{"id":22440,"date":"2023-01-30T14:54:57","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T14:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/?page_id=22440"},"modified":"2023-05-25T13:35:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T13:35:45","slug":"chinese-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/restaurants\/chinese-restaurants\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row][vc_column]<figure class=\"vcex-image vcex-module\"><div class=\"vcex-image-inner wpex-relative wpex-inline-block\"><img width=\"4003\" height=\"3173\" src=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Bun-Fong-Low-Restuarant-ca-1896-1910.jpg\" class=\"vcex-image-img wpex-align-middle\" alt=\"A man in Chinese dress sits in a Chinese restaurant with Chinese style furnishings, wall hangings, and plants..\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Bun-Fong-Low-Restuarant-ca-1896-1910.jpg 4003w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Bun-Fong-Low-Restuarant-ca-1896-1910-300x238.jpg 300w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Bun-Fong-Low-Restuarant-ca-1896-1910-768x609.jpg 768w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Bun-Fong-Low-Restuarant-ca-1896-1910-1024x812.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4003px) 100vw, 4003px\" \/><\/div><\/figure>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1675109091549{margin-top: -40px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;]\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Unidentified man seated at the Oriental Restaurant\u00a0<\/em><em>at 32 Harrison Street<\/em><em>\u00a0owned by Bun Fong Low Company, ca. 1895-1910. Courtesy of the Trustees of Boston Public Library.<\/em><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text]<style>.vcex-heading.vcex_69e6e1eb51d18{font-size:36px;}<\/style><div class=\"vcex-heading vcex-heading-plain vcex-module wpex-heading wpex-text-2xl vc_custom_1675099149755 vcex_69e6e1eb51d18\"><span class=\"vcex-heading-inner wpex-inline-block\">Chinese Restaurants in Boston<\/span><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1685021739605{padding-right: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;}&#8221;]<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/restaurants-protype\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-22431 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/global-eats-logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"312\" height=\"67\" \/><\/a>Chinese restaurants in Boston were strikingly successful in the late 19th and early 20th centuries\u2014especially given the city\u2019s small Chinese population at the time. But they were also subject to white racism, harassment, and violence that harmed their business and made it more dangerous. Ultimately, though, by offering tasty food and diversifying the cuisine to accommodate American tastes, Chinese restaurant owners succeeded in building prosperous and influential businesses in Chinatown and beyond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Early Views of Chinese Restaurants in Boston<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston\u2019s Chinatown dates back to the mid 1870s when Chinese migrants from western states settled along Harrison Avenue between Essex and Beach streets. It appears that the first Chinese restaurants in Boston opened in the early-to-mid 1880s on Harrison Avenue. Usually located on the second or third floors, these eateries featured adjacent areas for lodging and gambling. They served the Chinese population in Boston, mainly immigrant working men from Guangdong province in southern China. Meals included lots of rice and fresh vegetables, fish, chicken or pork, along with fried noodles and oolong tea. Such restaurants were unknown to most white Bostonians and did not appear in the city business directory until 1896. For this reason, there are no Chinese restaurants that appear on our 1895 map.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most white Bostonians at the time refused to visit Chinese restaurants, viewing the food as a degraded product of an \u201c inferior race.\u201d In an 1885 article published in the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Globe, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chinese writer and activist, Wong Chin Foo noted that \u201cthe average American when he first approaches the Chinese table does so in fear and trembling.\u201d Racial animus strongly influenced American attitudes toward immigrant cultures, and decades of virulent anti-Chinese racism gave rise to negative stereotypes and outlandish claims about Chinese food and those who prepared it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most prominently, white Americans perpetuated the myth that Chinese restaurants served such delicacies as \u201ccat cutlet, griddled rats, dog soup, roast dog, and dog pie\u201d as portrayed in an 1854 fictional menu published by the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Investigator<\/span><\/em><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Many claims about Chinese restaurants serving \u201cvermin\u201d highlighted a common view that Chinese restaurants and thus, Chinese people were unsanitary, dirty, and uncivilized. An 1894 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Globe<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> piece commented on these supposed unsanitary conditions, noting that Chinatown was viewed as \u201cthe breeding nest of disease\u201d&#8211;hardly a selling point for those seeking good food.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_22447\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22447\" style=\"width: 407px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BH-1-27-1906.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-22447\" src=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BH-1-27-1906.png\" alt=\"Drawing of Americans eating at a Chinese restaurant with a sinister-looking Chinese waiter looking on.\" width=\"407\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BH-1-27-1906.png 471w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BH-1-27-1906-286x300.png 286w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-22447\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>A racist illustration depicting slummers in a Chinatown restaurant, suggesting that Chinese vice and immorality were close by. Courtesy of the Boston Herald, January 27, 1906.