in the city was both a privilege - to be immersed in a Chinese community that practiced their culture and foodways - and a claustrophobic experience – challenged by the limitations of poverty and the hustle culture. This duality inspires her lifelong journey to better understand how our neighborhoods and communities came to be and where they could go. For over fifteen years, she has had roles as an environmental justice educator, grantmaker, racial justice strategist and public servant. Most recently, she serves on the board of Chinese for Affirmative Action, a nation-wide leader advocating for real solutions to addressing discrimination against AAPIs in solidarity with and not at the expense of other communities of color.
Vivian Qin
Vivian currently works in healthcare and is interested in topics regarding identity and narrative medicine.