I’ve been traveling through the Northwest, sharing the story of The Hakka Cookbook. I’ve met many new people including a Hakka pharmacist  in Vancouver BC, originally from South Africa to a young woman in Seattle originally from Taiwan.

I’ve learned some tricks to a successful book signings. Invite all your friends and ask them to bring their friends to ensure you have a decent-sized audience. List your event in as many newspaper and blog calendars as possible. Here’s a short summary of The Hakka Cookbook events.

Portland, Oregon

Speaking in the Scholar’s Study at Lan Su Garden. Photo by Emily Park.

I was honored to present The Hakka Cookbook to a group in the elegant, classically designed Scholar’s Study at Portland’s Lan Su Chinese Garden. A opulent display of pink mums decorated the room. The garden, considered the most authentic Chinese garden outside of China, was assembled by craftsman from China. It’s a beautiful gem located in Portland’s Chinatown. In the audience, I met some old friends.

Seattle, Washington

Alan Lau, my brother and artist for the book, joined me in all my Seattle events. In a bright room, lined with cookbooks, a crowd of about twenty-five gathered at the Book Larder.  Alan, also a poet, began with a dramatic reading of poems. Rachel Coyle, event coordinator, served chunks of Soy-Braised Chicken and Mushrooms (p. 204).

Alan Lau reads poems from Blues and Greens, a Produce Worker’s Journal. Photo by Barry Wong

Francine Seders Gallery, which represents my brother’s art, hosted a book signing and show of Alan’s paintings from our trip to China. Francine cooked Soy-glazed Chicken Morsels (p.199), Pickled Mustard Greens and Cucumbers (p.147) and Pickled Carrots and Radishes (page 60) for guests to sample.

Elliott Bay Book Company, in the Capitol Hill area, is a large spacious store with a varied selection of books. Definitely, it’s a book lovers retreat.  Here we were pleasantly surprised by seeing a staff recommendation posted for The Hakka Cookbook.  We sold twenty books that night.

Signing books at Elliott Bay Book Company. Photo by Therdphong Anusasananan

Wing Luke Museum in the International district showcases the history of Asians in the area.

I recommend the guided tour. A young informative guide took us to an original store stocked with foods and ingredients that reminded me of my youth. I saw pouches of bitter black tea, that Popo brewed with water, ginger, and green onions when we came down with a cold. Shelves were lined with big glass jars filled with dried or preserved snacks such dried salted plums and candied ginger. We also toured the meeting room of a Chinese association. Later, we gave our book presentation with slides in the small theater. In spite of the rain, friends came to our presentation and bought more books.

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks hosted me in her warm cozy store. All seats were filled around the kitchen counter as we discussed the book and snacked on Soy-Glazed Chicken Morsels (p. 199) cooked by Mark.