The Story of Chinatown: A Legacy of Food and Culture

I still remember the day I told my parents that I was going to culinary school tomorrow. They were not thrilled with the idea, especially since they had always envisioned me becoming a lawyer or a doctor. However, as I pursued my passion for cooking, they eventually came around and supported my decision.

As someone who grew up in Chinatown, I have always been fascinated by the cultural significance of food. My parents moved to America from Cantonese-speaking provinces, where I was raised on traditional Cantonese dishes. While our family recipes were familiar, there was a subtle difference between the food we grew up with and what we experienced in America.

One of my uncles, who is also an expert in interior design and construction, played a crucial role in designing my restaurant's decor. He incorporated elements from both American and traditional Chinese styles to create a unique blend that reflected the essence of Chinatown. Our aim was not only to serve delicious food but also to honor the cultural heritage of our community.

My grandparents' family business had been operating on 133 Christie Street for over 40 years, distributing Chinese produce and specializing in Chinese sausage. I would often visit my relatives during summer breaks, learning about their experiences growing up in Chinatown. My grandmother lived in a small apartment in Chinatown her entire life, while my father moved to downtown Brooklyn due to space constraints.

The 1990s were a special time for me, as I spent most of my days at the park with friends who had also grown up in Chinatown. We would meet there after school, exploring our creativity and socializing until late into the night. Without cell phones or social media, we relied on each other and our surroundings to have fun.

Looking back, it's amazing how much has changed since those carefree days. The park is now a bustling area with new businesses and developments. I haven't visited the park in years, but the memories of our time there remain vivid in my mind.

One of our favorite hangouts was Jinky, a shop that sold fresh rice rolls. We would often meet there to enjoy these delicious breakfast items, which have become an integral part of Chinatown's culinary identity. Another beloved spot was Pell Street No Frills Barber Shop, where the barbers took care of not only our hair but also our community.

As I reflect on my journey, I realize that Chinatown has been a significant part of my life. It taught me valuable lessons about resilience, adaptability, and the importance of preserving cultural heritage. My culinary journey is a testament to this legacy, as I aim to continue serving traditional Cantonese dishes while innovating and evolving with the times.

