My First Chop Suey at the Oldest Chinese Restaurant in America

Chinese immigrants played an important role in the economic development of the West, including Montana. The original proprietors of the Pekin Noodle Parlor constructed the building in 1909 and operated a gaming parlor before they began serving noodles in 1911.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:42 Chinese in Butte, Montana
1:42 Noodle parlors
3:15 Pekin Noodle Parlor
4:40 Pekin special chop suey
7:08 Taste that has not changed
8:08 Mai Wah Museum
8:50 Mai Wah Noodle Parlor menu circa 1925
Mai Wah Museum at www.maiwah.org/
Credits:
- Flower Drum Song - Chop Suey: • Chop Suey - Flower Dru...
- Montana Mining Industry: • Montana mining industr...
- Peking Noodle Parlor - Under the Big Sky: • Pekin Noodle Parlor | ...
- The Oldest Chinese Restaurant in America - CBS Sunday Morning: • The oldest Chinese res...
- A Rare and Desolate Beauty - John Lightfoot, 22 min, color/black and white, 16mm: • Pekin Noodle Parlor--I...
- La Choy commercial 1978: • La Choy Chinese Food C...
- The Mai Wah Museum: • The Mai Wah Museum of ...
- Lard with rice: • 阿爺廚房食譜 | 豬油撈飯
- Midnight diner: • 美食家深夜探店，老板居然给上了碗白米饭，会得...

[@CapnCody1622]

I stumbled across your channel and subscribed last month when doing research on Sam Wo’s in San Francisco. Went there last month and absolutely loved it. And I love all the content you provide. Thank you! I’ve heard so much about Pekin Noodle Parlor over the years and tonight I am finally able to stop by and try it! I cannot wait 😋

[@AmericanChineseFoodShow]

Hey, thank you! Now I am interested what kinda research you were doing on Sam Wo's. I should have an episode on Sam Wo's up next year. Stay tuned.

[@CapnCody1622]

@@AmericanChineseFoodShowCan’t wait to catch that Sam Wo episode! I was in SF a couple months ago now and I thought I had heard that the second oldest Chinese restaurant in the US was located in their chins town. So I was mostly just looking up what it was called. It was an amazing experience, though! Pekin in Butte, MT was so good, too! I can’t wait to go back to try more dishes. Hoping to go to Tong Fong Low in Oroville, CA later this week, though! I recently saw your video about them so now I have to go 😁

[@smileycop]

Thank you for another amazing video

[@Megachaingun]

Interesting, it seems like Yatcamein is related to Yaka Mein (from New Orleans, basically Creole beef noodle soup） en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaka_mein Also, funny thing is that if they made Zongzi, they could translate it as Chinese Tamales.

[@AmericanChineseFoodShow]

It's totally possible yaka mein was inspired by yatcamein and went through reincarnations of its own! It would be interesting to try to track down its journey from where it started to how it only has a few resemblances left (i.e. hard-boiled egg, scallions) today, especially when yatcamein has fallen out of favor. There's also a much larger topic in this -- Afro-Asian food. Tao Leigh Goffe from Cornell is doing some pioneering work there. I hope I will eventually get an episode or two on it too. And yes! I personally call zongzi Chinese tamales, haha.

[@arthurlam751]

Wonderful video! Will check more of your channel!

[@paulaharrisbaca4851]

I like chop suey too, and it's harder and harder to get in the San Francisco Bay Area. But like any of the Americanized dishes, like sweet and sour pork (which I have been told doesn't exist in China) if you just ask for it, they'll automatically know what it is. You might not always get the same thing, but I guess that's the whole idea. I wonder if Chinese Camp, a little town in California's Gold country, near, ironically, or intentionally, Occidental,, another mining country town between San Francisco and Yosemite, has any Chinese restaurants. I must google it.

