Portland Chinese Scholarship Foundation Fundraiser, May 3, 2012

       I spoke about my Sweet and Sour book on the history of Chinese family restaurants at a fundraiser for the Portland Chinese Scholarship Foundation headed by Bruce Wong, the grandson of the original owner of the no longer operating historic Hung Far Lo restaurant in old Chinatown.

The next day, Bruce and I met at the Canton Grill, opened back in the 1940s, to participate in a  program produced by Annie Yau on Chinese laundries and restaurants as part of a six part documentary on Chinese Immigrant History for Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) to be shown in late summer.
First, the camera crew invaded the kitchen to film the preparation of several iconic Westernized dishes, chop suey, egg foo young, and chow mein. Then seated in a booth in the dining room, Bruce and I sampled the dishes as we conversed about the background of these popular items.