By combining our passion for food with a deep understanding of Chinatown's history and culture, we hope to create an authentic dining experience that honors our roots while welcoming new generations to the community. We believe that by sharing our story and our cuisine, we can not only preserve but also enrich the cultural identity of Chinatown for years to come.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enforeign we wanted to open a space in our community that represents us Chinatown is our community I'm trying to Breathe new life into Cantonese food and experiencing food Through My Lens is what I believe Cantonese American food is there's a long history in this location yo this is who we are we want to encourage people to come back to Chinatown we're entering a new wave in a new generation of Chinatown here today to pick up some rice noodle rolls for our restaurant hello t-shirt this is the one with the hamae this is just plain they also sell like all the sort of tofus yeah foreign blessed to be able to get majority of my ingredients within Chinatown Don Jose everything is a couple of blocks away it's honestly one of my favorite things to do when I get up in the morning I'm able to speak to them in Cantonese and ask them how they're doing having a conversation with them you can learn so much by just talking so this is where we Source our milk buns for our Bola bow this is just Fresh Out the Oven more day foreign the butter and sugar then you're gonna add some eggs followed by the flour afterwards when it's done coming out of here it's almost like Play-Doh same thing that they would do with tortillas my favorite go-to order when I go to a bakery is bolo Bao and Elijah this is how you get that iconic yellow pineappley color there's nothing more classic than going to your bakery in Chinatown walking in and there's just this selection of buns follow bows roast pork buns there are so many bows it's 325 degrees for the moment let's check on it oh I just thought that it would be a little bit more fun to make up all about Square we made little milk tea Butters to go with the bowl about milk toast okay this guy too might be the ultimate rock climber I've ever seen dogs I'm from out here we're from Chinatown yeah everyone everyone in this room born and raised we've been friends with kids naturally we're Cantonese American we're born here we weren't born in Hong Kong we weren't born in Asia so how we were fed our culture how I learn how to speak the language was through movies at a young age great children of immigrants you know we're first generation that were born in New York but having kind of Cantonese Hong Kong toys on Roots as your base but being influenced in the past 30 years of just being a child of New York will really kind of penetrate those roots and add more to it I'm working the oyster mushroom rice rolls with steak and asparagus foreign which is a potato pasta and I used to have to roll it out and cut it into these little squares I saw the rice noodle rolls and I'm like huh it was kind of like the same concept but using rice noodles typically combine two of my favorite things growing up charm funny yeah yeah we have the tiger walnut shrimp yes Chinatown has a reputation of a go-to place with cheap beats that narrative has to change I don't think people really understand how much Mastery how much time and how much process it takes to make Chinese food right now I'm making the tiger jellyfish salad usually in the beginning of Chinese banquet you would get this big pile of jellyfish this is the jellyfish that I have marinated already cilantro long cut scallion Chinese celery rice vinegar sesame oil this this is from my Mediterranean and Italian background lemon zest actually like brightens up the dish I've been cooking for about 10 years now my background coming out of school was mainly Italian and Mediterranean cuisines my experience is eating my father's food eating in Chinatown eating in general with my friends and experiencing food Through My Lens is what I believe Cantonese American food is in my whole lifetime the food has pretty much stayed the same I just felt it needed a new take my mom's a good Baker she has a good palette this yeah yeah that was actually a first time eating it it's a little nerve wrecking I was afraid of what she was gonna say oh okay yeah okay wow I was actually pleasantly surprised that she actually liked it it is an accomplishment because she was really against it when I told her I was going to go to culinary school tomorrow my parents they moved to America to give me a better life I felt like they've always wanted for me to be a lawyer or a doctor um so you're always going to have this base of what Cantonese food is everything you've grown up but what you have here is similar but it's very different some people might think there's no Chinese food this is the culture of American Chinese it took them a little bit but once they got it they're understanding it a little bit more foreign he really helped in the design of this place he does interior design and construction and what this special tassel there's an astronaut on top I try to pick this to the like the future of Chinatown and Chinese most of the detail will really base on the old Chinatown more like a mixed match with some American Vision of how our Chinese is he didn't like this sign the sign yeah they they came up with it I think we didn't talk for like maybe two months he did not talk to me or anyone on the team over the sign you could say I'm stubborn we end up the way it is turned out to be good I mean it came out great my mom and my dad they're both equally as critical they'll never said this is great and we're proud of you whatever uh but I know that they care that's why they're being critical oh definitely of course a part of it I mean you could guide your kid what to do but even though sometimes I feel it's not gonna work it's I say let them do it I let them fail they learn from their mistake there's a long history in this location 133 Christie is where my grandfather at my mom's side of the family had their family business for over 40 years they distributed uh Chinese produce and the main product was came Chinese sausage I would go every summer that was summer camp for me you're going to be here you're going to do some math homework and then when your uncle needs help lifting boxes and going to all the supermarkets that's what I did oh so yeah my grandma's