Index:
0:00 – Panda Express and family-owned takeout Chinese restaurant similarities and differences, Panda Express offers promotion incentives and expanded within the last 10 years
3:30 – Next generation will not inherit restaurant business because the work condition is not that great, Chinese American Takeout restaurant does not have stable workforce, 10 years from now there will not be as many Fujianese people working in the takeout restaurant, Fujianese community inherited restaurant business from Cantonese community
5:40 – Person A does not regularly eat Americanized takeout restaurant food, Americanized Chinese Takeout food serves huge portions and do not charge a lot of money
6:30 – Restaurants in Chinatowns are more authentic (Cantonese style, family-style servings, serves chicken, lobster, shrimp, king crab) and are targeted towards Chinese population, Chinese restaurants in Chinatowns and in Americanized Takeout restaurants might have similar kitchen setup, but the food will be different, at home Person A eats steamed rice, 1-2 ingredients per dish, steamed shrimp with shell on
9:20 – Person A eats nice food at wedding banquets, Fujianese people are known to eat seafood because its more expensive than other meat dishes, Person A’s mom makes tomato and egg is a popular dish and pork bone soup with carrot and radish
10:00; 19:20 – Person A helping family network by providing free English translation assistance: immigration paperwork and green card renewal, social security office (retirement, supplement income) and asking around for advice or else pay for language assistance service; accounting firm service by Fujianese people to earn profit: PPT loan and taxes
13:30 – Person A’s family is the first family in extended network to have all offspring attend college and the demand for help is higher
15:50 – Living conditions of immigrants were to move back to the countryside in China
18:00 – Memorizing English to communicating with English and getting by in America
Transcript:
Today is March 3rd, the time is 5:51. My name is Jenny Chen and today I am interviewing person A so last time you mentioned Panda Express and how it is. A growing fast food chain, what do you think are some of the similarities between family owned like Mom and pop like Chinese American takeout restaurants and Chinese American fast food chains, chains like Panda Express. So I think that the similarities is for takeout food restaurants is that they pretty much selling different the same dishes. Like general chickens, orange chickens, egg rolls, sesames. And most of their customers are actually people who actually are busy with their real life. And then they usually will eat those foods. Maybe for lunch, right? Because lunch is always a lot of people actually don’t take a full lunch break. They’ll always in rush and those. Take out restaurants, you know, they sell stuff pretty fast. They cook fast, they serve people fast. I would say that the similarity will be they, you know, they sell similar type of dishes, right? The difference is that money and pastors are usually, you know, if you’re the owner, you’re also the worker. So it’s usually small operations and you know. For a lot of people. It’s a you know, it’s actually. Give it then little bit more stable. Jobs, right? So that you know a lot of times if you work for a take out restaurants you could be moving from one place to the another really fast. You know, if you do own your own restaurant and you know if you work a little bit harder sometimes, you know there’s a little bit more actual income that you can get and also you have that stability, you know some people, some people when they get older like. 5055 there’s actually a H discrimination in workplaces, so a lot of people will actually won’t want to hire somebody that’s a little bit older. Right, because, you know, if they pay the same salaries, they would rather hire somebody that’s in their 30s forties. Is that 50s and 60s? Because restaurant jobs, no matter what positions, whether you are a cook or you are a cashier. It’s a lot of fiscal demanding. It’s really fiscal demanding jobs no matter what. Also the the Panda Express, which is a French fries, meaning that you know, they do actually. Seller as a corporations and then they are usually chain stores and then Panda Express is a chain store that’s actually really popular on the West Coast in California and eventually actually got actually you know now you can find a couple panda restaurants in your cities as well. Which that’s not the case. Like 10 years ago. And even internationally, I remember actually finding Panda Express in. Places out of the United States, yeah. Yeah. And then panda restaurants, you know, they actually have the dividends, they have a good training programs and then you know, they will actually literally if you decided to join their franchises, you actually have a lot of opportunity, right. And you know there’s a lot of promotional opportunities. You can start with Panda Express. Let’s say cashier and you know you can slowly move up. Do you think in the future a lot of these like first generation immigrant run Chinese American restaurants will like die out and then be replaced by like large fast food chains? I will say definitely because you know a lot of people who. Could be running and pop stores 10 years ago. When once they actually get older, they retire and then their next generations, their children’s actually won’t take, won’t inherit the restaurant. So I can totally see that the Chinese take out restaurants kind of being phased out eventually and even right now when somebody, when a new immigrant wants to go for a job that doesn’t require. Language skills because restaurant jobs is usually have a long working hours and not so pleasant work environments. And then the work condition