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Bohemians and Chinatown Slumming<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Toward the end of the nineteenth century, however, some white Americans became attracted to Chinatown because of its vice and \u201cexoticism.\u201d Influenced by colonialist ideas of the Chinese as exotic others, white slummers and Bohemians sought out the restaurants and dives of Chinatown for their evening adventures. Chinese restaurants were a prominent focus of these excursions, since they were conspicuous and far less controversial than other Chinatown attractions such as gambling and opium dens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1899 the <em>Boston Globe<\/em> reported that a party of \u201cbeautiful society ladies\u201d and \u201cbrave society men,\u201d including the Lieutenant Governor, went \u201cslumming\u201d in Boston\u2019s Chinatown. By the 1910s, the practice of slumming was common and many white Americans would pay for tours of Chinese neighborhoods. Because of the area&#8217;s proximity to the theater district, cabaret and big-band style Chinese nightclubs and restaurants proliferated across the neighborhood during the 1920s and after.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The growing popularity of Chinese restaurants is evident on <a href=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/restaurants-protype\/#1926map\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">our 1926 map<\/a>, which shows a cluster of ten restaurants in Chinatown but also a growing number in the South End and even a few as far out as Charlestown, Brighton, and Dorchester. These restaurants, compiled from the city directory, were just a portion of the total number. As the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Herald <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">put it in 1919, \u201cChinatown has become respectable. More than that, Chinatown has invaded the domain of respectability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_22392\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22392\" style=\"width: 532px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/have_chinese_restaurants_always_looked_chinese_alt_1050x700.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-22392\" src=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/have_chinese_restaurants_always_looked_chinese_alt_1050x700-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"A colorful restaurant showing two tables, a pagoda structure, Chinese lanterns, and a wall mural of a mountain scene in China.\" width=\"532\" height=\"355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/have_chinese_restaurants_always_looked_chinese_alt_1050x700-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/have_chinese_restaurants_always_looked_chinese_alt_1050x700-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/have_chinese_restaurants_always_looked_chinese_alt_1050x700-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/have_chinese_restaurants_always_looked_chinese_alt_1050x700.jpg 1050w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 532px) 100vw, 532px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-22392\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Postcard showing Ruby Foo&#8217;s Den in Boston, ca. 1930-1945. Foo was likely the first woman owner of a Chinese restaurant in the city, and the Den was well know for its colorful oriental decor. Courtesy of the Trustees of the Boston Public Library.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the success of Chinese restaurants in this period can be attributed to owners who capitalized on the orientalist craze through the decor and ambience of their restaurants. Proprietors often played up \u2018Oriental\u2019 associations through the use of gaudy lanterns, wall hangings with Chinese dragons and calligraphy, and bright red and gold color schemes. As early as 1894, a\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Globe<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> article noted such decor in a Chinatown restaurant, describing \u201cbanners of oriental subject\u2026 two fine lanterns,\u201d along with \u201ca broad silken border of deep crimson edged with gold.&#8221; The writer characterized these features &#8220;as being odd, mysterious&#8211;almost awesome.\u201d Such appeals to white customers\u2019 fascination with the \u201cFar East\u201d were carefully cultivated by popular restaurants such as Ruby Foo\u2019s Den in the 1920s and 1930s. Moreover, some of these Chinatown restaurants stayed open until midnight or later, attracting a late night crowd from the nearby theater district.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Chop Suey<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_22448\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22448\" style=\"width: 251px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/King-Chop-Suey-DC-crop.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-22448\" src=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/King-Chop-Suey-DC-crop-728x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"251\" height=\"353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/King-Chop-Suey-DC-crop-728x1024.jpeg 728w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/King-Chop-Suey-DC-crop-213x300.jpeg 213w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/King-Chop-Suey-DC-crop-768x1080.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/King-Chop-Suey-DC-crop.jpeg 913w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 251px) 100vw, 251px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-22448\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Matchbook cover from the King Restaurant, one of many local eateries serving chop suey in the early 20th century. Courtesy of the Trustees of Boston Public Library.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even more important in the growing popularity of Chinese restaurants was the rise of hybrid Chinese American foods like \u201cchop suey.