The Buried Cantonese Cuisine Archives

An unfamiliar email and a lost Cantonese cookbook led the author on a journey to discover Chinese cuisine in the United States.

While most people today associate American Chinese food with "Chop Suey" and cheap takeout, Chinese cuisine actually experienced a golden age in North America. In the 1930s and 40s, while China was embroiled in war, America was enjoying peace and prosperity, and Chinese cuisine opened a new door for locals. Dishes like bear paw from the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, and nearly lost Hong Kong delicacies such as Pipa Bird's Nest and Phoenix Dancing with Auspicious Birds, surprisingly enjoyed a miraculously brilliant period across the ocean.

For three years, guided by a single cookbook, the author traversed the east and west coasts of the United States, visiting Xinhui, Hong Kong, and New York. From the U.S. National Archives, Chinese American museums, and oral histories of restaurant descendants, a picture of the lives of local Chinese Americans nearly 100 years ago was pieced together.