is not that great. I know that it’s already having a lot of people are actually having difficulty finding workers, finding a stable workforce is also a challenge. So I, you know I would say maybe another 10 years you know, Chinese takeover. Front mountain pastors, it’s not going to be something that’s among our Fujianese communities. Yeah. And you know, it really, you know, a lot of people, I would say 30-40 years ago, you see Lala Fujianese people and Cantonese people actually working in the restaurants, but. I would say around 20 years ago, all the Cantonese people actually started to look for other type of businesses or other type of job opportunities and they actually sell the take out restaurants to those food janese people and also Fujianese people are known for hard workers, extremely hard workers, yeah. And they can deal with the. Longer hours, but lots of them actually came here 20 years ago. They started having it debuted Wolf based on the money that they made from the take out restaurants and they will actually invest, invest in many other. Areas in business, yeah. And then you know they will have, they will get married, they’ll start families and their next, their next generation, their children are definitely not into those. Let’s talk a little bit about the food that is served in these take out restaurants. So it’s Americanized Chinese food and it’s very different from. Like what some people consider like authentic Chinese cuisine, right? What is your take on American nice Chinese food? So for me, those take our restaurant foods is definitely a lot more Americanized than than than any of the Chinese dishes, right? So I will only eat it if I don’t have any other choices, right? And usually if I go travel somewhere, usually those takeovers from foods, they’re known for two things. They’ll give you huge portions. They will charge you less money. So that’s one of the things that are really impacting a lot of people you know choices right. Yeah. And then you know for for me like eating some of the regular foods that I eat at home, it’s it’s really what our really reflecting our cultures and you know that’s that’s why you know. We will actually try those different Chinese foods. And you know, that’s why in Chinatown, like Chinatowns in Queens, Chinatowns in Brooklyn, Chinatowns in Manhattans anywhere, their food is actually more authentic and it’s also more targeted to the the Chinese people, the Chinese people and, you know, you. You know almost if you go out you probably can’t find any takeout restaurant you can because those are more targeted for the customers. That’s non Chinese. You know the the kitchen set up will probably be similar but the food and the the way they prepare food is different. So you often go out to any restaurants the same set up they have walked. They have a deep fires, they have you know, walking freezers, but then you know the food they cook will be different. The way they cook food will also be different. Can you give me some of the examples of popular dishes that you like to eat when you go out, like Chinese dishes? And then what are some Chinese dishes that you like to make at home? Families actually. Don’t do restaurants like we don’t go out to eat a lot. I only go out and eat with friends. And for at least for the past five years, I think, well, I would say for the past ten years Harper has been really popular. So and then, you know, the restaurants usually have each of you have your own part and you get to choose anything, right? So for me, if I go to Harper, I will choose stuff that I normally don’t eat at home. You know, usually when I go out with people, we’re all like. Love Chinese food, so a lot of times we will actually. Because most of my friends are also Chinese, so we actually will do what we call family style. We will have a big plate in the middle of the table and then each of us will just actually kind of pick our portions, right. And then you will use our own chopstick, right? So, you know, some of the dishes could be like really, I would say more Cantonese styles. They have always Cantonese people like to eat chickens and then they also love to eat like roast stocks, right, and then Peking ducks, you know, a lot of times we will have like, you know, I would say. Lobster, lobster. Right now, shrimp. Yes, cocola. Shrimp. And also fried rice, fried rice. So when I’m eating home, it’s always the steam rice, the steamed white rice, steamed brown rice. Sometimes we might eat like one or two meals with noodles, right noodle soups. But you know when I when we are eating homes, you know, it’s usually like we don’t, we would just make a vegetable like vegetable plate was just regular vegetables. So it’s like one or two ingredients per dish, right? Like snow pea tips. It’s always our favorite. And then, you know, my mom loved to steamship, right? The shin with the shelf on right, the shin. And then also we we don’t eat like. Big expensive stuff like lobsters. Well, you know kings crab, right. Those are the stuff. We probably will even we go out. Yeah. And then I would say, you know, the traditional weddings, right, wedding banquets in the restaurants are usually the the nicest things because, you know, you get to eat lots of the expensive stuff. Yeah. And Fujianese people are known for like we. Passive usually cost a lot more than the beef, the meat and everything. Yeah. And at home, you know, we keep everything simple. We, you know, large want dishes. My mom always cool. It’s a tomato with a egg. Tomato with the egg. Dedan. You don’t have frontier, right? And then one or two vegetables. And then a lot of times my mom will use pork bones to make soup. So we’re putting carrots and radish. Yeah. Let’s transition to attention network, right. And could you explain how you would help a family member