Angela Hui (born 1991) is a Welsh journalist and author. Her memoir ''Takeaway: Stories from a Childhood Behind the Counter'' (2022) was shortlisted for the 2023

Jhalak Prize The Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour is an annual literary prize awarded to British or British-resident BAME writers. £1,000 is awarded to the sole winner. The Jhalak Prize was launched in 2016 and was created by writers ...

Early life

Hui was born 1991 in

Beddau ; ) is a large former mining village (and electoral ward) situated within the South Wales Valleys Davies (2008), page 507. around from Llantrisant and from the larger town of Pontypridd in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. ...

, a Welsh former mining village next to

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

, to a father from Sai Kung and a mother from

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

. Her parents had left

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

for Britain in 1985, working at Chinese takeaways in Bournemouth, Reading, and London before settling in Beddau, where they opened their own takeaway called Lucky Star in 1988. It operated out of a converted terrace house on Commercial Street, and Hui lived above the shop with her two older brothers and helped out from the age of 8. Their relatives also opened takeaways in

Pontlottyn Pontlottyn () is a village located in the county borough of Caerphilly, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It is sited just to the south of Rhymney, and to the west of the Rhymney River. History Pontlottyn, initially p ...

Bargoed Bargoed () is a town and community (Wales), community in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly. It straddles the Historic counties o ...

and Blackwood. Hui graduated from the

University of Glamorgan The University of Glamorgan () was a public university based in South Wales, that merged with University of Wales, Newport to form the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was based in Pontypridd, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with ...

in 2012 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) in Journalism. She won a scholarship to pursue a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) in Magazine Journalism at

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

. During her time at Cardiff, she was part of the magazine ''Feast''.

Career

In 2020, Hui joined ''

HuffPost UK ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'' as a lifestyle reporter, writing about food, travel, and other topics. In 2021, Hui became a food and drink editor at ''

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

''. She also contributed to the likes of '' Eater London'', ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', and ''

gal-dem ''gal-dem'' (stylised lower case) was an independent British online and print magazine produced by women of colour and non-binary people of colour. Founded in 2015, it ceased publication in 2023. History and profile The magazine was founded by ...

''. In 2022, Trapeze (an

Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connell ...

imprint) acquired the rights to publish Hui's debut book and memoir ''Takeaway: Stories from a Childhood Behind the Counter'', delving into Hui's experiences, positive, negative and bittersweet, growing up in a Chinese takeaway in rural Wales, which her parents sold in 2018. Hui had written the memoir during the

COVID-19 lockdown During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

, and said the rise in anti-East Asian racism at the time was a motivating factor. Georgina Leung provided the illustrations. The book also incorporates Cantonese recipes. ''Takeaway'' was shortlisted for the 2023

and a

Fortnum & Mason Fortnum & Mason plc (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an Luxury goods, upmarket department store in London, England. The main store is located at 181 Piccadilly in the St James's area of London, where it was established in 1707 ...

Award in the Debut Food Book category.

Bibliography

* ''Takeaway: Stories from a Childhood Behind the Counter'' (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:hui, angela Living people 1991 births 21st-century Welsh memoirists Alumni of Cardiff University Alumni of the University of Glamorgan British Asian writers British people of Hong Kong descent British women food writers British women memoirists People from Beddau Welsh women journalists Welsh people of Chinese descent