Richard Auffrey

Chinese laundry business through history

History June 11, 2021 0

An early history of Chinese laundries in Boston

During the 19th century, the most prevalent occupation for Chinese men who settled in the Boston area was being a laundryman. This was also true for many cities across the country, especially as the Chinese had few available options, being barred from many other occupations. The first Chinese laundry in the U.S. likely opened in San Francisco in 1851, and the first Chinese laundry in Boston, noted as a “California Chinese Laundry,” opened in February 1875 at 299 Tremont Street. […]

Food May 21, 2021 0

What’s A Chop Suey Sundae?

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。) The most popular item in the earliest Chinese restaurants in the U.S. was chop suey, a mixture of meat and vegetables in a brown sauce. The origins of chop suey are murky but the dish certainly had a strong impact. It was such a popular term that it was even co-opted by others, to apply to non-Chinese foods, such as the Chop Suey Sundae. A Chop Suey Sundae? Meat, vegetables and a brown sauce over ice cream? No, this […]

Moy Auk band leader and Chinatown restaurant owner

History May 7, 2021 0

Moy Auk: band leader & famed chef

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。) During the late 1880s, one of the first and most famous restaurants in Boston’s Chinatown was owned by Moy Auk, who also led a famous Chinese musical band. His restaurant was referred to as the “Delmonico’s” of Chinatown. At this time, Delmonico’s, in Manhattan, was considered one of the finest restaurants in the country so this was very high praise. When Moy Auk traveled from China to the U.S., he first settled in San Francisco and opened a small restaurant. […]

Aeroporto is part of Chifa cuisine restaurant dish Peruvian Chinese fusion

Food April 16, 2021 0

Peruvian Taste & Chifa: Peruvian/Chinese fusion

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。) Have you ever tasted Chifa cuisine? In the Greater Boston region, there’s about ten Peruvian restaurants, many with a couple Chifa dishes on their menus, usually Lomo Saltado and Arroz Chaufa. However, Peruvian Taste Restaurant, located in Charlestown and having opened in September 2020, has the most extensive Chifa menu of all, with easily over a dozen dishes available. But what’s Chifa? Around the 1850s, many Cantonese Chinese left China for the U.S. while others traveled to Peru, commonly working on sugar and […]

Food April 2, 2021 0

Soall Viet Kitchen: a bright & tasty spot in Beverly

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。) Beverly continues to become a compelling culinary destination, and one of my new favorite spots is Soall Viet Kitchen, a Vietnamese restaurant which opened in October 2020. This is actually their second location, the first being the Soall Bistro in Marblehead, which opened in March 2012. The owners are Sa Nguyen and Mia Lunt, close friends who desired to offer authentic Vietnamese cuisine, to highlight the culinary delights of their homeland. The name Soall is actually a combination of Sa’s mother’s name, Soa, and the first letters […]

History March 19, 2021 0

The first attempt to eradicate Chinatown

(請點這裡閱讀中文版。) Around 1884, Boston’s Chinatown coalesced as a neighborhood and community, especially on Harrison Avenue. Only seven years later, the first attempt to eradicate Chinatown arose, fueled by racism and propelled by businesses seeking to get wealthier. At this point, there were less than 1000 Chinese living in Boston, and 70% of those worked in laundries. The endeavor to eliminate Chinatown centered on a proposal to widen Harrison Avenue, the section between Essex and Beach Streets. The Boston Globe, April 14, […]

Dim sum Chinese dumplings sold at blob joint restaurants

Food March 5, 2021 0

Blob Joints: a history of dim sum in the U.S.

The delights of dim sum! Numerous trolley carts of bamboo steamers with bao, dumplings, and other dishes are pushed around the room, and you simply point at the dishes you want. Sometimes you order off a menu, selecting from a long list of intriguing choices. You might have your own favorite dim sum spot in Chinatown, or maybe elsewhere. When did dim sum first come to the U.S.? What was the first dim sum restaurant in Boston’s Chinatown? Its origins […]

History February 19, 2021 0

Sam Wah Kee: Chinatown’s wealthy merchant turned fugitive

During the late 1880s and 1890s, Sam Wah Kee was the most wealthy Chinese merchant in all of New England, a leader of the Chinese Free Masons, and the uncrowned king of Chinatown. His ultimate fate is unknown, as he fled from federal authorities and apparently was never apprehended. It’s a fascinating tale of the rise and fall of an influential Chinese merchant in Boston’s Chinatown. Sam Wah Kee, whose family name was actually Ah Moy, was born on October 1, 1856, in […]

the celebration of Chinese New Year in Boston, with lanterns

History February 5, 2021 0

The 150th anniversary of Chinese New Year in Massachusetts

This year, Chinese New Year starts on Friday, February 12, beginning the Year of the Ox. It’s also the 150th Anniversary of the first public celebration of Chinese New Year in Massachusetts. Although you might suspect that the celebration occurred in Chinatown, it actually began in North Adams, a city in the far northwestern region of the state. Prior to 1870, there were only a handful of Chinese living in Massachusetts, and any celebration of Chinese New Year was more […]

Boston January 22, 2021 0

A Boston origin of… duck sauce?

If you dine at local Chinese restaurants, you’ve probably been served a container of duck sauce, a versatile sweet and sour sauce that is commonly used for dipping fried foods, from eggrolls to chicken fingers, fried wontons to crab rangoons. It has become such a familiar sauce that you can find it at non-Chinese restaurants too, especially with an order of chicken fingers. What is the origin of this curious sauce? Theories abound about its origin, most believing it acquired its name […]

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