Coast to Coast with A-Gong’s Table

Earlier this summer I hosted my Taiwanese American Cookbook Club featuring A-Gong’s Table, an entirely vegan Taiwanese cookbook by George Lee with photography by Laurent Hsia. We all really enjoyed the cookbook and the chance to explore Taiwanese food through a vegan lens. I was then lucky enough to be in both New York and California when George and Laurent came through each on their mini book tour across America.

First, I saw George and Laurent in Brooklyn at Formosa Dumplings for their book event moderated by food and culture writer Jess Eng.

It was a totally packed house!

The restaurant also featured a gallery of Laurent’s “Formosan” photography series, featuring images from A-Gong’s Table.

George also brought jars of jiuniang, a special rice alcohol, that he made in Taiwan and shared a cocktail recipe he learned from an auntie in Taitung: basically Taiwan Beer, jiuniang, and lemon.

And of course there were book signings!

So great to meet George and Laurent in person!

Then, less than two weeks later, I managed to follow Laurent and George to the opposite coast when they came to the Bay Area for a book event at Good To Eat, a beloved Taiwanese restaurant in Emeryville. Good to Eat had a special sesame soft serve and drinks available for the event, while George served up delicious food this time!

Eager fans waiting for our wa-gui! It’s a rice cake made from freshly ground rice, with flavorful toppings like braised tofu and alliums piled on top.

There was an excellent panel discussion with George and Laurent alongside Angie and Tony of Good to Eat. And of course I saw a lot of friends at this event!

This whole group photo was of our cookbook club participants! So happy to see everyone here, meeting the folks behind these wonderful books!

Thanks to all the hosts in both Brooklyn, NY and Emeryville, CA for such wonderful, inspiring events. And of course, a hearty thanks to George and Laurent for your personal and creative expression of yourselves and your persistence in fighting for your vision throughout this project. The book is a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to Taiwanese food. It’s an absolute treasure in my cookbook collection, and one I look forward to returning to again and again.

Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. She compulsively documents and blogs all of her daily adventures. Follow her photography @annawuphoto and view more of her work at annawu.com. Contact her to book your own session today.