My late grandparents lived in Calgary’s Chinatown, finding comfort through the familiar Hong Kong style restaurants nearby, local access to Chinese newspapers, and a sense of belonging in the community. Born in Guangdong, my grandpa was forced to migrate twice, once during the Japanese war and again during the communist revolution in China. He moved to Hong Kong at a young age, eventually immigrating to Canada much later in life. Chinatown can be a fun place to visit and enjoy good food, but for many, like my grandparents, it became a home away from home. One of my favourite memories is the day my grandpa showed me how to make daikon cake (pronounced 'lo bak go' in Cantonese). It's a very time and labour intensive process with delicious results.


Michelle Ku is a visual artist working across painting, drawing, animation, and public art. Her work often explores visualizing internal states, while embracing the magic of intuition and play. In 2023, Michelle directed her first short film, ‘Unblending' as part of the National Film Board of Canada’s Hothouse program. 

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蘿蔔糕

Michelle Ku

我已故的祖父母住在卡加利的唐人街,他們從附近熟悉的港式餐廳、隨處得的中文報紙以及社區歸
屬感中找到了慰藉。我的祖父出生於廣東,曾被迫兩次遷徙,一次是在日本抗日戰爭期間,另一次是
在中國共產黨革命期間。他年輕時移居香港,最後在晚年移⺠加拿大。唐街是一個充滿樂趣、美⻝
遍地的好去處,但對許多人來說,就像我的祖父母一 樣 , 它 更 像 是 第 二 個家 。 我 最 美 好 的 回 憶 之一,就是祖父教我做蘿蔔糕(粵語發音為“蘿蔔糕”的那一天。製作蘿蔔糕要 花 費 大 量 的 時 間 和 精力,但成品卻美味無比。