People and Places
Chinese Cuisine People, Restaurants, and Institutions
Chinese cuisine is carried by people, restaurants, cities, and institutions. This section organizes those histories so they are useful for reading menus.
How to use this section
Use these guides as background for menu literacy. A profile is not included because of celebrity alone. It is included when the person, restaurant, or institution helps explain how Chinese dishes became recognizable, orderable, or reinterpreted outside their original setting.
Chef and author profiles
Cecilia Chiang and The Mandarin
Cecilia Chiang and The Mandarin explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Martin Yan and Yan Can Cook
Martin Yan and Yan Can Cook explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Ken Hom and Chinese Cookery
Ken Hom and Chinese Cookery explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Fu Pei-mei and Chinese Television Cooking
Fu Pei-mei and Chinese Television Cooking explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Peng Chang-kuei and General Tso's Chicken
Peng Chang-kuei and General Tso's Chicken explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Chan Yan-tak and Lung King Heen
Chan Yan-tak and Lung King Heen explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Grace Young, Wok Writing, and Chinese American Food Memory
Grace Young, Wok Writing, and Chinese American Food Memory explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Restaurant profiles
Din Tai Fung History
Din Tai Fung History explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Tim Ho Wan History
Tim Ho Wan History explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Quanjude and Peking Duck
Quanjude and Peking Duck explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Bianyifang and Peking Duck
Bianyifang and Peking Duck explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
The Mandarin in San Francisco
The Mandarin in San Francisco explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Shun Lee Palace History
Shun Lee Palace History explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Wo Hop and New York Chinatown Restaurant Memory
Wo Hop and New York Chinatown Restaurant Memory explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
Sam Wo and San Francisco Chinatown Restaurant Memory
Sam Wo and San Francisco Chinatown Restaurant Memory explained through Chinese food history, menu literacy, restaurant formats, and diaspora cuisine.
History and context
History of the Migration of Chinese Cuisine
A guide to how Chinese cuisine migrated out of China through trade, labor migration, exclusion, diaspora entrepreneurship, restaurants, television, and cookbooks.
History of Chinese Food in America
A practical history of Chinese food in America, from labor migration and chop suey houses to takeout, regionalization, and contemporary menus.
History of Chinese Food in New York
History of Chinese Food in New York with restaurant-format guidance, menu-literacy context, and related Chinese food history.
History of Chinese Food in San Francisco
History of Chinese Food in San Francisco with restaurant-format guidance, menu-literacy context, and related Chinese food history.
Chinese Food in Southeast Asia: History and Menu Guide
A guide to Chinese food in Southeast Asia, including Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Hainanese, Peranakan, Malaysian Chinese, Singaporean, and hawker foodways.
History of Indo-Chinese Food
A practical history of Indo-Chinese food, including Kolkata Chinese communities, Hakka noodles, Manchurian dishes, chili paneer, and dry/gravy menu logic.
Cantonese Food in the Diaspora
A guide to Cantonese food in the diaspora, including dim sum halls, barbecue windows, seafood restaurants, Hong Kong cafes, and American Chinese adaptation.
Diaspora Chinese Restaurant Formats
A guide to diaspora Chinese restaurant formats, including chop suey houses, dim sum halls, barbecue windows, Hong Kong cafes, hot pot restaurants, and noodle shops.
Chop Suey House History
A guide to chop suey houses, Chinese American restaurant history, exclusion-era entrepreneurship, and American Chinese menu development.
Chinese Food on Television and in Cookbooks
A guide to how television chefs and cookbook authors helped Chinese cuisine migrate into home kitchens and restaurant expectations.
Modern Chinese Fine Dining
A guide to modern Chinese fine dining, Michelin recognition, banquet traditions, restaurant status, and influential Chinese-cuisine chefs and restaurants.