Food has been one of the biggest motivators for most of the things in life. There are always tales of hard work, struggle, sense of belongingness, and some real-life superheroes or heroines. Here are three contemporary Chinese women in different parts of the world, who have not only carried on the legacy of serving authentic Chinese food but also supported their families and inspired many.

Heritage and traditions

For the last 90 years, members of the Huang family, visit the mezzanine floor address of G.C. Avenue Kolkata, to bring smiles to innumerable Chinese food fans of Kolkata. Eau Chew, the legendary eatery has earned the tag of heritage eatery. It will soon, complete a century serving authentic Chinese food. It is the oldest standing family-owned Chinese restaurant in India. “This is the food, which gets cooked at our home and we love feeding people” confirms Joel, son of Josephine Huang, in whose name, there is the most popular dish called Josephine's noodles. Josephine's father-in-law, Law Achumpa Huang, started this place to feed Chinese immigrants. Josephine and her husband took over the reins of Eau Chew after Mr. Achumpa Huang passed away and the other brothers migrated from Kolkata. After Mr. Huang passed away, unfortunately in one of the outdoor caterings, it was all left to Josephine to carry on the legacy of Eau Chew.

The signature dish of Eau Chew Josephine's noodles is a plate full of pan-fried noodles loaded with vegetables, fish, prawns, and chicken. The other key attraction is the chimney soup, which is still served in brass chimney pot and erstwhile, they used to have coal-burning under the container to keep the soup warm. The Huang family has never hired anyone to cook and most of the time; Josephine is seen near the wok, if not catching up on her favourite pass time of reading books.

Chinese culture and cuisine

One of the memorable parts of my Mauritius visit was the trip to China Town. Situated near Port- Louis, the traditional Chinese lanterns and colourfully painted houses makes this place a tourist attraction. Like many other Chinatowns across the world, restaurants serving Chinese cuisine remain a top attraction. Fortune Eight, run by Ng family, is there for more than a decade and which serves popular dishes like shark fin soup, steamed fish and chicken, garlic fried prawns with pepper, to name a few. Eight in Chinese is considered as an auspicious number and that's the significance of the naming.

When you enter the Fortune Eight restaurant, there is a high chance that you will meet Mrs. Siow Min, overseeing the activities under her watchful eyes behind the counter. Her father-in -law as well as her husband is a cook and all the food served here is a part of their family recipe. As a family-owned restaurant, it was obvious that Mrs. Siow Min will join the business and take over the charge. She oversees the entire cooking process, trains the Chinese chefs, and cooks when needed. A Mauritian with Chinese origin, she got married to her husband when he came from China to settle here.

Cross-border inheritance

The struggle for survival, carrying on the legacy, and offering authentic food is not all the time restricted to restaurants. For Rita Wong, that happened with pride from a roadside stall. Andrew Wong from London reminisces about his parents starting the small food stall at Tiretti Bazar. Tiretti Bazar is the place, where the first China Town was formed by the Chinese settlers in Kolkata. Rita Wong was born in India in a settler family and later, went on to become a beautician. She got married to Ah Wei, who was a chef in the Chinese kitchen of the Great Eastern Hotel. In 1990, to make ends meet for a family of 3 children, Rita started the weekend breakfast stall at Tiretti Bazar. The entire family, including Andrew who was young, joined hands in making the breakfast to be sold on Sunday Mornings.

In no time, amid the fierce competition of other food vendors, the dishes of pork fried momo, rice cakes (mei Ko pan) with jaggery sauce infused with fried garlic, the buns Tai poa, char Sui pao, thiosa pao (sweet), all became famous. A media reticent unsung craftsperson, she along with many, has been instrumental in making Tiretti Bazar a tourist attraction and a true representation of Chinese food and culture.

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