out and how that is like different than how Americans like help each other? Yeah. So I would say the first thing would be my language skills. Right. You know, oftentimes when we go to school for. About two years on, will become the only English speaker in the families. So a lot of times, you know, I would help with translations if I had to bring my mom to the bank or if I had to actually help a cousin defend a parking ticket that he has. I help a lot with Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. You should be called department. Now, which you know, they do annual inspection to take out restaurants, it’s often unannounced, right? And then they will issue tickets for many different violations. Many of them come with penalties and it’s usually monetary penalty. And if you have too much violations, you actually have to close your restaurant as you know those check out. Chinese Chinese takeout restaurants only close once a year, one day per year, which is. Thanksgiving, right? Yeah, yeah. So, you know, I definitely use my language skills a lot. And it’s more of language skills also help to navigate the complicated system that we ever had to deal with, including that immigration paperwork. Right. The the green covering new that I I was able to help out and then dealing with Social Security office right. Sometimes we will have a relative wanting to you know apply for retirement apply for supplement income and then a lot of times we’ll just kind of like. Know what problems and try to ask people around, right? A lot of times, you know, it could be an issue that we ask. Like OK, as a teacher, some teachers might know, right? So I think they’re definitely it’s, it’s the language skills that I have to use and also the wording is to help, right? The willingness to help because you know, us, we’re definitely in the United States especially. You know, you either have to pay money to pay someone to do it or you just have to deal with those yourself. Forget about, right? And then, you know, I mean with Lala, let’s say American households, their kids never have to worry about their parents not speaking English, right, that that shouldn’t be an issue. And then I think that you know, the way, you know? The American households, once you have your kids 18 years old, forget it, move out. They become them independent. But for me, I actually say I wanna live with either with my parents or somewhere close by so I can continue helping to take care of them when they make a decision to move here. It’s a really scary and pretty powerful. Physician, they have to make so now that you know we kind of build our roof here. I really want them. And eventually they’re gonna be dying here, right? So I really want to do anything we can to make them feel home. So that’s one of the reasons that we actually buy a house in those Chinese neighborhood where they can access to their doctors, they can access to the supermarkets, they can just go out and feel free and safe to go out and talk to their neighbors. Who speak the same language, who share the same culture. How much time do you think would you estimate that you spend, like helping your relatives and helping family members? I won’t say. Pretty often I remember going to college. I actually have good jobs. And then there will be times where I often have to help out with one thing, like, you know, because I have so many relatives. So even one of them as small tiny favor from me, it will require my time. And then, you know, I do have 50 plus cousins from both sides, right? And then on my that side, I’m actually the first person to go to college. Yeah. And then our family is actually the only families. Like my dad has three brothers. And none of them actually sending their so in our generations none of them actually have their kids going to college until my family. So my family is the only family that have all five kids going to college. And you know and I remember I, you know, constantly they will want me to help and then you know, it also kind of. Become a little bit demanding, right? And I just feel free. I just can’t say no. So I know I always keep myself busy. So bad thing I would say. You know, I do have few different uncles who always ask me to do anything. And then you know not that they’re next generation you know their grandchildren’s actually grow up like you. So things are getting a little bit better. Yeah. Yeah. So you know and also I think that you know the fact that I I got married it’s a good thing. So they would they would say that you know she needs to put attention in her family so we shouldn’t be asking her but I also have a really good. Relative like your parents. Like they usually take it every day on their own or your mom will figure out a way. So your family actually never really asked me to help out, but. Family, for example, right. You know that that always. Call me on something and I will try my best to help. Thanks a lot of these first generations of Chinese immigrants who moved to America and have very limited English skills due it would be possible for them to permanently reside in the US and get things done if they didn’t have people that they can go to and ask you know, who who actually knows English. Then he can help them you know longer older people also go back, right. They decided they they wanna go back and I do think they all the relatives because all our family members are already in the US so I think that they they will actually you know wanted to retire here and live here. Some of them might not even want to go back. Right, because right now in China where we came from as a, as you know, it’s a countryside and stuff is different even though you might be able to breathe fresh air. But then, you know, it’s not so convenient. I know my parents, one of the reasons they don’t go back is