As a Canadian born Chinese from Regina Saskatchewan in 1962 who also lived in Medicine Hat Alberta, i hear this topic with great interest. My father who worked in a family restaurant own by my great grand father in a small town in Saskatchewan. The restaurant and living ways were slow moving with regular customers and Americans who were here for hunting. This show gives me a better understanding and appreciation what my family experienced. I am currently live in Toronto and will be a grandfather next month. One day I will share my story to my Canadian born Chinese German Ukrainian Polish English Scottish Irish grandson. Thank you CBC Saskatchewan from the bottom of my heart. Watching from Toronto Canada.
My grandfather (and later my dad) owned the New Park Dairy and the Centennial Cafe in Medicine Hat. They never served Chinese food there but I loved their tenacity in serving up good food to the tourists that used to step off the railroad. The cafe was sold after my grandfather passed in 1969 and we moved to the States. It's a wonderful and proud legacy we carry on.
@@davechow613 around 1971 I used to live in Medicine Hat and live across from the railway tracks near the tunnel that lead to our small downtown. I went to Montreal street school and had lots of fun. My uncle and aunt live with my great grand father and great grand mother in a bungalow near the arena (home of the Medicine Hat Tiger junior A hockey team). Did you go to Montreal Street School?
@@kimquan1373 We left Medicine Hat around 1970. We lived on North Railway Street further away from the tunnel. We were two doors down from the boarding house that my grandfather and other older men lived.
@@kimquan1373 When I was young, I would go with my dad to the older arena (his restaurant sponsored a few teams) until it burned down and I still recall the opening night for The Arena. I learned to skate there as a kid too. I'm still a loyal Tigers fan from afar.
@@davechow613 I went to medicine hat to attend my girl cousin wedding around 2011. The hockey arena does not exist anymore . The curling building still exist and there is now a police station. My great grand father home is now a parking lot. Downtown is very quiet and no longer the hangout area. Most people hang out at the Medicine Hat mall which I find it too slow as compare to Toronto malls. Most Chinese folks from my generation and younger move to Edmonton and Calgary for work.
My father’s family immigrated from the Ukraine to Canada in 1929 and settled on a farm plot in Hubbard SK. When my father grew up he moved to Ontario in his 20’s. My grandparents eventually retired to Ituna SK and there was a Chinese restaurant in town next to the town hotel bar. I remember travelling there to visit in the 60’s and 70’s and going to the restaurant. I remember having my first Coke ice cream float there in the 60’s and my first Chinese food item of egg foo yeung in the 70’s. I have loved Chinese food ever since then both western and traditional. But most of all I remember the Chinese owner and cook taking our order in perfect Ukrainian and what kind of egg foo yeung I wanted! He spoke Ukrainian because at the time Ituna was a 99% Ukrainian town and everyone had to learn to speak it there. English people, Polish people and yes! Chinese people too! It was hilariously funny and kind of a cute town joke when you went there, and this Chinese gentleman was well respected there by all the locals, towns people and farmers alike who gathered there daily for coffee and breakfast or meals. It was quite the vibe there and I still remember the fragrant smell of the good food. Fast forward to the mid 80’s, I made a trip with a friend out to BC by motorcycle and we passed through Ituna to pay homage to my roots. We went to the cafe for breakfast and the Chinese guy was still there and asked me how I wanted my eggs in Ukrainian. My friend couldn’t believe it! Our big Harley motorcycles with Ontario plates drew a crowd of locals who knew my relatives and chatted us up for quite a while. It was quite the vibe. We went to the cemetery to pay my respects to my Grandparents and my friend saw how their tombstone was engraved in the Cyrillic text, along with the other graves there. Epic and memorable trip 13,000 miles in 3 weeks
Oh, how I love those old small town Chinese restaurants! These restaurants are as basic to small town Canada as the local hockey team and picnics in Rotary Park. Whenever I see one of those faded old signs saying "Chinese and Canadian Food" and the old decor, I'm filled with nostalgia. I know I'll get a heaping plate of delicious food and when I eat it, I have a strange feeling that the ghost of Stompin' Tom Connors is looking over my shoulder. And I know that I'm giving my money to a hard working Canadian family, not some corporation pumping my money into Swiss banks. Maybe they aren't "authentic" to China, but they are damn sure authentically Canadian!
