Showing Records: 1 - 10 of 13
Interview with Aurora Len, 1997-08-27
Item
Identifier: 2015.007.002
Abstract
Aurora Len, a Chinese-Cuban-American woman discusses her mixed background. She was born in and grew up in Havana, Cuba,where her father owned a fruit store and several other businesses. Though her family was Chinese, her father and his brother were brought to Havana, Cuba by her grandfather at very young age after her grandmother passed away and later her father moved back to China and married her mother. Len herself went to China at age fourteen in 1937 and then moved to the United States...
Dates:
1997-08-27
Oral History Interview with Chris Yeo, 07-01-2015 - 2016-12-31
Item
Identifier: 2016.037.031
Abstract
Chris Yeo sits down with MOCA to talk about his experience leaving Singapore and coming to the US where he opened a series of successful restaurants. He explains his journey from opening a salon to becoming a restaurateur and several of the things that he’s learned about cooking for American patrons. He discusses his family and how his cooking stems from a desire to please people. Chris also shares some anecdotes about his experience on Food Network and speaking at the Smithsonian...
Dates:
07-01-2015 - 2016-12-31
Oral History Interview with Ivan Small, July 31, 2020
Item
Identifier: 2020.020.013
Abstract
Dr. Ivan Small is a professor of sociocultural anthropology at Central Connecticut State University. Professor Small is a bi-racial Vietnamese American and first became interested in his Asian heritage after visiting his relatives in Vietnam during his college years. His research weaves together cultural anthropology with Asian studies, economic anthropology and research about migration and transnationalism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Small published an article in the...
Dates:
July 31, 2020
Oral History Interview with Jefferson Li, October 20, 2020
Item
Identifier: 2020.020.028
Abstract
Jefferson Li’s family owns and runs the New York Chinatown butcher shop 47 Division Street Trading Inc. Like many Chinatown businesses, his family business took a huge economic hit due to the pandemic. Li took to the popular social news aggregator website Reddit to try and drum up business by publicizing their low prices to New Yorkers who wouldn’t normally be their primary demographic, becoming a pseudo celebrity in the process. As someone who has been in the Chinatown community prior to...
Dates:
October 20, 2020
Oral History Interview with Kayo Ong, 2007-12-16
Item
Identifier: 2008.040.012
Abstract
Larry Goodman, today’s owner of his familys corporation Grand Machinery Exchange, Inc., recounts how his first generation Polish grandfather founded the company in 1927. Goodman’s father Jerry and uncle Isidore took control of the business in 1947, and Larry Goodman later succeeded his father in 1983. According to Goodman, Centre Street machinery dealers were predominantly Jewish and were often afraid of non-Jewish “outsiders.” These business men were concerned with gaining respect and...
Dates:
2007-12-16
Oral History Interview with Marcella Dear, May 24, 2013
Item
Identifier: 2013.022.006
Abstract
Marcella Dear, a longtime friend of MOCA and a generous donor of over 900 objects, joins us to discuss her exciting life and her memories of Chinatown. Marcella goes into depth about many of the objects she donated, and discusses not only their significance as sentimental objects but also how these objects were used in their original setting, at the Rice Bowl restaurant on Mott Street. Marcella’s father founded the Rice Bowl, and she discusses her childhood growing up in and around the...
Dates:
May 24, 2013
Oral History Interview with Michael Tong, 2016-03-11
Item
Identifier: 2016.037.022
Abstract
Michael Tong describes his path from his birth of Anhui to becoming one of the most successful restauranteurs in New York City with two four-star restaurants. Moving first to Shanghai and Hong Kong before settling in the US, Mr. Tong studied civil engineering but chose to work in a NYC restaurant after graduation. From there, he opened up two restaurants, Shun Lee Palace and Shun Lee West, where he developed his love for different Chinese cuisines and helped bring Sichuan and Hunanese food...
Dates:
2016-03-11
Oral History Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Chan, 2008-03-07
Item
Identifier: 2008.040.018
Abstract
Mr. and Mrs. Chan, founders and owners of the long established and renowned coffee
shop and restaurant, Mei Lai Wah, in New York’s Chinatown, are both Taishan natives, who
claim that New York, especially their restaurant, is home to them. Upon arrival, Mr. Chan
was employed at a bakery, the culinary training from which he later applied to his own business,
Mei Lai Wah. Mr. Chan explains that he runs his business like a family and has not changed anything since he first opened it in 1968. He...
Dates:
2008-03-07
Oral History Interview with Tommy and Frank Wong, 2015-07-01 - 2016-12-31
Item
Identifier: 2016.037.026
Abstract
Tommy and Frank Wong discuss their experience coming to America from Hong Kong with their three brothers and working in a variety of restaurants before starting their own. The brothers lived across the US in Texas, Kansas, and San Francisco until they started their own restaurant in New Orleans. Tommy offers an interesting explanation of the history of Chinese food in America as well as how he worked to blend the styles and flavors of Chinese and Louisiana cuisine into what he considers to...
Dates:
2015-07-01 - 2016-12-31
Oral History Interview with Tony Wong, 2004-04-01
File
Identifier: 2014.036.013
Abstract
Tony Wong, General Manager at Sino Television, was born and raised in Hong Kong. He immigrated to the United States to study broadcasting at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Tony recalls his initial struggles as a student coming from a poor economic background and how he eventually moved to New York City, receiving a job offer at NBC right after graduation. During his time at NBC and in Sino TV as a part-timer, Tony would learn a myriad of skills including production, directing,...
Dates:
2004-04-01
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