A typical day at the takeaway began at 8 a.m. for my parents, and they wouldn't get to bed until around 1:30 a.m. every night. This gruelling schedule persisted six days a week, with only Tuesdays off to recharge and restock. I wanted to capture the essence of their hard work and dedication in my piece. To do so, I recorded the hours spent stitching and presented this effort in the form of a receipt, symbolizing the relentless toil behind the scenes.

Each sack features a different message or motif, many of which will resonate with families who run Chinese takeaways. Common phrases like "We do not accept cheques" or "Closed on Tuesdays" are stitched onto the hessian. My personal favourite is the one that reads 中華閣 (China House), the name of our takeaway. For our original shop sign, my dad painted the frontage in red, then carved the three Chinese characters out of plywood, painted them gold, and mounted them outside. That was it—just three Chinese characters, with no English to indicate it was a Chinese takeaway.