lived in Chinatown her whole entire life as far as after coming to to New York it was kind of like a small humble apartment my dad definitely lived there you know when they had me it kind of the space was getting too small so we eventually moved out over into downtown Brooklyn you know Brooklyn at that time was just a place to kind of for us to sleep but our life day to day was still in Chinatown 90s you know what I'm saying like yo in 90s and 2000s you made all your friends at the park you know most of us were Park rats pretty much here was Where it All Began so this is really kind of where we all met kind of everyone went to middle school or high school together yeah and after school you would kind of just like meet here this is the time before cell phones and social media there's like meat here at yeah noon yeah and then we would stay here from noon till how long 1am 1am 2 A.M sometimes yeah this is what we used to do I haven't actually sat here in such a long time it was literally what we used to do every single day life was so much easier right life is so hot right yeah I know I think I can still play it got so off finally let's give this brick wall was our favorite kind of shop it was a shop called Jinky these photos were taken in what 2006. it was literally right here when places close now we're more sentimental now foreign this the best fresh rice rolls in New York probably been coming to this at least 15 years plus okay okay this is chicken rice roll we added egg got the spicy chili oil on top scallions is up everything grew up on this is the quintessential Chinatown kid breakfast Pell Street No Frills Barber Shop these are the people that take care of the community 24 years 24 years from Malaysia yesterday yeah Chinatown is the story of my life it raised us whether the business of Chinatown the people of Chinatown I've known her since I came out the womb right it was our playground foreign we're the ones making the decisions for ourselves and representing ourselves so I think we wanted to really do that and evolve the culture coming back full circle after cooking Mediterranean and Italian food for so long cooking Cantonese food I just feel this is the right path that I'm going on we want to continue the legacy of Chinatown because it gave us our childhood and we want to be able to give that energy back to the community for the next Generations and the generations to come no no no no no noforeign we wanted to open a space in our community that represents us Chinatown is our community I'm trying to Breathe new life into Cantonese food and experiencing food Through My Lens is what I believe Cantonese American food is there's a long history in this location yo this is who we are we want to encourage people to come back to Chinatown we're entering a new wave in a new generation of Chinatown here today to pick up some rice noodle rolls for our restaurant hello t-shirt this is the one with the hamae this is just plain they also sell like all the sort of tofus yeah foreign blessed to be able to get majority of my ingredients within Chinatown Don Jose everything is a couple of blocks away it's honestly one of my favorite things to do when I get up in the morning I'm able to speak to them in Cantonese and ask them how they're doing having a conversation with them you can learn so much by just talking so this is where we Source our milk buns for our Bola bow this is just Fresh Out the Oven more day foreign the butter and sugar then you're gonna add some eggs followed by the flour afterwards when it's done coming out of here it's almost like Play-Doh same thing that they would do with tortillas my favorite go-to order when I go to a bakery is bolo Bao and Elijah this is how you get that iconic yellow pineappley color there's nothing more classic than going to your bakery in Chinatown walking in and there's just this selection of buns follow bows roast pork buns there are so many bows it's 325 degrees for the moment let's check on it oh I just thought that it would be a little bit more fun to make up all about Square we made little milk tea Butters to go with the bowl about milk toast okay this guy too might be the ultimate rock climber I've ever seen dogs I'm from out here we're from Chinatown yeah everyone everyone in this room born and raised we've been friends with kids naturally we're Cantonese American we're born here we weren't born in Hong Kong we weren't born in Asia so how we were fed our culture how I learn how to speak the language was through movies at a young age great children of immigrants you know we're first generation that were born in New York but having kind of Cantonese Hong Kong toys on Roots as your base but being influenced in the past 30 years of just being a child of New York will really kind of penetrate those roots and add more to it I'm working the oyster mushroom rice rolls with steak and asparagus foreign which is a potato pasta and I used to have to roll it out and cut it into these little squares I saw the rice noodle rolls and I'm like huh it was kind of like the same concept but using rice noodles typically combine two of my favorite things growing up charm funny yeah yeah we have the tiger walnut shrimp yes Chinatown has a reputation of a go-to place with cheap beats that narrative has to change I don't think people really understand how much Mastery how much time and how much process it takes to make Chinese food right now I'm making the tiger jellyfish salad usually in the beginning of Chinese banquet you would get this big pile of jellyfish this is the jellyfish that I have marinated already cilantro long cut scallion Chinese celery rice vinegar sesame oil this this is from my Mediterranean and Italian background lemon zest actually like brightens up the dish I've been cooking for about 10 years now my background coming out of school was mainly Italian and Mediterranean cuisines my experience is eating my father's food eating in Chinatown eating in general with my friends and experiencing food Through My Lens is what I believe Cantonese American food is in my whole lifetime the food has pretty much stayed the same I just felt it needed a new take my mom's a good Baker she has a good palette this yeah yeah that was actually a first time eating it it's a little nerve wrecking I was afraid of what she was gonna say oh okay yeah okay wow I was actually pleasantly surprised that she actually liked it it is an accomplishment because