My father seemed taller—a dark, slender man dressed in a sweat suit and white sneakers like an American; his beloved afro shaved to a style that made his head look like a pencil eraser with a part on one side
The father's adoption of American styles makes him appear unrecognizable and foreign. This demonstrates how adopting a new culture can strip one's old customs at the same time.
a luxury that only people with cars had.
Calling the consumption of fast food a "luxury" shows the lack of wealth the family had. It further illustrates how immigrants find pleasure and enjoyment in commonly overlooked and undervalued things.
It can leave your mouth with the cloying aftertaste of gum chewed too long.
Though it is natural for immigrants to look fondly on the past, doing so can have negative effects, as the author describes in this metaphor to chewing gum.
Some plants are adventurers turned stealthy invaders, some invisible escapees, spores wafted on transcontinental winds
The author personifies plants to compare them to immigrants. Just like plant species are varied in how they spread and travel, so are immigrants. There are many types of immigrants, just as there are many different plant species.
sealed with Cling Wrap.
This detail doesn't add to the description of the food itself, but instead reiterates why the food was so important to the writer's upbringing. The use of Cling Wrap implies that the family had little money to store the food properly, yet the mother made it a priority to cook quality food for her daughter.
Dip in the tonkatsu sauce
The author doesn't go into any detail about the tonkatsu sauce despite extensively describing the oysters, even though an average reader may not be familiar with this particular sauce. What is the reason for this?