Takeaway cover art

Takeaway

Stories from a Childhood Behind the Counter

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Takeaway

By: Angela Hui
Narrated by: Angela Hui
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2023

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FORTNUM & MASON DEBUT FOOD BOOK AWARD 2023

_______________

'A beautiful book: compellingly written, tender and thoughtful' Ruby Tandoh
'A warm, incandescent memoir about identity, food, family, relationships' Annie Lord

Growing up in a Chinese takeaway in rural Wales, Angela Hui was made aware at a very young age of just how different she and her family were seen by her local community. From attacks on the shopfront (in other words, their home), to verbal abuse from customers, and confrontations that ended with her dad wielding the meat cleaver; life growing up in a takeaway was far from peaceful.

But alongside the strife, there was also beauty and joy in the rhythm of life in the takeaway and in being surrounded by the food of her home culture. Family dinners before service, research trips to Hong Kong, preparing for the weekend rush with her brothers - the takeaway is a hive of activity before a customer even places their order of 'egg-fried rice and chop suey'.

Bringing listeners along on the journey from Angela's earliest memories in the takeaway to her family closing the shop after 30 years in business, this is a brilliantly warm and immersive memoir from someone on the other side of the counter.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Angela Hui (P)2022 Hachette Audio UK
Biographies & Memoirs Business & Careers Inspiring Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Business
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Love from the Pink Palace cover art
Afropean cover art
999 cover art
The Life of a Banana cover art
Record Play Pause cover art
Orwell: The Essays cover art
Thirty Thousand Bottles of Wine and a Pig Called Helga cover art
So You Want to Live the Slow Life? A Guide to Life in the Beastly Wilds, Vol. 1 cover art
Christmas Wishes at Pudding Hall cover art
Write It All Down cover art
The 12 Days of Christmas cover art
The Farmer's Wife cover art
Dish cover art
Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools cover art
Egg and Soldiers cover art
The Villa Girls cover art

Critic reviews

"A beautiful book: compellingly written, tender and thoughtful. It shines a light onto a part of our food culture that's beloved and yet often undervalued... I loved it." (Ruby Tandoh, bestselling author of Eat Up! and Cook as You Are)

"I read Takeaway in one sitting. Angela's writing is so relatable. Chinese takeaways can't taste the same again when you know how much love, sacrifice and soul families have put into each dish." (Elaine Chong, journalist and presenter)

"This is the type of book that I would buy for friends on repeat, safe in the knowledge that they too would love it." (Ravneet Gill, author of The Pastry Chef's Guide)

What listeners say about Takeaway

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    93
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    81
  • 4 Stars
    32
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    86
  • 4 Stars
    27
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not What I Hoped

I tried to persevere but couldn't finish it. as another reviewer stated it needed an edit and a professional narrator. There is an important story desperately trying to get out

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Real life experience, brilliantly written.

A world I knew nothing about. The depth of knowledge and detailed account of running a Chinese takeaway business and the effects and shaping of the Family dynamic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining and Thought provoking

This was a great listen. Full of great stories and insights into the authors life growing up.
The recipes were a great touch too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brought back memories

As a UK takeaway kid myself, this book bought back beautiful memories of my childhood. Thank you Angela for writing this, I’m able to share it with my kids so they can understand some of my background and upbringing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

an audio page turner

so many people will relate to this. just the struggles we all face and her identity issues.
Good listen. recommended. five stars

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Lovely story, needed editing and better narration

This is the autobiography of a Chinese girl growing up in a takeaway restaurant in the Welsh valleys. The story is unflinchingly honest in depicting family life warts and all, the shackles imposed by the daily grind of opening the takeaway, and the repeated racism she encounters. Anyone knowing South Wales well can identify with the story, and for me anyway as a non Chinese, feel a sense of shame.

The book is not always well written, the author resorts far too often to wooden tropes to explain what's happening rather than let the story speak for itself. It's clearly the work of a novice author, and a sharp edit could have helped it so much. Ms Hui also chose to narrate the book herself and again, the narration is rather wooden and unassured.

Overall the book is really charming and also important and I would certainly recommend it, despite its flaws.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A cultural important book

I adored this book. Angela’s reading of her own stories and experiences were awfully touching, affirming and deeply resonating with me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful

A beautiful heartfelt story and important piece of Welsh modern literature — a must must listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful!

I'm not normally one to be effusive ...but get this book! So much emotion poured into the writing and, in turn, the narration. Even I was getting emotional, especially towards the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely fantastic. Brilliantly written and read

I'm still walking the life that Angel has lived. This book speaks to my heart and I can understand every aspect of her life she has written so beautifully about. It gives me great comfort to take in the journal of her life, the love, and the pain of having a Chinese upbringing in the takeaway industry. I felt every word of her life, as it is a reflection of mine. I have both the hard back and audio book. The audio book adds greater depth as the accents and feel of Angelas voice helps to paint a crystal clear picture.
Very well done to you, and thank you for your insight.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful