The Unappropriated Recipes

Para Site is delighted to announce the launch of The Unappropriated Recipes, the institution’s first cookbook and crowdfunded project.

The Unappropriated Recipes is an unconventional publication celebrating Hong Kong through 80 contributions from a cross-section of the artists, curators, supporters, and collaborators who are integral to Para Site's local and international community. Each of them, whether they have spent their entire lives in Hong Kong, or just a mere few days was invited to submit a personal recipe that includes an ingredient specific to Hong Kong, leading to a broad array of personal experiences, experiments, perceptions, interventions, and reactions to Hong Kong—wildly varied tastes of our city, highlighting its diverse cuisine and culture.

Ko Sin Tung provides a glimpse of the readymades of Hong Kong’s home dining options pre-packaged at local supermarkets. Luke Ching Chin Wai instructs us on how to fry the whites and yolks of an egg separately, as a satirical response to “One Country Two Systems,” the constitutional principle temporarily governing the reunification of Hong Kong and China. Sheela Gowda writes a letter to her dear departed friend about a recipe they shared, through Chinese papier-mâché sacrificial offerings. Ming Wong shares a romantic timeline for a fictional love story that took place in Hong Kong, dating back from 1986 to 1996.

Our family at Para Site strongly believes in the communal, nurturing culture that food inspires. The act of sharing food and hosting our guests for meals is central to how we express warmth, community, and hospitality. The publishing of our very first cookbook is also a demonstration of the strong partnerships that Para Site has garnered over the 20 years of activity within the Hong Kong and global art community. For this and the many reasons above, we are delighted to extend this metaphorical potluck to the rest of the world.

The Unappropriated Recipes could not have been published without the generosity of the 263 individuals who supported our Kickstarter campaign and the many collaborators who helped turn the idea of a cookbook into a hardcover, hot-stamped reality. 

Please join us for the official book launch event on April 20, 2017, featuring cooking performances of recipes by contributors Nadim Abbas, Lau Wai, and Qu Chang. This launch event is kindly hosted by Constant. For full details, please click here. 

The Unappropriated Recipes is available for purchase at Para Site. It can also be ordered by sending an email to info@para-site.org.hk. (Shipping and handling fees will be charged)

Limited editions
Limited edition artwork kitchenwares, produced especially for The Unappropriated Recipes, are now available for purchase, including works by Heman Chong, Lam Hoi Sin, Brian Kuan Wood, Michikazu Matsune, and Cheng Ting Ting.

For more info about these limited editions, click here.

If you are interested in purchasing one or more of these limited editions, please email info@para-site.org.hk. (Shipping and handling fees will be charged)