By Larry Tung
Kenny Yus grandfather had a dream when he left for Cuba from
Chinas Canton Province in the 1920s.
In search for a better life, he left his family behind and moved
to the Caribbean island to open a laundromat business. Thirty years
later, when Fidel Castro took over the country and nationalized
his business, he found himself fleeing in another exodus. This time,
he settled down in New York and opened a Cuban-Chinese restaurant
on 8th Avenue and 19th Street in Chelsea.
La Chinita Linda, now owned by Yu, is one of the few
remaining Cuban restaurants in the city. As the old generation of
Cuban Chinese population in New York diminish, few of their descendants
are holding on to the restaurant business that once was blooming
everywhere in the city.
The original owners of those restaurants are very old now,
Yu said. In addition, the second and third generations are
not interested in the restaurant business. They want to do other
professional work, like [becoming] lawyers and doctors.
Yu shares a common family history with tens of thousands of Cuban
Chinese in the United States. Their history goes back to 1847, when
more than 200 Chinese men arrived in Cuba to work on sugar plantation
as contract workers. The growing anti-Chinese sentiment on the west
coast of the United States and the Chinese Exclusion Act, enacted
in 1847, also forced many Chinese in America to flee to Cuba and
other Latin American nations.
By 1940, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 were living in Havana, Cubas
capital, and other parts of the island. El Barrio Chino, the Chinatown
in Havana, was once the most prosperous and densely populated Chinatown
in Latin America, occupying more than 40 blocks bursting with Chinese-owned
restaurants and other businesses.
But a communist revolution led by Castro in 1959 changed all that.
The state took over private property and nationalized all private-owned
businesses. Most Chinese fled overseas and many settled in Miami
and New York, where the North American Cuban Chinese Benevolent
Association is headquartered on East Broadway in Chinatown.
All my family in Cuba came to the United States and brought
the rest of us here, said the China-born Yu, who has never
been to Cuba and only united with his grandfather when he was 12.
My grandfather opened the restaurant in 1970 and I have been
working here since I was in high school.
The restaurant used to serve the Cuban and other Hispanic workers
in the nearby industrial area before gentrification changed the
landscape of the neighborhood. In these days, it is hard to maintain
the business, he said.
There used to be at least five Cuban Chinese restaurants in
Chelsea, Yu said. But most of them closed down because
the rent went up so high and the old owners just wanted to retire.
On the other hand, in order to appeal to a bigger market as more
immigrants from other Caribbean islands are coming to the city,
another restaurant, Dinastia China, expanded its menu from Cuban
Chinese to pan-Carribbean in 1986 and now calls itself a Chinese-Latin
There are not as many Cubans here anymore, said Michael
Lam, a senior employee there who is Uruguayan-Chinese. But
there are large Dominican communities in Washington Heights and
the Bronx. Many of them would come down here to eat.
We even get celebrities like Wesley Snipe, Queen Latifah
and Chris Rock, Lam added. But the business is basically
run on word of mouth.
La Caridad 78, located at Broadway and 78th Street, is one of the
few Cuban Chinese restaurants where business is thriving. Founded
30 years ago, its excellent location gives it an edge to attract
a more diverse crowd. The nearby Beacon Theater, which is one of
the citys most renowned concert halls for performing artists,
also brings them a lot of pre-show and after-show business.
A good location is so important, said Clement Htam,
a manager for 17 years. We bought out the stores next door
and expanded twice since 1986.
Although most Cuban Chinese restaurants are run by second or third
generation Chinese, the food they serve is more on the Cuban side.
Their most popular dish is Fried Pork Chop, or Chuleta Frita, while
Fried Chicken Crackling, or Chicharrones de Pollo Sin Hueso, is
also one of the favorites.
Other popular dishes include Beef Steak, or Bistec de Palomilla,
Fried Plantain, or Platano Frito, and Shredded Beef, or Ropa Vieja.
Given their focus on the Caribbean flavor, they are not exactly
popular among traditional Asian diners.
Many of our customers are Hispanics, Yu said. We
get very few Asians.
Some of our customers are Chinese-Americans, said Lam
of Dinastia China. They would come here with their Spanish-speaking
friends. But they are not here for Chinese food. They want to try
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