I remember the time when I was at Yorkton. Came Christmas time, The owner of Broadway Cafe would invite his Canadian friends and Chinese families nearby for a big Christmas Eve dinner. All in all, there must be more than 200 guests showed up. I was so surprised that there were so many Chinese lived in and around a small town like this. And yes, I have visited many many of those cafes all over the Prairies.I wish I had time to chat with the families and document their stories.
Brings so much memories back. Washed floors and filled the drink coolers by age 10. Working after school and weekends was our life. I hated it then and so greatful i did now as it built a life of discipline and work ethic.
My Pappy died 30 years ago aged 95 retired with CIBC and went back part time to fill in for absentee managers all over southern Ontario. He knew that whatever community he went to there would always be a small time family Chinese restaurant that he could get lunch. I have been to many many of these myself travelling throughout small-town Canada. I have a tremendous affinity for them and their people.
CHINESE CUISINE IS THE MOST POPULAR FOOD BAR NONE. WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO TO A BIG CITY TO FIND GOOD AUTHENTIC FRENCH CUISINE, YOU CAN FIND VERY GOOD CHINESE FOOD IN ANY SMALL TOWN. HERE IN VERDUN,(MONTREAL), WE MUST HAVE 20 GOOD QUALITY CHINESE RESTAURANTS BUT THE MOST POPULAR IS "NEW VERDUN."MY DAD WAS CHINESE AND WAS AN AMAZING COOK AND WORKED IN "RUBY FOO'S" FOR 40 YEARS. I LEARNED A LOT AND NOW AM COOKING THIS AS WELL.
Sea-Hi was a staple and landmark in North Toronto, on Bathurst Street, south of Wilson. It was my introduction to food-court style Chinese food. We managed to save the beautiful dragon sign and it's now in the Neon Museum. Sea-Hi has reemerged as a take-away at Bathurst and Steeles but many of us miss the beautiful 50s decor.
We are lucky in the Toronto/Markham area to find HK & Guangzhou expats cooking in our Chinese restaurants and have flourished in the past 2+ decades. As a result, they brought over regional, traditional specialties, some of which have been saved from obscurdity as the HK food scene has begun losing their cooks to old age. Too many dishes to list for recommendations, but UA-cam have now a good many foodies that can guide you for a satisfying experience.
My parents owned a Chinese restaurant here in southern Ontario and we had friends across Saskatchewan and Alberta who also owned Chinese restaurants and diners. You got to know everyone and it is a small but geographically wide community for the older Chinese Canadians.
Here is my version of your question: When the CPR railway was completed, many chinese workers became unemployment with very little prospects for the future. Being extremely adaptable and practical people, they realized two occupations provided guaranteed work and income. Restaurants and laundries. If one did the research I'm sure you'll find that most of those businesses were family oriented, with the business operating downstairs and the family living upstairs. Over the generations they seem to have thrived and became an integral part of the Canadian mosaic. I have nothing but total respect and admiration at their tenacity to survive both economically and under the yoke of constant racism. Best wishes for all of them.
I'm glad CBC SK has open the comment section for feedback, while CBC has mainly closed it off elsewhere than not. Follow the plot, TVB HK has made several travelogues that have mapped Chinese restaurants across the globe, and the connection is the improvisation of cuisine with local & readily found ingredients.
I agree with Cheuk. It's all about food and memory. What your grandma cooked for you when you were little, and now what I cook for my family. It's a precious value to be handed down to generations. Kids do not know if it's authentic from Canton or not, they cherish more the home cooking and the taste and flavor created by grand parents and parents... that is love! We now explore Chinese restaurants all around BC as a family and find that flavor and memory, educate our kids and glorify the chop-suey culture !
My grand father Sam Yick lived in Tisdale Saskatchewan had three small cafes at different times the M and K restaurant then the Place restaurant and finally the star cafe. Very long hours working for peanuts and a lot of over head. My parents and grandparents had a blended family
Love this! Having grown up in an area with lots of 'authentic' (homeland-style) Taiwanese and Cantonese food on North America's West Coast and then having lived/married in northern China, I used to have a similar attitude towards North American Chinese food. Over the years tho' I've grown to love aspects of North American Chinese food too, and have loved hearing the history behind a lot of it more recently. I still can't say as I'm a fan of any of the Saskatchewan Chinese food I've had so far 😂, but the only constant anywhere is change!