because our house is like. It’s really broken. And they don’t want to actually spend money to to build it and they, they may not find workers. Yeah. And they really get used to this, to the, to the, to everything here and in a way that you know in China, in Chinese communities. Lot of people actually create business opportunities based on their language proficiency skills. So you know, if you don’t speak English, it’s not an issue. You can pay somebody to do your taxes. You can pay somebody to fill out the immigration paperwork for you. You can pay for someone to actually go to, you know, office translate for you, right. You can do a lot of things. In China right now, it’s something different. I was telling my mom, who actually is not only illiterate in English, but she doesn’t know Chinese. She cannot read Chinese character. She speaks fujianese. Tiny amount Mandarin. She cannot write, she cannot read. So she doesn’t know how to use WeChat, WeChat and WeChat. As something is really popular in China. Everywhere you go, it’s OK, you don’t have a cash, but if you don’t have a smartphone with recharge, you might be having trouble moving around. So I think that, you know, for my parents it’s actually better that they live here. And it’s also actually better that they are with us because they are getting older and they mean a lot of cares and attention, right. So this is not something that, you know, if they go back to China, they don’t even have anybody that can help out. You know, our hometown, almost everybody there right now is some people from other province. They’re looking for job tunity, right. And, you know, close relative, even extended relatives. Somehow they were able to figure out a way to either move to the city or they, you know, move. Oversee, yes. And then this is this question is about the uncle who like calls you like every Sunday to ask for help, right? He was, he was like educated, completed high school. Was it because his he didn’t have enough English fluency skills or was it that he did not understand American bureaucracy and like how how to fill out form? How to like complete any process. So I think that it’s two things that you just mentioned, but also it’s about the boundary issue. They can be intrusive and then they do have a issues with the boundary even with our own parents, right, right. Our parents, you know as you can see, but also I would say that for those people who. Are working in the restaurants their English level? I won’t say proficient. They just know enough to actually communicate with the customers because they actually do that by memorizing other different things, right? But they’re not really learning English to actually know everything. You know. It’s not like you’re going to a school and you get to learn different things. Half English and other stuff. And it’s also because I think that, you know, the English is just limited enough for them to get by, right? And then for this uncle, you know, I mean we used to have very good relationship and then, you know, I think that they also get used to having me helping out, right. So, you know, example, it’s. In the pandemic, right, so it’s a small business of new cities department small business and they do have a PPP grant payment protection programs, right. So like restaurants, a lot of restaurants remain closed for between couple months to like a year and up and then they try to reopen those business. And then keep bringing better workers so the PPP grants right? Your parents actually pay somebody. Although they have to pay a lot to actually get that done. This uncle actually helped me do all the work, so you know, for me to do it like. You know, it’s a little bit slower because I really had to learn everything. And then you’re constantly, you know, provide all those paperworks and stuff, right. So, you know, I think that like it’s a boundary issue. It’s a choice issue. And then, you know, I think that she just doesn’t want to pay other people to do it. And it’s also because, you know, that’s. That’s something actually offered by the accounting firm because restaurants usually have accounting firms deal with the business. Income tax every year, because that one is a little bit complicated. So the difference is that your mom’s, your mom’s accounting firm through this, in addition to any other services they provide, they just shut you huge amount of money and they probably can do everything but when they close their eyes, because they’re really deal with all the financial stuff for your restaurant, so it’s easy for them. For me, I literally had to read everything word by word and trying to understand the program and study myself and then go back to this uncle and this uncle has to go back to the accounting firm which they don’t offer this as a service to them. And it’s all, there’s a difference. It’s also I want to point out that the firm that your mom goes to is a is operated by Fujianese people. So a lot of times we will be working hard to look for any possible profit making opportunities, but for those kind of these people, they’re not as hardworking. Chinese people. So they are, they’re just like, OK, I’m comfortable with just this amount of accounting work. Yeah. So that’s the difference is, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then is there anything else you would like to like add? You know, as you come to actually putting all this stuff together, right? If there’s anything else come to your mind, feel free to reach out and then also if anything that you know you need any clarifications, let me know. So hopefully, yeah, because I also have been done a lot of different interviews and then for me all kinds, we could be learning a lot of information but. You have trouble actually to really stay unfocused, but I think that’s normal. Yeah. Thank you.