The fish markets in New York City’s Chinatown are notoriously cheap. One whiff of the fishy city air and it becomes clear why salmon only costs $5 a pound. Who cares where the fish came from when it costs three times as much at Whole Foods?

When my grandfather Eugene Chin came to America from China in 1951, before Chinatown was a stop on a tourist’s trip to New York City, the fish markets were the place to get cheap seafood. The man was poor, young, and hungry. The lifeless bodies of fish with their cloudy eyes and greying scales provided sustenance for someone with a tiny budget. Buy a fillet of fish and feed yourself a meal; buy a whole fish and feed yourself for a week.

The idea of eating every part of the animal wasn’t reserved just for fish. While the duck and chicken carcasses that hung in the windows of restaurants evoked the gag reflexes of some, they triggered the salivary glands in people like my grandfather. The typical parts of the chicken—breasts, thighs, drumsticks—were all good to him, but so were the innards and the body of the chicken itself, which could be transformed into a delicious soup.

My grandfather made a living as a waiter, and it was in the restaurants he worked at where he learned how to cook. The luxuries of today were reserved for the lower class when my grandfather was finding his way in the 1950s. Steak and lobster were cheap, and he ate a lot of it, which might explain his high cholesterol today. That didn’t mean the fish markets of Chinatown weren’t still a necessity for groceries. In the past, as he continues to do today, my grandfather steamed whole fish—whether it be tilapia, salmon, or flounder—with scallions, ginger, and soy sauce. Like most Chinese people, my grandfather serves meals family style with a variety of dishes meant to be shared and eaten over bowls of rice.

A few years ago, my grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. It’s certainly slowed him down, but it hasn’t stopped him from cooking. At 82, my grandfather still puts dinner on the table every night. His Parkinson’s makes walking difficult for him, so his wife does a lot of the grocery shopping for him. The couple stopped worrying about money long ago, but they still save when they can. Most of the food shopping is done at the local Asian supermarket near their home in Queens. The Chinatown fish markets are too far for either of them, and the fish they get now is fresher and of better quality. And if lobster is on sale, you can be sure they’ll bring some home. My grandfather rarely goes out to eat except for special occasions. If he does go out to dinner, however, you can be certain he’ll order the steak medium-rare with a baked potato.

Dinner has always been the biggest and most important meal to my grandfather. His lunches are almost always leftovers from dinner the night before, and breakfast is rarely more than a cup of coffee with toast. It’s at night when my grandfather sits down to have a proper feast. One that he’s worked so hard to earn.