Saw interesting exhibit in PHILLY (8/12/06)

Have You Eaten Yet? (Interesting exhibit on Chinese Restaurants) in PHILLYHave You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America(from: http://www.philadelphiahistory.org/) $5 adult entrance (Kent Atwater Museum)

April 5-September 10, 2006

"Have you eaten yet?" is a standard Chinese Greeting similar to "How are you?" Through menus, souvenirs, glassware, scrapbooks and vintage radio commercials, Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America, organized by the Museum of the Chinese in America, tells the story of Chinese immigration and culture in the United States. The exhibition provides a national context with AKMP adding examples from the Philadelphia Chinese restaurant community.

This critically acclaimed exhibition has received national attention. In a September 22, 2004, New Your Times review, Yong Chen, history professor at the University of California, Irvine, and co-curator of the exhibition said "The Chinese restaurant has become part of our consciousness. It is quintessentially American."

The exhibition was organized and is on loan from the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA), New York City, and drawn extensively from the Harley Spiller collection. It is made possible with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, and MoCA members. Additional support was provided by MoCA benefactors Roderick G. W. Chu, Drs. Mary Leong and Peter Hong, Linda Sun and Jadin Wong. The AKMP exhibition is supported by a major grant from The McLean Contributionship, the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities We the People initiative on American History.
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I was recently last weekend in Philly for a CONVENTION. On Saturday, I got the time to sneak out of the workshops to check out the at the Kent Atwater Museum (Thanks DW for driving). It was a great exhibit on Chinese Restuarants in America. I got in for free due to my Boston MFA ID. (Memberships has it privileges www.mfa.org)

We saw old post cards/matchs/menus that chronicled the Chinese Restaurant and what they sold. Some in the past had dinner shows with dancing and various acts. Many of the drawings and characters on the menus are the stereotypical "fu manchu" and "charlie chan" with the buck teeth, queue and squinty eyes. My friends and I were a bit horrified to see this on the menus plus some had examples of pigeon English. Not all did this, but it was a bit of a shock. My parent's had a their own business and have been involved in the Chinese Business. Funny how Asian immigrants do what they need to do to have food on the table from restaurant, laundry, taxi or other service industry jobs to support their families.

The exhibit had for sale the 5 DVD documentary about Chinatowns around the world (thanks LEEWA for telling me of them)-www.tissa.com It is an interesting look at various Chinese restaurants all over the world. From my personal 9 years of my parent's own business to subsequent helping out other Chinese restaurants (New Year's Eve is a popular time for Chinese American food for take out), I can say it is hard work. There was even a Chinese Restaurant board game/papers on the history of the fortune cookie and breakdown of the various Chinese cuisines and their locations in China as well for handouts. ==================================
*what I am watching now:

Synopsis: (summarized by Krystalheart)A story about Jung Suh (Choi Ji Woo) and her best friend Song Joo (Kwon Sang Woo). As childhood friends, Jung Suh and Song Joo held a special bond within their friendship that blossomed into love. Song Joo leaves to America to study abroad, leaving a sad Jung Suh behind. Jung Suh is left alone to suffer in the silent cruelty of her step sister, Yuri, and new step mother. All the while, Jung Suh tries to be nice to her new step brother, Tae Hwa, who in returns mistakes this friendship for affection. Tae Hwa falls in love with young Jung Suh. The love that heaven forbids and a tragic love story that starts to unfold from here.

credit goes to this website for -Stairway to Heaven info http://www.krystalheart.com/heaven/