she was really against it when I told her I was going to go to culinary school tomorrow my parents they moved to America to give me a better life I felt like they've always wanted for me to be a lawyer or a doctor um so you're always going to have this base of what Cantonese food is everything you've grown up but what you have here is similar but it's very different some people might think there's no Chinese food this is the culture of American Chinese it took them a little bit but once they got it they're understanding it a little bit more foreign he really helped in the design of this place he does interior design and construction and what this special tassel there's an astronaut on top I try to pick this to the like the future of Chinatown and Chinese most of the detail will really base on the old Chinatown more like a mixed match with some American Vision of how our Chinese is he didn't like this sign the sign yeah they they came up with it I think we didn't talk for like maybe two months he did not talk to me or anyone on the team over the sign you could say I'm stubborn we end up the way it is turned out to be good I mean it came out great my mom and my dad they're both equally as critical they'll never said this is great and we're proud of you whatever uh but I know that they care that's why they're being critical oh definitely of course a part of it I mean you could guide your kid what to do but even though sometimes I feel it's not gonna work it's I say let them do it I let them fail they learn from their mistake there's a long history in this location 133 Christie is where my grandfather at my mom's side of the family had their family business for over 40 years they distributed uh Chinese produce and the main product was came Chinese sausage I would go every summer that was summer camp for me you're going to be here you're going to do some math homework and then when your uncle needs help lifting boxes and going to all the supermarkets that's what I did oh so yeah my grandma's lived in Chinatown her whole entire life as far as after coming to to New York it was kind of like a small humble apartment my dad definitely lived there you know when they had me it kind of the space was getting too small so we eventually moved out over into downtown Brooklyn you know Brooklyn at that time was just a place to kind of for us to sleep but our life day to day was still in Chinatown 90s you know what I'm saying like yo in 90s and 2000s you made all your friends at the park you know most of us were Park rats pretty much here was Where it All Began so this is really kind of where we all met kind of everyone went to middle school or high school together yeah and after school you would kind of just like meet here this is the time before cell phones and social media there's like meat here at yeah noon yeah and then we would stay here from noon till how long 1am 1am 2 A.M sometimes yeah this is what we used to do I haven't actually sat here in such a long time it was literally what we used to do every single day life was so much easier right life is so hot right yeah I know I think I can still play it got so off finally let's give this brick wall was our favorite kind of shop it was a shop called Jinky these photos were taken in what 2006. it was literally right here when places close now we're more sentimental now foreign this the best fresh rice rolls in New York probably been coming to this at least 15 years plus okay okay this is chicken rice roll we added egg got the spicy chili oil on top scallions is up everything grew up on this is the quintessential Chinatown kid breakfast Pell Street No Frills Barber Shop these are the people that take care of the community 24 years 24 years from Malaysia yesterday yeah Chinatown is the story of my life it raised us whether the business of Chinatown the people of Chinatown I've known her since I came out the womb right it was our playground foreign we're the ones making the decisions for ourselves and representing ourselves so I think we wanted to really do that and evolve the culture coming back full circle after cooking Mediterranean and Italian food for so long cooking Cantonese food I just feel this is the right path that I'm going on we want to continue the legacy of Chinatown because it gave us our childhood and we want to be able to give that energy back to the community for the next Generations and the generations to come no no no no no noforeign we wanted to open a space in our community that represents us Chinatown is our community I'm trying to Breathe new life into Cantonese food and experiencing food Through My Lens is what I believe Cantonese American food is there's a long history in this location yo this is who we are we want to encourage people to come back to Chinatown we're entering a new wave in a new generation of Chinatown here today to pick up some rice noodle rolls for our restaurant hello t-shirt this is the one with the hamae this is just plain they also sell like all the sort of tofus yeah foreign blessed to be able to get majority of my ingredients within Chinatown Don Jose everything is a couple of blocks away it's honestly one of my favorite things to do when I get up in the morning I'm able to speak to them in Cantonese and ask them how they're doing having a conversation with them you can learn so much by just talking so this is where we Source our milk buns for our Bola bow this is just Fresh Out the Oven more day foreign the butter and sugar then you're gonna add some eggs followed by the flour afterwards when it's done coming out of here it's almost like Play-Doh same thing that they would do with tortillas my favorite go-to order when I go to a bakery is bolo Bao and Elijah this is how you get that iconic yellow pineappley color there's nothing more classic than going to your bakery in Chinatown walking in and there's just this selection of buns follow bows roast pork buns there are so many bows it's 325 degrees for the moment let's check on it oh I just thought that it would be a little bit more fun to make up all about Square we made little milk tea Butters to go with the bowl about milk toast okay this guy too might be the ultimate rock climber I've ever seen dogs I'm from out here we're from Chinatown yeah everyone everyone in this room born and raised we've been friends with kids naturally we're Cantonese American we're born here we weren't born in Hong Kong we weren't born in Asia so how we