Mango and Peppercorns

March 1, 2021

This multinarrator memoir shines with the power of resilience, friendship, family, and food to bring together two women from vastly different backgrounds and inspire them to build Hy Vong, an award-winning Vietnamese restaurant in Miami. Vietnamese refugee Tung Nguyen and her American host, Kathy Manning, are polar opposites, with Tung being as staunch and practical as Kathy is free-spirited. Their dynamic is captured in this memoir, also cowritten by Lyn Nguyen (Tung's daughter) and food writer Elisa Ung, as each chapter is told from Tung's and Kathy's alternating perspectives documenting decades of partnership. It is easy to see how their differences helped contribute to the great success of their restaurant, with Tung cooking delicious and traditional Vietnamese soups and comfort foods and Kathy navigating the ins and outs of the business. Woven throughout the book are mouth-watering recipes of either Vietnamese or Swedish origin that tie into the chapters and add another level to this dual memoir. VERDICT A unique contribution to culinary literature that would be a great addition to a collections of food memoirs, but may not stand out to readers looking for recipes alone.--Siobhan Egan, Barrington Public Library, Barrington, RI

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