\u201d Chop suey does not refer to a single dish or recipe, but was rather a common method of cooking a mixture of chopped meat and vegetables\u2013what the Chinese called \u201cbits and pieces\u201d&#8211;served in a sauce. While the origins of chop suey are hotly debated, it quickly became the most popular Chinese American dish, especially in New York and Boston. Soon Chinese restaurants began to rebrand themselves as \u201cchop suey joints\u201d and focused on appealing to non-Asian customers through menus in both English and Chinese.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over time, other Chinese American dishes joined chop suey on these menus. Egg foo young, chow mein, and egg rolls became popular fare at Chinatown restaurants by the mid-20th century. Chefs also incorporated local ingredients into their dishes. One striking example is lobster sauce, a sauce made with a base of broth and herbs and served with lobster or shrimp. Unlike in other cities, however, lobster sauce in Boston took on a dark brown color and sweetness as chefs added molasses to the recipe. As a historic center of the sugar trade with the Caribbean, Boston produced a vast amount of molasses, which found its way into local Chinese cuisine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Restaurants and Immigration Laws<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The proliferation of Chinese restaurants in the early 20th century occurred at a time when the population of Boston\u2019s Chinatown\u2019s remained flat&#8211;or even declined&#8211;because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. This law, first passed in 1882, barred the entry of Chinese workers except for merchants, diplomats, and students.\u00a0 Some Chinese restaurant owners, however, used their merchant status in order to circumvent immigration restrictions at the time. After 1915, investors in \u201chigh grade\u201d restaurants could gain a working visa that allowed them to return to China and bring employees with them back to the US. In order to meet these requirements, Chinese immigrants often would pool their resources to open \u201cluxury chop suey\u201d restaurants and then take turns running the business to reach merchant status. The investors would bring relatives to work in the restaurant who would then train and save to become investors themselves and start the cycle again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At least four Chinese restaurants on <a href=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/restaurants-protype\/#1926map\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">our 1926 map<\/a> show ownership by groups of three to six immigrant proprietors. Historian Heather Lee notes that from 1910 to 1930, the number of Chinese restaurants in the United States quadrupled as groups of immigrants began running and owning restaurants instead of laundries or other businesses. This practice likely fueled the Boston restaurant industry as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although some Chinese owners managed to work around the immigration restrictions to build successful restaurants, they continued to face hostile publicity, harassment, and even violence. In fact, the most common references to Chinatown or Chinese restaurants in Boston newspapers at the time were those describing criminal activity. Boston Globe headlines such as \u201cFight in Chinese Restaurant\u201d (September 7, 1901) and \u201cThugs Beat Chinese at Restaurant Here\u201d (October 10, 1928) often noted the connection to Chinese restaurants in the title, even though most of these stories were about non-Chinese people committing acts of violence against restaurant owners or patrons. Nevertheless, Chinese restaurants were viewed as places of crime and loose morals where unmarried white women could be lured into depravity. In response, state Representative John L. Donovan proposed a bill in 1910 to prohibit unescorted women under 21 from entering a Chinese restaurant. Ultimately, the bill was declared unconstitutional by the Attorney General and never went into law, but it illustrates the fears many white Americans held about Chinatown and its residents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Legacies and Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_22451\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-22451\" style=\"width: 460px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Tyler-St-1954-59-Nishan-Bichajian.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-22451\" src=\"http:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Tyler-St-1954-59-Nishan-Bichajian-1024x840.jpg\" alt=\"Night scene showing restaurant signs on Tyler Street with large numbers.\" width=\"460\" height=\"377\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Tyler-St-1954-59-Nishan-Bichajian-1024x840.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Tyler-St-1954-59-Nishan-Bichajian-300x246.jpg 300w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Tyler-St-1954-59-Nishan-Bichajian-768x630.jpg 768w, https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Tyler-St-1954-59-Nishan-Bichajian.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-22451\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Chinatown restaurants on Tyler Street in the 1950s. Notice the large numbers, which many non-Chinese patrons used to find restaurants with similar-sounding Chinese names. Photograph by Nishan Bichajian, courtesy of MIT Libraries.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although immigrant men owned nearly all of the first generation of Chinese restaurants in Boston, Chinese women became a growing presence in the industry beginning in the 1920s. One of the first and most famous women proprietors was American-born Ruby Foo, owner of Ruby Foo\u2019s Den. Opening her first restaurant at 6 Hudson Street in Boston in 1929, Foo later opened locations in Miami, New York, Washington DC, and Providence. Foo\u2019s \u201cDen\u201d garnered acclaim not only for its food, but also for the theatrical aspects of the dining experience, with major sports figures and celebrities among the patrons. In later years, the Boston area was home to several other prominent women-owned Chinese restaurants, including those run by Anita Chue, Mary Yik, and Joyce Chen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The end of Chinese exclusion in 1943 and other changes in immigration laws led to a dramatic transformation in Chinese cuisine in America after 1970. Most prominently, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, along with relaxed emigration controls by the Peoples\u2019 Republic of China in 1978, allowed thousands of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other regions across mainland China to come to the United States. Soon, Cantonese cuisine and Americanized Chinese foods like chop suey and chow mein began to fall out of fashion. Different regional cuisines took their place with an emphasis on authentic ingredients and preparations. Today, this diversity of flavor and proliferation of Chinese and Asian-fusion restaurants reveals a more varied and innovative culinary landscape. In Boston, as in many US cities, Chinese cuisine has become the most popular \u201cethnic\u201d option and one that has changed the way Americans eat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">&#8211;Mikayla Sanchez, Ling Han Su, Stephanie Wang, and Lila Zarrella<\/p>\n<p><strong>Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Auffrey, Richard. <a href=\"https:\/\/passionatefoodie.blogspot.com\/2020\/02\/the-first-restaurants-in-bostons.