were fed our culture how I learn how to speak the language was through movies at a young age great children of immigrants you know we're first generation that were born in New York but having kind of Cantonese Hong Kong toys on Roots as your base but being influenced in the past 30 years of just being a child of New York will really kind of penetrate those roots and add more to it I'm working the oyster mushroom rice rolls with steak and asparagus foreign which is a potato pasta and I used to have to roll it out and cut it into these little squares I saw the rice noodle rolls and I'm like huh it was kind of like the same concept but using rice noodles typically combine two of my favorite things growing up charm funny yeah yeah we have the tiger walnut shrimp yes Chinatown has a reputation of a go-to place with cheap beats that narrative has to change I don't think people really understand how much Mastery how much time and how much process it takes to make Chinese food right now I'm making the tiger jellyfish salad usually in the beginning of Chinese banquet you would get this big pile of jellyfish this is the jellyfish that I have marinated already cilantro long cut scallion Chinese celery rice vinegar sesame oil this this is from my Mediterranean and Italian background lemon zest actually like brightens up the dish I've been cooking for about 10 years now my background coming out of school was mainly Italian and Mediterranean cuisines my experience is eating my father's food eating in Chinatown eating in general with my friends and experiencing food Through My Lens is what I believe Cantonese American food is in my whole lifetime the food has pretty much stayed the same I just felt it needed a new take my mom's a good Baker she has a good palette this yeah yeah that was actually a first time eating it it's a little nerve wrecking I was afraid of what she was gonna say oh okay yeah okay wow I was actually pleasantly surprised that she actually liked it it is an accomplishment because she was really against it when I told her I was going to go to culinary school tomorrow my parents they moved to America to give me a better life I felt like they've always wanted for me to be a lawyer or a doctor um so you're always going to have this base of what Cantonese food is everything you've grown up but what you have here is similar but it's very different some people might think there's no Chinese food this is the culture of American Chinese it took them a little bit but once they got it they're understanding it a little bit more foreign he really helped in the design of this place he does interior design and construction and what this special tassel there's an astronaut on top I try to pick this to the like the future of Chinatown and Chinese most of the detail will really base on the old Chinatown more like a mixed match with some American Vision of how our Chinese is he didn't like this sign the sign yeah they they came up with it I think we didn't talk for like maybe two months he did not talk to me or anyone on the team over the sign you could say I'm stubborn we end up the way it is turned out to be good I mean it came out great my mom and my dad they're both equally as critical they'll never said this is great and we're proud of you whatever uh but I know that they care that's why they're being critical oh definitely of course a part of it I mean you could guide your kid what to do but even though sometimes I feel it's not gonna work it's I say let them do it I let them fail they learn from their mistake there's a long history in this location 133 Christie is where my grandfather at my mom's side of the family had their family business for over 40 years they distributed uh Chinese produce and the main product was came Chinese sausage I would go every summer that was summer camp for me you're going to be here you're going to do some math homework and then when your uncle needs help lifting boxes and going to all the supermarkets that's what I did oh so yeah my grandma's lived in Chinatown her whole entire life as far as after coming to to New York it was kind of like a small humble apartment my dad definitely lived there you know when they had me it kind of the space was getting too small so we eventually moved out over into downtown Brooklyn you know Brooklyn at that time was just a place to kind of for us to sleep but our life day to day was still in Chinatown 90s you know what I'm saying like yo in 90s and 2000s you made all your friends at the park you know most of us were Park rats pretty much here was Where it All Began so this is really kind of where we all met kind of everyone went to middle school or high school together yeah and after school you would kind of just like meet here this is the time before cell phones and social media there's like meat here at yeah noon yeah and then we would stay here from noon till how long 1am 1am 2 A.M sometimes yeah this is what we used to do I haven't actually sat here in such a long time it was literally what we used to do every single day life was so much easier right life is so hot right yeah I know I think I can still play it got so off finally let's give this brick wall was our favorite kind of shop it was a shop called Jinky these photos were taken in what 2006. it was literally right here when places close now we're more sentimental now foreign this the best fresh rice rolls in New York probably been coming to this at least 15 years plus okay okay this is chicken rice roll we added egg got the spicy chili oil on top scallions is up everything grew up on this is the quintessential Chinatown kid breakfast Pell Street No Frills Barber Shop these are the people that take care of the community 24 years 24 years from Malaysia yesterday yeah Chinatown is the story of my life it raised us whether the business of Chinatown the people of Chinatown I've known her since I came out the womb right it was our playground foreign we're the ones making the decisions for ourselves and representing ourselves so I think we wanted to really do that and evolve the culture coming back full circle after cooking Mediterranean and Italian food for so long cooking Cantonese food I just feel this is the right path that I'm going on we want to continue the legacy of Chinatown because it gave us our childhood and we want to be able to give that energy back to the community for the next Generations and the generations to come no no no no no no\n"