Fascinating, and so true. In Northern Ontario every small town has (had when I was young) a Chinese Restaurant and a Greek Restaurant, usually named "John's Grill" or something totally not Greek. Both are very much a part of the Canadian experience (and great food!).
Hey a shoutout to Humboldt! My family had one of the town's hamburger and chop suey cafes. In my day there were actually 3! The Ohio ( ours and don't ask me how that name came to be). The Princess and the OK Cafe ( if I recall correctly, it's been a long time). Lots of history behind how these small town cafes came to be. Thanks for the episode.
The restaurant owners especially in the early days had to adapt to ingredients that were locally available. For example, the iconic egg rolls prevalent in Chinese restaurants were stuffed with cabbage and were nothing like real Chinese food. Many Canadians grew up eating them and were dismayed when they can no longer get them because these small town restaurants were disappearing. I was reading some online posts about fond memories eating egg rolls and asking where they can still find them. One son of a former Chinese restaurant owner chuckled and replied that his parents would oblige if they are willing to make the trip.
I made egg rolls last night. Its easy. Even no frills stocks fresh egg roll wraps. A quarter head cabbage, 1 carrot, 1 onion. is basically all you need for filling but you can add meat and other veggies. You will get at least 25 egg rolls from that. I only first tried making them a couple months ago but its easy and they turn out great. lots of vids to guide you on youtube. There are spring roll wrappers also you can try.
Interesting then that the town of Lunenburg, N.S. had a Chinese restaurant until a few years ago, but it closed. But then again, we had a Burger King, but that ceased operations earlier this year. Curious!!
The other group that used to run restaurants in Saskatchewan way back when were the Greeks. I’m thinking about in the 20’s 30’s and 40’s. I guess they became largely assimilated and moved on and up into other parts of Canadian society.
Every chinese restaurant in small town all over have their own story to tell it is also part of culture as who w are also recommend read chop Sui Nation
Chinese food is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love China food an all it's goodness an they know how to make food great an it's heavenly .... if anything open more Chinese food places!!!!!!!!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤
good question one that has been asked many times well why besides the fact they welcome wherever we had the cosy with Dicky Humm i still want western Chinese not that authentic stuff thank you
Yah it’s kinda like pizza and pasta. People always say new York or Chicago pizza isn’t real or authentic but I still love it. Who cares, it’s delicious and it tells a story that’s North American .
chinese restaurants almost a dying industry. soon going to be all gone due to the lack of true chefs. i work in the business, and you can see whats hgappening to these restaurants, either retiring and sell business.
Chinese restaurants are the only place where Canadians will deliberately order broccoli off the menu.
Lol aint that the ttruth
Not really. Lots of dishes at restaurants come with broccoli.
@@haeunpark7185like where?
As a Canadian born Chinese from Regina Saskatchewan in 1962 who also lived in Medicine Hat Alberta, i hear this topic with great interest. My father who worked in a family restaurant own by my great grand father in a small town in Saskatchewan. The restaurant and living ways were slow moving with regular customers and Americans who were here for hunting. This show gives me a better understanding and appreciation what my family experienced. I am currently live in Toronto and will be a grandfather next month. One day I will share my story to my Canadian born Chinese German Ukrainian Polish English Scottish Irish grandson. Thank you CBC Saskatchewan from the bottom of my heart. Watching from Toronto Canada.
My grandfather (and later my dad) owned the New Park Dairy and the Centennial Cafe in Medicine Hat. They never served Chinese food there but I loved their tenacity in serving up good food to the tourists that used to step off the railroad. The cafe was sold after my grandfather passed in 1969 and we moved to the States. It's a wonderful and proud legacy we carry on.
@@davechow613 around 1971 I used to live in Medicine Hat and live across from the railway tracks near the tunnel that lead to our small downtown. I went to Montreal street school and had lots of fun. My uncle and aunt live with my great grand father and great grand mother in a bungalow near the arena (home of the Medicine Hat Tiger junior A hockey team). Did you go to Montreal Street School?
