Fragrant Heart : A Tale of Love, Life and Food in Asia by Miranda Emmerson (Summersdale)

Miranda Emmerson is a British writer. In 2008, she and her partner decided to have one last fling before settling down and having kids. They decided to spend one year living and working abroad in China. 

Although she and her partner Chris chose to live in China for a year, they also traveled down to Vietnam and the Mekong Delta, then went west Cambodia, enjoying the cuisines of Phnom Phen and Tonle Sap Lake. They would continue their travels to central Thailand and to the island of Penang and the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. 

Emmerson’s love for Chinese food started when she was still a youngster living in Isleworth, a small suburb of London, England. She describes Fragrant Heart as “a book about travel but it’s also about food. The experience of food, the discovery of it, the sensuality of eating strange things in strange lands and falling in love with the taste of other people’s countries”. 

Emmerson’s love of Chinese food started when she was still a youngster. Her family would celebrate family occasions at a Chinese restaurant called Mann’s Beijing. When the family had a bit of extra money, birthdays would be celebrated at the Four Regions Restaurant in the neighboring town of Richmond. Emmerson thought, “If Italian food tasted of home and family, Chinese food tasted of exociticism and success”. 

Her love of Chinese food would grow after meeting her friend Anne whose parents were from Hong Kong. They worked at a Chinese takeaway and she would be mesmerized by the speed and efficiency of how they worked. However, it was while living in China which really “turned her on to the possibilities and varieties of Chinese food. To start to understand the different regions and thousand different dishes that could emerge from a single wok”. 

Emmerson does remind readers that Fragrant Heart is not only a culinary travelog but is also a memoir of facing the unknown, of escaping big decisions she and her partner have yet to make and of dealing with life in general. 

Emmerson is also a vegetarian. She asks the reader, “Are you vegetarian?” and follows up with, “Want some advice? Don’t go to China!”.  She says, “the irony for the vegetarian traveler in Asia is that as a relatively wealthy visitor to restaurants and towns in the cities, everything comes cooked in and garnished with meat”. 

Their first stop in their travels of food and life starts at a hostel in Beijing. China. It is the year the city hosted the Olympics. The owners of the Red Lantern House hostel are hosting a party for their guests. They are teaching the guests how to make New Year’s dumplings that are shaped like crescent moons. And that is only the beginning. 

Emmerson and her partner move from the hostel and find an apartment in Beijing are introduced to hot-pot meals, eat noodles and rice at an outdoor stall, her partner takes a Mandarin cooking class (Chris is proficient in four languages and has a degree in Russian from Oxford). 

They eat pho and nem cuon in Vietnam. Pho is a dish made with rice noodles in a broth with either chicken or beef and herbs while nem cuon is Vietnamese spring roll. They ate some grilled chicken and tofu kebabs in Cambodia which were topped with tirk salouk swai, a mango salsa. They introduce the readers to Pernakan cuisine which is also known as Nyonya while in Malaysia before making their way back to China. 

Emmerson’s prose is easy to read and her adventures in Asia with her partner Chris are filled with excitement and fear. Their love of food and culture might inspire you to travel abroad and try things you’ve never eaten before. If international travel is out of your budget, there are always the ethnic restaurants you check out in your own neighborhood. 

Happy eating and happy travels!! What more can you ask for? ~Ernie Hoyt