About the Book
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.
Format: Paperback (268 pages) Publisher: World Editions
Publication date: 2nd June 2026 Genre: Contemporary Fiction
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My Review
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.
I received an advance review copy courtesy of World Editions via NetGalley.
In three words: Thoughtful, multi-faceted, heartfelt
About the Author
Kit Fan is a novelist, poet and critic. Born and educated in Hong Kong and now living in the UK, he has written for the Guardian, Times Literary Supplement and Telegraph. Goodbye Chinatown is his second novel. His first novel, Diamond Hill, was published by World Editions in 2021. (Photo: Goodreads)
Connect with Kit
Website | Instagram
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