My father grew up in Guangzhou in China and my mother in Hong Kong, but they’d lived in the UK for a few years before moving to Ireland in the early 1980s, so there was no huge culture shock when they arrived in Dublin. My uncle was already living here with his Irish wife, running a Chinese takeaway in Rathfarnham. He would travel to London in a van every week to buy ingredients, and that’s how the idea for the Asia Market came about.
My dad and my uncle saw a growing demand in Ireland for Asian produce, so my parents set up a small retail store on Drury Street a few doors down from where the Asia Market is today.
I was one month old when we left the UK and settled in Terenure. The store was open seven days a week so I spent most of my childhood there when I wasn’t in school.
I was the only Chinese child in St Pius X Girls’ National School, but I never thought I was different. I was immersed in Irish culture: I went to Irish dancing classes, I learned Irish along with everybody else and I went to the Gaeltacht every summer. Of course, my lunch box looked a little different to my classmates’ – they were fascinated by my fried egg and spam sandwiches and malted soy juice drinks – and when I arrived home from school I spoke Cantonese and Chinese.
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My grandfather owned a videotape shop on the floor above my parents’ store, like Xtra-vision except he rented out Chinese dramas to the local Asian community. I’m fluent in Cantonese because I spent a lot of time watching them with him. I’ve always been quite good at languages.
When I went to Alexandra College as a teenager, they looked on me as a foreign student so they asked whether or not I wanted to take Irish as a subject and I said I did. I always really enjoyed speaking Irish; I remember the first summer I went to Coláiste Sheosaimh in Galway, the Bean an Tí looked slightly shocked to see a Chinese girl speaking Irish.
I studied Chinese at a Chinese school on Harcourt Street set up by the Chinese Society of Ireland. The organisation rented a house there where community members could hang out, play mah-jong – a Chinese table game – and network. That’s where I met other Chinese kids. I’m an only child and throughout my life friends have always been a huge source of energy for me. When friends from abroad visit, they always comment on how friendly Irish people are. That really doesn’t happen everywhere.
Chinese people are also very friendly. Both cultures have that in common. When my parents moved here, they were warmly welcomed, but I think it helped that they spoke English. If they hadn’t, it would have been a huge barrier in those early days. An uncle and aunt of mine moved over to Ireland six years after we did and neither of them spoke English. I remember going everywhere with them to translate.
I worked in private banking in Hong Kong for almost nine years before I returned home to get involved in the family business. It also feels like home now, but when I first travelled there as a teenager, it was a big culture shock. There were so many Chinese people! Although I knew I looked Chinese, I felt more western. Mum’s family still lives there – and my grandmother is 93. There’s a lot of community facilities for elderly Asians so she goes to a day centre where she meets friends and she can sign up for courses to learn new things. I have friends here whose parents don’t have such a strong network. They’re at home a lot rather than out meeting their peers.
I’ve travelled a lot: mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, The Philippines, Paris, Spain, Italy. Flying can be tricky with two young children, so in recent years my husband and I have spent more time travelling around Ireland. It’s wonderful that you can drive just a couple of hours and be on the other side of the country. I really love Sligo – Yeats country. It’s so beautiful and feels less touristy than a lot of the West, and Cork has a thriving Chinese community.
Growing up, my mum and dad worked tirelessly to build the business. It’s easy to get carried away with work and forget to mark traditions and holidays, so it’s something I’ve become really invested in, especially since I had my children. I want them to learn about local and Chinese traditions.
The culinary aspect of occasions really excites me. Chinese culture is very food-orientated. We enjoy gathering around food, especially dim sum. I suppose the Irish equivalent is families having a Sunday roast together. It’s something I love to cook and I think the quality of produce in Ireland is fantastic. We recently celebrated the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival. I baked mooncakes and brought them to my aunt and uncle’s house, where we had a feast.
My cousins opened Belfast’s Asia Market a few years after we set up in Dublin and it’s also flourished. In the 1980s, people knew very little about Asian cuisine, but slowly takeaways sprang up in every county and people were willing to try new flavours. These days, Irish customers come into the Asia Market with recipes and long lists of obscure ingredients. I’m so encouraged by that.
This interview, part of a series, was edited for clarity and length. In conversation with Marie Kelly.