Sushi, falafel and kimchi being novelty new foods at first surprised me, as they're so mainstream now, but i had to remember that 1964 was a very different time. Keep up the good work! Your subscriber and viewership count is criminally low for your quality content!

Wow, there are so many layers to this story. Urban renewal, displacement, family ties, architecture, fashion... And the music! Forget Eminem, the TEMPTATIONS?? Aretha Franklin?? So interesting and a great story. Excellent job as always. Would look forward to an almond chicken episode too if you end up making that!

A wildly fascinating story! Great episode!

Americanized Chinese food. Get more authentic Chinese food at Panda Express.

good video :D you just need to fix the audio though, but other than that, good vid <:

As a fan of Russel Wright who was recommended your Hong Kong Burger video I was pleasantly surprised by this video. As an American who's wondered how the Chinese-American restaurant became a cultural phenomenon, I never knew it was so deeply connected with American history, international politics, diplomacy, and trade. I love your content, your videos are amazing! Subscribed!

I love the content here, but there seems to be an audio issue on the video. I don't know if it's the microphone or what it is, but with a little better audio production I could really see your content gain a wide audience.

Love this channel

Thanks for your wonderful videos. My family owned a Chinese restaurant. I have a few questions. What's the best way to reach out to you?

Amazing channel! Enjoyed the content

I remember Times Square when it was like that. Very different now.

I love her voice. I could hear her talk all day

I found your channel a couple weeks ago and I am so happy to see how in-depth and well researched your videos are. You cover topics that are often neglected and a unique cuisine that is often denigrated or shamed because of its "inauthenticity" when it really shows the history and survival of groups of people in an unfamiliar and often times hostile land. I really look forward to watching your videos and I am so glad that you keep posting them!

Thanks for including the recipe! So is the bread ordinary American bread? I get something I call a "Chinese hamburger" from my favorite Asian bakery, but it's minced pork in a fabulous garlicky sauce completely enclosed in pastry.

I appreciate your content a lot. It's very good. However, I wonder why you became so interested in American chinese food and also, might sound silly, but do you like it? My guess you are more interested in the history/immigrant stories. Maybe you can even make a video about this or maybe you already have.

Love your channel...all the best

I remember those Shing's commercials. Shing's was a great place to go back in the day for good Chinese food at a great price. It's a shame how those rumors destroyed it and quite a few other Chinese restaurants in the area.

This channel is so good! I can’t believe how few views this has! May I suggest reworking your thumbnail icons for more engagement?

Fantastic!!

Danny Kaye was a big time commedian in the '40s, '50s and '60s [11:00] He loved Chinese food, and his hobby was cooking it.

i really cannot describe how much i LOVE this series - your obvious enthusiasm for so many different subjects (and learning and investigation in general) brought forth through one interesting lens of american chinese food... the amount of research that must go into every video (menus, background information, newspaper clippings, design book scans, so much b-roll to source)... and you have a great voice for voiceovers on top of all that. AND you pump out these videos like clockwork. kudos to you!!

Would like to see you cover Lang Ting, SF

Excellent narrative

Everything changed for us in the international district, its to dangerous to attend cid

Awesome vid! I learned a lot

what about Chicago Cafe in Woodland CA?

This is so interesting and informative! And oh my god, my jaw dropped when I saw the hot pink vinyl in the Shun Lee Dynasty. Indeed a surprise for being a Russell Wright design 😂 The papercut dinnerware was very interesting (and I thought cute!) as well.

As an Ohio boy and a modest collector of Russel Wright pottery, it's always cool to see mid-mod designers step out of their comfort zone. Also love seeing that he kept using Ohio manufacturers even for his offbeat work. Great video!

great video = )

I've been there. Great food! However, Chicago Cafe in Woodland, an hour and a half drive from Oroville, has been in continuous operation since 1903, making it the oldest Chinese restaurant in the US.

