Eddie Huang is General Tso’s chicken. His wife, Natashia Blanca, a spicy penne arrabbiata and their son, Senna, a little soup dumpling. Unsurprisingly, the author, chef, restaurateur, filmmaker and presenter has an edible metaphor for most people in his life, a quirk that extends to his latest piece of autofiction, Come Undone. 

Written in a feverish five day sprint (really), the novel follows travelling food show host Hubie (Red Bull mini fridge) on his quest to come to terms with his childhood trauma whilst trying to nurture a real connection with the mysterious Janine (côte de boeuf).

When we first meet Hubie, he has all the makings of a classic man-child. He’s rich, he’s hedonistic and – as he exclaims to a lover during an argument – he’s a ho. 

But, despite numbing himself with all of life’s pleasures, true love eludes him and he can never seem to push memories of his abusive parents down far enough. Codeine and endless sex be damned; they still ram up inside his head like violent Jack-in-the-Boxes.   

If you’ve ever heard and enjoyed Huang’s voice on one of his many outlets (Fresh Off the Boat, Vice is Broke and Canal Street Dreams to name a few), you won’t be disappointed by the New Yorkian car screech that is his writing style. I mean that as a compliment, by the way. It’s refreshingly distinct and unpretentious and occasionally, the food metaphors and mentions of IBS part just enough to reveal a genuinely beautiful turn of phrase. 

Right now, the 44-year-old is also working on his third film, Tuna Melt, about a hit man who’s unwilling to face his personal demons and the consequences that has on his romantic life (yeah, it’s a theme). The day after the table read with cast members like Chloe Cherry, Evan Mock and Chet Hanks, we catch up over a video call after meeting briefly at The Standard, on the London stop of his book tour.

Tiffany Lai: Hey Eddie, tell me where you ate in London? 

Eddie Huang: Natashia and I went to Sweetings which was very good, Strakers – fantastic, Brat and Dover Street Counter. We really enjoy British cuisine. 

TL: You were last in London in 2023, you were in a very different place in your life right? 

EH: Oh yeah, I really felt like Hollywood was just beginning to collapse then. The strike was happening, and it was my first foray back into food. I was doing the Bao Haus pop up in London, which got me thinking about food again. But really, it was the flight back home where I got the idea for Come Undone. I read this New York Magazine article about red flags in dating [and realised both me and Natashia had ticked all the boxes]. I wrote 30 to 50 pages on that flight. They eventually became the foundation of the novel, and so it was very cool to come back to London three years later to launch it. 

TL: Do you still feel like the industry’s collapsing? 

EH: I think so because the business people have totally screwed up the film industry but I think artists are finding their way to do what they love outside of it. 

TL: You’re working on a film right now, Tuna Melt? 

EH: Yes, Tuna Melt was written before Come Undone. It was the first thing I wrote exploring my toxicity as a man. I was living on a mountain alone in Taiwan during the pandemic, and despite everything I had done, I felt empty. I thought as a child that once I achieved certain milestones, that I would feel better about myself, and I didn’t because what really matters to me is family, relationships and friendships. 

So I started to write this script about a toxic hitman in the LA scene who was the victim of a  sexual assault as a child that really gutted him, and he has never gotten over it. He has never fully addressed it in the way that he needs to, but in all of his relationships, he dumps his pain on everybody around him in his life. He ends up meeting two very strong female characters who empathise with him. They show a lot of care for him, but ultimately they both lose patience and give up on this guy and ultimately tell him, you need to look at yourself. 

I wrote it because I’d experienced a lot of abuse in my family, and I definitely used it as an excuse for a long time. I began to examine that seriously in 2020. Writing this script was my way of learning to deal with it. And miraculously enough, once I finished the script, I met my wife, and I was ready for her. So Tuna Melt precludes Come Undone in my life.

TL: What do you think catalysed that self reflection in you?

EH: Loneliness. Being the second to last guy of my friend group left in the club. I was just like, I’m almost 40, and I’m still outside being an idiot. I’d always tell people, ‘oh, I want to do family. I want to find my person’ and I had to acknowledge that my actions were not matching up with what I said I wanted.

TL: I read in an interview that you felt like you weren’t being taken seriously as a writer prior to Come Undone. Does that matter to you as much when it comes to being a chef or a restaurateur?

EH: It’s easy to write me off because of the number of things I do, and over the years, I’m just like, well, I couldn’t have gotten lucky all these times. I do still get dinged up by food critics and studio executives but I’m just really happy as a person and an artist these days. I know that I’m being honest and truthful to who I am and what I’ve experienced, and all I can do is create from that place.

TL: Do reviews matter? 

EH: Oh yeah, I wouldn’t lie. I like a good review. One of the biggest complaints of this book is that people don’t understand the language. But I’ve never diluted my voice or the world that I come from for mass consumption and that frustrates people. That’s okay. It’s not for everybody. 

TL: You write at an extraordinary speed. Where do you think that comes from? 

EH: Not even being funny. I think it’s just being Asian. I remember my mom put me in these Kumon math classes, and it was like, answer 60 problems in two minutes.  Speed is very important as an Asian, whether it’s math or in the kitchen. I try to capture the lightning in a bottle when I have something to say, then I’ll re-write everything again in like two weeks. It drives my editor Chris Jackson crazy because then he has to read a whole other book.

TL: How would you describe Chris as a food item? 

EH: That man is absolutely Golden Eye Snapper nigiri. He’s so precise but when working with Chris, it’s almost as if he’s intentionally emotionally paralysed. When you make snapper nigiri, you have to paralyse the fish through the head to stabilise the flesh. It is probably the most precise piece of food you can make. Chris is so surgical and the best at what he does. Sometimes I will grab him and give him a hug and just be like, ‘bro, what’s in there?’ We’ve been together for about 15 years now. Besides my wife and family, he’s probably the person I love most and would like to be closer to, but he doesn’t let you, Chris is a vault. 

TL: Has writing this book changed who you are in any way?

EH: Finishing the book changed who I was as a father. I’d been in some financial trouble since 2023, and I think it’s really hard to enjoy being a father and a husband when you don’t feel like you can provide what you need to but once I finished the book and there was a path to financial stability, I finally allowed myself to enjoy being a father. A big part of me just felt like I didn’t even deserve my family, which is sad and and twisted, but is what it’s like being raised Taiwanese-Chinese in this country. You don’t get anything until you earn it, right?

TL: Did you figure out a way to work through that, even without the paycheck?

EH: Yeah. For the first time, I’m part of a family that I believe will not leave me if I just keep showing up as me and doing my best. 

Eddie Huang has partnered with The Standard on a world tour to launch Come Undone, click here to find out more