@@kimquan1373 We left Medicine Hat around 1970. We lived on North Railway Street further away from the tunnel. We were two doors down from the boarding house that my grandfather and other older men lived.
@@kimquan1373 When I was young, I would go with my dad to the older arena (his restaurant sponsored a few teams) until it burned down and I still recall the opening night for The Arena. I learned to skate there as a kid too. I'm still a loyal Tigers fan from afar.
@@davechow613 I went to medicine hat to attend my girl cousin wedding around 2011. The hockey arena does not exist anymore . The curling building still exist and there is now a police station. My great grand father home is now a parking lot. Downtown is very quiet and no longer the hangout area. Most people hang out at the Medicine Hat mall which I find it too slow as compare to Toronto malls. Most Chinese folks from my generation and younger move to Edmonton and Calgary for work.
My father’s family immigrated from the Ukraine to Canada in 1929 and settled on a farm plot in Hubbard SK. When my father grew up he moved to Ontario in his 20’s. My grandparents eventually retired to Ituna SK and there was a Chinese restaurant in town next to the town hotel bar. I remember travelling there to visit in the 60’s and 70’s and going to the restaurant. I remember having my first Coke ice cream float there in the 60’s and my first Chinese food item of egg foo yeung in the 70’s. I have loved Chinese food ever since then both western and traditional.
But most of all I remember the Chinese owner and cook taking our order in perfect Ukrainian and what kind of egg foo yeung I wanted! He spoke Ukrainian because at the time Ituna was a 99% Ukrainian town and everyone had to learn to speak it there. English people, Polish people and yes! Chinese people too! It was hilariously funny and kind of a cute town joke when you went there, and this Chinese gentleman was well respected there by all the locals, towns people and farmers alike who gathered there daily for coffee and breakfast or meals. It was quite the vibe there and I still remember the fragrant smell of the good food.
Fast forward to the mid 80’s, I made a trip with a friend out to BC by motorcycle and we passed through Ituna to pay homage to my roots. We went to the cafe for breakfast and the Chinese guy was still there and asked me how I wanted my eggs in Ukrainian. My friend couldn’t believe it! Our big Harley motorcycles with Ontario plates drew a crowd of locals who knew my relatives and chatted us up for quite a while. It was quite the vibe.
We went to the cemetery to pay my respects to my Grandparents and my friend saw how their tombstone was engraved in the Cyrillic text, along with the other graves there. Epic and memorable trip 13,000 miles in 3 weeks
Respect.
Oh, how I love those old small town Chinese restaurants! These restaurants are as basic to small town Canada as the local hockey team and picnics in Rotary Park. Whenever I see one of those faded old signs saying "Chinese and Canadian Food" and the old decor, I'm filled with nostalgia. I know I'll get a heaping plate of delicious food and when I eat it, I have a strange feeling that the ghost of Stompin' Tom Connors is looking over my shoulder. And I know that I'm giving my money to a hard working Canadian family, not some corporation pumping my money into Swiss banks. Maybe they aren't "authentic" to China, but they are damn sure authentically Canadian!
My parents had a Chinese restaurant in New Minas, NS. We had Great staff, they were family to us. Good times back in the 80s.
I remember the time when I was at Yorkton. Came Christmas time, The owner of Broadway Cafe would invite his Canadian friends and Chinese families nearby for a big Christmas Eve dinner. All in all, there must be more than 200 guests showed up.
I was so surprised that there were so many Chinese lived in and around a small town like this.
And yes, I have visited many many of those cafes all over the Prairies.I wish I had time to chat with the families and document their stories.
P S Their daughter did end up in Toronto, and became a lawyer.
Brings so much memories back. Washed floors and filled the drink coolers by age 10. Working after school and weekends was our life. I hated it then and so greatful i did now as it built a life of discipline and work ethic.
My Pappy died 30 years ago aged 95 retired with CIBC and went back part time to fill in for absentee managers all over southern Ontario. He knew that whatever community he went to there would always be a small time family Chinese restaurant that he could get lunch. I have been to many many of these myself travelling throughout small-town Canada. I have a tremendous affinity for them and their people.