Awesome! No relationship, I assume, to the Sam Wu restaurants (Cantonese roast meat focus) in Southern California. There's a tea shop of Hong Kong immigrants in my California town that has a reputation for "rude" staff. When I started going there 12 years ago, all the Yelp reviews were angry people saying how rude the staff was. They hang up signs in the cafe with the house "rules," like how you can't use the electrical outlets to charge cell phones. Quite reasonably, they require a minimum purchase by each customer to be there. Since they have an outdoor patio, many in town would try to hang out without buying anything, and the staff chase them away or demand purchase. If they don't like "the cut of your jib," for any reason, they order you to leave. So, friends of mine just got in the habit of making the smallest purchase--a bottle of water--as soon as they arrive. Some people are "banned." The older staff speak English poorly, so they have no patience for any extra words from customers. Basically, just say the name of the drink and the size, and do it quickly! After a dozen years there as regulars, we all learned that they are sweet people, just having stereotypical HK brusqueness. The seeming "rudeness" has been a good "filter" to scare away "Starbucks" type customers and make it a special place for the regular customers to have a space for meeting that doesn't feel "corporate." We even made our own t-shirts in tribute!

Another great segment, I love the history you were able to dig up. Keep up the great work!

Baton Rouge Native here. I remember eating at Shings on the last day of school one year before they closed! Their Sweet and Sour chicken was AMAZING. It's a crying shame those rumors shut them down. Chances are, they would still be open today. And yes, this commercial was VERY memorable!

Saya lihat vidio kamu bagus sayang ❤❤😅😢

Hi Christy, sorry I’m adding my comment to this video that doesn’t have anything to do with this video. I came across another video from ABC 10. It’s about a law professor that has found the oldest continency Chinese restaurant in America, it is called Chicago Café in Inglewood Illinois. The restaurant first opened in 1903 and it is still run by the Fong family, currently the owners are Pamela and, so sorry I don’t remember the husband‘s name. But unfortunately, the Fong do not have any children so the mantle cannot be passed on to the next generation. Just thought you should know . Cheers, Janice

Very cool video! Really happy this popped up in my recommendations!

Great video - love learning about the History of Chinese food and this was a wonderful insight. Thank you for sharing.

Even though I never lived in The City, I was lucky enough to have eaten in the original place when Edsel was working. Never had the raw fish salad, but their rice noodle rolls were amazing!

What an interesting slice of history

I remember the chain ⛓️ very well because it's was continued to grow by expanding their restaurants. I remember they enter Texas. I don't know what year it was, but I think there were like 4 or 5 locations in the Houston area back then before their closing in 1995 by ending their era of the chain. 🤔 they need a comeback by bringing it back & this time, it will be different than it was back than they could make it survived by bringing the money 💰 and prices reasonable. If the people comes together by putting Red Lobster 🦞 & the Olive Garden 🫒 they should bring China Coast and make it even more successful 🎉 they should probably make more millions of dollars 💸 by keeping the ball rolling as it's stays 4 the long haul.😉 that surpassed Panda Express 🐼 & P.F. Changs as number 2 or 3 as my failed chart list and makes it number 1, who beats the competition on other chinese restaurants.

Sam Wo comes up in Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums (his best book, IMO). Kerouac's friend and fellow poet "Japhy Ryder" (actully Gary Snyrder) loved the restaurant and ordered authentic Chinese dishes for everyone. To my shame, I've never eaten at Sam Wo's. Great segment, as always, Christy!

Excellent story!

I went there in 2022. It was so good! Got a little bit of everything 😋

Great channel. Thanks for the videos.

I am interested in how you did this research and found these photos. Frank and Esther were my grandparents.

Thanks

The oldest Chinese restaurant of all places is in Montana. I heard this on the radio. It was a trivia question

I really hope that "from menu to memory" becomes a series. I love the format of taking one individual menu, and then using that to explore the history of the restaurant. It helps ground the episode.

After watching your video, I'm craving crab rangoon. Very cool that you have an old Trader Vic's menu. I used to dine at the Chicago location which is closed now.

Omg! How did you get a menu!?!