Early Mornings at the Laksa Cafe

A mouthwatering and uplifting story about honouring tradition and finding your own way in life, set in family-run restaurants between Malaysia and Hong Kong 
 
‘Deeply comforting and nourishing' SAMUEL BURR, author of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers 
 
‘A delicious read with lots of heart' SHANNA TAN, translator of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop 
 
Every morning before sunrise, Lim Ah Hock prepares the best laksa soup in Kuching. According to Lim family legend, the laksa’s secret ingredient – their ancestral broth – was gifted to them by a deity, who promised prosperity if the broth is passed down through the generations. 
 
But Ah Hock is aging, and the broth’s quality is fading. His only son, Wei Ming, has no interest in the family business, having spent eight years in Hong Kong trying to prove himself as a chef. Now, struggling with gambling debts and his own work troubles, Wei Ming sees a chance to escape when he's invited home to Malaysia for his father's 60th birthday. 
 
As old conflicts resurface and a local businessman threatens to destroy the family legacy, father and son are forced to ask themselves what truly matters. 
 
Readers love Early Mornings at the Laksa Cafe 
 
'A delicious read' 
'Warm and emotionally honest...a very comforting book' 
'A delightful read for anyone who loves food-centred narratives, stories about family dynamics’ 
‘Beautifully captures the idea that love doesn’t always need to be spoken – sometimes, it’s served in a bowl of food' 
'This book truly stands out' 
'Addictive, thoughtful, and beautifully written... It lingers long after the final page, much like the memory of a meal shared at dawn'

A delicious read with lots of heart. I haven’t enjoyed a novel so much in a while… Definitely a highly recommended read

Janet Tay really brings Asian dishes to life, especially Sarawak laksa… this book truly stands out…The drama really adds flavour to the whole story

Captures the atmosphere, flavours, and cultural subtlety of Asian family life so vividly... A delightful read for anyone who wants a cozy read, loves food-centred narratives, stories about family dynamics

The author is masterful at describing mouth-watering cuisine… a delicious read I truly treasure’

One of the best books and cosy reads I read this year… I could almost smell the laksa broth, feel the steam on my face, and hear the soft clinking of bowls before sunrise. There’s such a beautiful stillness in the way Janet Tay writes… What I loved most is how warm and emotionally honest the story is… It reminded me that healing doesn’t always need grand gestures. Sometimes it’s found in warm bowls of food, soft conversations, and the courage to begin again... This is a very comforting book

Janet Tay’s love for Sarawak food, its people and culture is evident in every page of this beautiful story... Grab your copy and a bowl of laksa because trust me, you will want both!

Beautifully captures the idea that love doesn’t always need to be spoken – sometimes, it’s served in a bowl of food… A tender, comforting read that reflects how food can carry memory, obligation, and care all at once… Small warning: if you’re reading this at night. The food cravings are real

The descriptions of food are vivid and mouth-watering, clearly grounded in careful research and cultural respect. Food becomes both a point of connection and a battleground, representing love, pride, and inheritance...This is an addictive, thoughtful, and beautifully written book about pride, sacrifice, and the difficult work of reconciliation. It lingers long after the final page, much like the memory of a meal shared at dawn

Fair warning: do not read Janet Tay’s Early Mornings At The Laksa Cafe late at night, or else you will be desperately craving a piping hot bowl of laksa when all the shops have already closed... Filled with deliciously detailed descriptions of culinary delights that will make your mouth water, Early Mornings At The Laksa Cafe questions whether it’s possible for a father and son with different dreams to set their differences aside and build a future with room for both

A mouth-watering, uplifting and lovingly researched story about legacy, tradition and food

Janet Tay weaves food, memory and generational conflict into a heartfelt tribute to Kuching's Carpenter Street and the ties that bind fathers and sons... A story simmered in heritage

Offers a poignant exploration of father-son conflict, set against the rich textures of Sarawakian-Chinese cuisine and migration history

Janet Tay is the author of Early Mornings at the Laksa Cafe, which was a Straits Times bestseller, and Late Nights at the Donabe Diner. Janet is a Tin House Winter Workshop alum, and her short stories and journalistic pieces on literature, food and parenting have appeared in various collections and magazines. The first act of her full-length play Reunion was longlisted for The Windsor Fringe Kenneth Branagh Award for New Drama Writing. She lives in Kuala Lumpur with her husband and son.

Every morning before sunrise, Lim Ah Hock prepares the finest laksa soup in Kuching. According to Lim family legend, the laksa’s secret ingredient – their ancestral broth – was gifted to them by a deity, who promised prosperity if the broth is passed down through the generations. 
 
But Ah Hock is aging, and the broth’s quality is fading. His only son, Wei Ming, has no interest in the family business, having spent eight years in Hong Kong trying to prove himself as a chef. Now, struggling with gambling debts and his own work troubles, Wei Ming sees a chance to escape when he’s invited home to Malaysia for his father's sixtieth birthday. 
 
As old conflicts resurface and a local businessman threatens to destroy the family legacy, father and son are forced to ask themselves what truly matters.

Janet Tay

In this dazzling follow-up to Early Mornings at the Laksa Café, Janet Tay has once again concocted the perfect recipe for mouthwatering fiction, this time seasoning the story with her own trinity root mix of charm, wit and benevolence. Much like Hana’s customers, readers of Late Nights at the Donabe Diner will find much to savour in Tay’s flavourful prose, stepping away from the novel’s final lines replete with nourishment, and best of all, restored by joy and wonder

D.K. Furutani, author of WHEN MIKAN ROAD WAS OURS

At Hana Chen's community diner, no guest ever goes hungry in this delicious and heartwarming novel about food and found family 
 
Tucked away in a quiet alley off Carpenter Street, Hana Chen runs an unnamed community diner. In the aftermath of the Japanese Occupation of Borneo, when food is scarce, the diner is a refuge for people as they slowly rebuild their lives. 
 
Hana provides a seemingly endless supply of white rice, no matter how few grains she sprinkles into her mother’s donabe cooking pot. In turn, she asks her customers to bring enough ingredients to feed five people, so she can make whatever homecooked meals their hearts desire. 
 
As Hana listens to her guests’ stories, she says little about herself. Her mother has been repatriated to Japan, and she’s estranged from her wealthy Chinese father. But Hana’s heart is softened by Kim Choo, a young girl who is the star of the local opera troupe. As Hana begins to trust in the community around her, she discovers that the diner will always be a place of sanctuary – and perhaps love too.

Janet Tay

Books by Janet Tay

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