[@AmericanChineseFoodShow]

Sweet and sour pork definitely exists in China! Some say it originates from Jing Jiang (Beijing sauce), it's a stir-fry with soy or sweet soy paste, some say it's the Sugar and Vinegar from Shanghai region, then it was appropriated by the Cantonese with ketchup and lemon juice to create sweet and sour. China Camp was a super awesome shrimp town! I LOVE it there. No long standing Chinese restaurants though.

[@bossinirocks]

I will be visiting this place in a month. I don’t expect great food but I expect to have great memories here. 😀

[@AmericanChineseFoodShow]

Definitely visit Mai Wah Museum a block away from Peking!

[@jonathantrang9198]

what about Chicago Cafe in Woodland CA?

[@AmericanChineseFoodShow]

Chicago Cafe has operated since at least 1910. You can read more from the UC Davis team that broke the story: www.ucdavis.edu/curiosity/news/chicago-cafe-is-oldest-chinese-restaurant-in-california

[@jeetkune4770]

I'm a North American immigrant from Hong Kong, spent my childhood years in Hong Kong. So I'm accustomed to the "real" chinese food and preferred it. But I'm also fascinated by American Chinese food and restaurant culture. The restaurants decor are so cozy and grand for the inexpensive type of food they serve. Thank you for "taking one for the team" with the Pekin Noodle Parlor. The food sounds awful even for American Chinese standards. I will give that one a miss if I ever visit Montana. The restaurant decor is amazing though. Very retro.

[@AmericanChineseFoodShow]

Hey, Fellow HK-er! Pekin Noodle Parlor is a great community establishment, you should definitely pay a visit if you're in town.

[@art0925]

Hi, fellow Hong Kongers in Seattle just happen to stumble upon your channel. Finally found another HKer that is interested in American Chinese Food and it's history. I always have a soft spot with American Chinese Food somehow and even trying to recreate a few dishes when I was working in Hong Kong before I moved back to the States 7 years ago. Pekin Noodle Parlor is definitly on my bucket list for historical restaurants to try. Keep up the good work.

[@DazzleQuality]

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.

[@AmericanChineseFoodShow]

The reason why a question like 'Do you like Chinese food in America?' is so difficult to answer is also why I love it. ;) I found solace from my local Chinese takeout joint when I first immigrated to the states as a teenager since my mother never cooked, but was it American Chinese food? The owners probably were recent immigrants and they sure didn't serve chop suey. Thank you for your question, it made me think a lot.

[@Alex.8081]

It was on my bucket list to go and try Pekin Noodle Parlor one day after I watched a documentary about it! Glad you did and now I know is not authentic Chinese food but is caters more to the locals! Still is great place but not my cup of tea! Good job! 👍

[@AmericanChineseFoodShow]

You should still totally visit if you get a chance. Just the historical significance alone is worth it!

[@hkraytai]

Passing through Butte this evening and wanted some Chinese food. Googled for places nearby and most were closed on Sunday except Pekin’ Noodle. Pictures on Google looked familiar and sure enough it was the oldest Chinese restaurant in America I saw on TV a year ago. What luck! We ordered the Broccoli beef and it was awful. Much much too salty no other flavor and the whole thing was soaking in brown liquid. Broccoli was soggy and beef chewy. The chicken noodle dish looked like chopped lunch meat over egg noodles. It was just OK. It was a dish like nothing I have ever seen. Anyway they looked busy so perhaps they have the local taste figured out. Just not for me.

[@AmericanChineseFoodShow]

Isn't it cool to try a dish like nothing you have ever seen once in a while though? ;)

[@hkraytai]

@@AmericanChineseFoodShow I wonder if the real intent was to reproduce the original recipes from his ancestors rather than the typical Cantonese Chinese food that are pretty much the same in the US?

[@joeburton1232]

YEP...the locals have ZERO idea what actually Chinese food is...sorry but true

[@hkraytai]

I don’t know what Cantonese food from the Gold Rush was like and whether it was terrible like that place. Nevertheless it was a good experience because I appreciate preservation of heritage and wish the establishment the best. Interesting point about historical accuracy and wish I had asked.

[@Remaagen]

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