![]() First-generation kids-the same ones who had been nudged into white-collar careers to avoid the exhausting and low-paying service work our parents did-had returned to take over longtime businesses ( Nom Wah’s Wilson Tang and Sophia Tsao of Po Wing Hong, for example), while others (like 12 Pell’s Karho Leung) were opening ventures that, while not necessarily traditional, were tied in some way to their Chinese-American and more specifically, Chinatown, upbringings. More recently though, there had been some optimism in my dad’s commentary. As immigrants from his generation who were part of the 1970s and '80s wave began to retire, they didn’t have anyone to inherit their stores and restaurants. What he rarely said, but his tone always implied, was that it was changing for the worse, that gentrification was taking away the Chinese mom-and-pops he knew and loved. Over the years, my dad-himself an immigrant restaurant worker-would often remark that Chinatown was changing. It’s sad to know that when we’re on the other side of the pandemic, there will be fewer dim sum halls for all of this to happen in. Dim sum isn’t really dim sum without the organized chaos and rituals-the jostling with strangers over the last steamer basket of chicken feet, the futile act of making eye contact with a server for your tea refill, or the bumping into an auntie you haven’t seen in years only to be peppered with increasingly invasive personal questions (Did you find a new job? When are you getting married? You’re definitely having a second baby, right?). While New Yorkers can continue to order the restaurant’s food for pickup and delivery (Jing Fong’s Upper West Side offshoot will also remain open), the experience will be lacking. With red-paneled walls, soaring chandeliered ceilings, and rows of giant round tables, the bustling restaurants are not only venues for countless celebrations-birthdays, weddings, and babies’ 100-day milestones-but act as a community hub, a place where news and gossip are shared, where introductions between recent and longtime immigrants are made, and where first-generation Chinese-American kids like myself try to maintain the oft-tenuous ties to our roots. It’s not an exaggeration to say I grew up in those Chinese banquet halls. Depending on where this friend lived, we’d meet on a nearby corner and meander our way to the week’s massive restaurant of choice-usually to what’s currently known as Pacificana, but occasionally to Park Asia or the now closed East Harbor. Every Sunday, I’d eagerly wait for my mom to wake up and dial the number of a family friend to confirm a time and a place. ![]() We will notify you about material changesby placing a notice on our website or by sending you an email.Growing up in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park-one of NYC’s largest Chinese communities-dim sum was as much a part of my weekly routine as school and Saturday morning cartoons. UPDATES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY: This is just a reminder that our Privacy Policy may change,so please review the posted version from time to time. THIRD PARTIES: Make sure you read this section if you would like to know more about ourpartners.ġ3. FORMS AND INTERACTION: In this section, you can find some additional information onpurposes for using your personal data when you fill in forms on our website.Ħ. Inparticular, we need your consent as our legal basis to send you the Newsletter.Ĥ. LEGAL BASIS: We update information relating to legal basis we use for each processing. ![]() DATA PROCESSING PURPOSE: We now explicitly inform you that we mayprocess your personaldata to send you our Newsletter.ģ. The changes to the Privacy Policy will take effect automatically – you don’t have to do anything.Ģ. You can view the new version here, effective January 24th, 2022.
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