Chop blog-uey

Chinese Ran Hotels on the Canadian Prairies

March 7, 2011

Thanks to a blog created by an acquaintance, Joan Champ, a Canadian museum exhibit producer and historian in Saskatchewan I just learned about the role of Chinese immigrants operating small hotels during the Great Depression in addition to running small cafes. For example, in Edam,SK., a Chinese who bore the name "Charlie Chan" ran a café, ice cream parlor and hotel.
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After WWII, business declined for Chan's hotel as was true for other hotels, and Chinese moved on to focus on their small cafes that could be found in virtually all towns in the region. His café was one of Edam’s main restaurants until it finally closed in 1986.

Posted by John Jung.

Chinese restaurants in Israel

February 15, 2011

Does the Jewish love of Chinese food in America extend to say, Israel?

Apparently not, according to this writer, Elizabeth Greenberg, for website China Insight. She also quotes a Chinese in Cheuk Kwan's documentary on Chinese restaurants around the world who went to Israel from Vietnam but without any knowledge of how to cook Chinese food and had to learn from Israeli friends, "I told them I didn't know how to cook," Wong said. "They said they will teach me. I asked them, 'You're teaching me how to cook Chinese?' They said, 'We can cook, but we don't look Chinese. You look Chinese.' "

Posted by John Jung. Posted In : Chinese restaurants

A Tribute to Kwok Kwong Mui (1934-2011)

February 8, 2011

(Excerpted from Jan. 29, 2011 article by Andrew Meacham, Staff Writer, St. Petersburg Times

"Kwok Kwong Mui, who co-founded the restaurant with two cousins in 1965, always regarded the business as a means, not an end.

He wanted his children to do better.To make those things possible, Mr. Mui manned a wok as head chef - 12 hours a day, six days a week.

"He would be all hot and sweaty from kitchen work," said Linda Mui Wright, a daughter. "He would say, 'You all don't want to be like this. Make sure you study so you can have a 9-to-5 job.'"

Out of his $30-a-week initial wages, Mr. Mui later told his family, he kept just $5 for his daily needs. The rest he saved for the restaurant he dreamed of buying or sent to family members in Canton, China.

I didn't know Kwok Kwong Mui but his life story closely resembles those of countless other Chinese restaurant owners I've learned about. Their lives, full of long hours of hard work for low income, were dedicated to the goals of supporting family here and often back in China as well.

Posted by John Jung. Posted In : Restaurateurs

Life at a Chinese take-out order counter

February 8, 2011

The long day of hard work in a Charleston, West Virginia Chinese take-out business. Owner Carina Kwok knows the names of many repeat customers when they walk through the door of Main Kwong Restaurant or when they order over the phone. Caller ID helps, of course, but she also remembers their favorites and customary substitutions...

She typically arrives at Main Kwong at about 9 a.m., and organizes deliveries, supervises food preparation and early deliveries.... The chaotic pace starts almost the moment the doors open at 11 a.m., as customer orders pour in, and continues through mid-afternoon. Dinner time brings a new wave of orders, deftly fielded by Kwok, who cleans up after the 10 or 11 p.m. closing. She's rarely home before midnight. The restaurant is open seven days a week, and Kwok's smiling face is nearly always behind the counter.

Posted by John Jung. Posted In : Chinese restaurants

A Century of Fads and Fashions in Chinese Food

January 6, 2011

C hop Suey had a meteoric rise (blue line) in popularity from 1900 to about 1940, after which it drops rapidly and leveled off after 1960. In contrast, during the 1960s dim sum (red line) was 'discovered' and became rapidly trendy and is still increasingly popular. These differences are mirrored in the frequency with which each of them is mentioned in word counts by Google based on their millions of scanned books. If you;d like to play with this tool by entering other year spans or other foods, Chinese or others, you can enter your own terms in place of the ones I used at this site: Google Labs Ngram Viewer.

Posted by John Jung. Posted In : Chinese restaurants

Joy Young Restaurant, Birmingham

January 6, 2011

There were few Chinese in the Deep South during most of the last century so it is not surprising that there were few Chinese restaurants there, and those that did exist did not serve the same Chinese dishes found in New York or San Francisco Chinese restaurants. Perhaps the Joy Young Restaurant , in Birmingham, Ala. was the best known and largest Chinese restaurant in the South until it closed sometime in the 1970s. Its fried chicken (this was the South) was one of its most popular items along with its egg rolls. Black men rather than women were hired as waiters although Jim Crow laws did not allow blacks to dine in restaurants that served mostly white patrons. Since the Chinese lacked proficient English skills, the use of Black waiters was a practical consideration. Whites were accustomed to having blacks as domestics and had no problems with being served by them. During its heyday, live bands provided music for patrons wanting to dance.?yola-link-is-coming=true

Posted by John Jung. Posted In : Chinese restaurants

A 5 Star Chinese Restaurant in rural Hanford, Ca.

January 6, 2011

One of the most unusual success stories among Chinese restaurants is that of the Imperial Dynasty restaurant opened by Richard Wing after WW II in a most unlikely place, Hanford, Ca., which is about half way between Los Angeles and Sacramento and not even located on the main north-south highway. It was not your typical chop suey joint; in fact, some would say it wasn't really a Chinese restaurant so much as it was a forerunner of 'Chinoise" cuisine, Chinese food with a French accent.
Its reputation attracted celebrities, political leaders, and dignitaries to this rural setting where one least expect such epicurean dining. Richard Wing gave an interview on NPR when he retired and closed the Imperial Dynasty in 2006 that summarizes how his service in the Army as an aide to General George Marshall led to the development of this 5 Star restaurant.

Posted by John Jung. Posted In : Chinese restaurants

Far East Cafe in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

January 6, 2011

The original Far East Cafe in the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles no longer exists although a restaurant by the same name occupies its premises currently but serves a different fare. It's classic neon sign, which prominently displays the words, "Chop Suey," pays homage to its heritage from when four Chinese laundrymen left Mason City, Iowa to come open this restaurant in L. A. back in the 1930s when chop suey was at its peak of popularity, and "defined" Chinese food in the minds, and stomachs, of many non-Chinese.

The Far East was a popular restaurant located a multi-ethnic part of town, and even though it was not in nearby Chinatown, it was conveniently situated in its setting in Little Tokyo, close to Civic Center.

Posted by John Jung. Posted In : Chinese restaurants

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About Me

John Jung

Cypress, Ca.

After retiring from a 40-year career as a psychology professor, I published 4 books about Chinese immigrants that detail the history of their laundries, grocery stores, and family restaurants in the U. S. and Canada.