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cThe First Restaurants In Boston\u2019s Chinatown (Part 1-Expanded\/ Revised).\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Passionate Foodie<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (blog), February 28, 2020.<\/span>\u00a0See also list of other blog entries at bottom of this post.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cBoston\u2019s Foreign Restaurants.: French, Italian, German, Jewish and Chinese Bills of Fare&#8211;No Need to Go Around the World to Learn What Others Eat.\u201d <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Globe<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, January 7, 1894.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMade Tour of Resorts.: Lieutenant Governor Crane Visited the North and South Ends,\u201d <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Globe<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, January 25, 1899.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chen, Yong. <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chop Suey, USA: The Story of Chinese Food in America<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coe, Andrew. <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;Restaurant Bill Killed,&#8221; <em>Boston Herald,<\/em> April 23,1910.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cRuby Foo, 42, Restaurateur, Dies Suddenly.\u201d <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Globe<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, March 16, 1950.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Erby, Kelly. <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Restaurant Republic: The Rise of Public Dining in Boston<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. University of Minnesota Press, 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Godoy, Maria. <a href=\"http:\/\/passionatefoodie.blogspot.com\/2020\/02\/the-first-restaurants-in-bostons.html.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cLo Mein Loophole: How U.S. Immigration Law Fueled A Chinese Restaurant Boom.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NPR<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, February 22, 2016, sec. Food History &amp; Culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liu, Michael. <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity, &amp; Survival in Boston\u2019s Chinatown, 1880-2018<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>.<\/em> Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cRegenerated Chinatown Has Invaded Respectability.\u201d <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Herald<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>,<\/em> February 23, 1919.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Singh, Maanvi. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wgbh.org\/news\/2016\/03\/30\/local-news\/boston-chinese-fusion-food-cooked-melting-pot-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cBoston Chinese: A Fusion Food Cooked Up in a Melting Pot City.\u201d<\/a> GBH News, March 30, 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wong Chin Foo. \u201cChinese Cooking: An Interesting View into a Chinese Restaurant.\u201d <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boston Globe<\/span><\/em><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">July 19, 1885.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=&#8221;Return to Global Eats Homepage&#8221; style=&#8221;3d&#8221; color=&#8221;inverse&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221; link=&#8221;url:https%3A%2F%2Fglobalboston.bc.edu%2Findex.php%2Frestaurants-protype%2F|||&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1675109091549{margin-top: -40px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;] Unidentified man seated at the Oriental Restaurant\u00a0at 32 Harrison Street\u00a0owned by Bun Fong Low Company, ca. 1895-1910. Courtesy of the Trustees of Boston Public Library. [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1685021739605{padding-right: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;padding-left: 30px !important;}&#8221;]Chinese restaurants in Boston were strikingly successful in the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":22374,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/no-sidebar.php","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[20,92,93,91,94,80,74,16,18,30,73,95],"class_list":["post-22440","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-boston","tag-cantonese","tag-chinatown","tag-chinese","tag-chop-suey","tag-ethnic","tag-food","tag-immigrants","tag-immigration","tag-massachusetts","tag-restaurants","tag-ruby-foos-den","entry","no-media"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Chinese Restaurants - Global Boston<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/globalboston.bc.edu\/index.php\/restaurants\/chinese-restaurants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chinese Restaurants - Global Boston\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1675109091549{margin-top: -40px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 15px !important;padding-bottom: 15px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}&#8221;] Unidentified man seated at the Oriental Restaurant\u00a0at 32 Harrison Street\u00a0owned by Bun Fong Low Company, ca. 1895-1910. 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