CHINESE CUISINE IS THE MOST POPULAR FOOD BAR NONE. WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE TO GO TO A BIG CITY TO FIND GOOD AUTHENTIC FRENCH CUISINE, YOU CAN FIND VERY GOOD CHINESE FOOD IN ANY SMALL TOWN. HERE IN VERDUN,(MONTREAL), WE MUST HAVE 20 GOOD QUALITY CHINESE RESTAURANTS BUT THE MOST POPULAR IS "NEW VERDUN."MY DAD WAS CHINESE AND WAS AN AMAZING COOK AND WORKED IN "RUBY FOO'S" FOR 40 YEARS. I LEARNED A LOT AND NOW AM COOKING THIS AS WELL.
WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING???
Sea-Hi was a staple and landmark in North Toronto, on Bathurst Street, south of Wilson. It was my introduction to food-court style Chinese food. We managed to save the beautiful dragon sign and it's now in the Neon Museum. Sea-Hi has reemerged as a take-away at Bathurst and Steeles but many of us miss the beautiful 50s decor.
We are lucky in the Toronto/Markham area to find HK & Guangzhou expats cooking in our Chinese restaurants and have flourished in the past 2+ decades. As a result, they brought over regional, traditional specialties, some of which have been saved from obscurdity as the HK food scene has begun losing their cooks to old age. Too many dishes to list for recommendations, but UA-cam have now a good many foodies that can guide you for a satisfying experience.
OH YES ! Dim sum is awesome !
My parents owned a Chinese restaurant here in southern Ontario and we had friends across Saskatchewan and Alberta who also owned Chinese restaurants and diners. You got to know everyone and it is a small but geographically wide community for the older Chinese Canadians.
Here is my version of your question: When the CPR railway was completed, many chinese workers became unemployment with very little prospects for the future. Being extremely adaptable and practical people, they realized two occupations provided guaranteed work and income. Restaurants and laundries. If one did the research I'm sure you'll find that most of those businesses were family oriented, with the business operating downstairs and the family living upstairs. Over the generations they seem to have thrived and became an integral part of the Canadian mosaic. I have nothing but total respect and admiration at their tenacity to survive both economically and under the yoke of constant racism. Best wishes for all of them.
My uncle used to open Chinese restaurant buffets in southern US small towns
A Chinese restaurant in Creighton served the best fried rice I have ever had
In the 90's I lived in Portage la Prairie, Mb. Was surprised to find that there was a Chinese restaurant there.
I'm glad CBC SK has open the comment section for feedback, while CBC has mainly closed it off elsewhere than not. Follow the plot, TVB HK has made several travelogues that have mapped Chinese restaurants across the globe, and the connection is the improvisation of cuisine with local & readily found ingredients.
I agree with Cheuk. It's all about food and memory. What your grandma cooked for you when you were little, and now what I cook for my family. It's a precious value to be handed down to generations. Kids do not know if it's authentic from Canton or not, they cherish more the home cooking and the taste and flavor created by grand parents and parents... that is love! We now explore Chinese restaurants all around BC as a family and find that flavor and memory, educate our kids and glorify the chop-suey culture !
My grand father Sam Yick lived in Tisdale Saskatchewan had three small cafes at different times the M and K restaurant then the Place restaurant and finally the star cafe. Very long hours working for peanuts and a lot of over head. My parents and grandparents had a blended family
Love this! Having grown up in an area with lots of 'authentic' (homeland-style) Taiwanese and Cantonese food on North America's West Coast and then having lived/married in northern China, I used to have a similar attitude towards North American Chinese food. Over the years tho' I've grown to love aspects of North American Chinese food too, and have loved hearing the history behind a lot of it more recently. I still can't say as I'm a fan of any of the Saskatchewan Chinese food I've had so far 😂, but the only constant anywhere is change!
Fascinating, and so true. In Northern Ontario every small town has (had when I was young) a Chinese Restaurant and a Greek Restaurant, usually named "John's Grill" or something totally not Greek. Both are very much a part of the Canadian experience (and great food!).
Small town chinese restaurants are true canadiana.
Every Chinese restaurant I’ve been at in small towns have been delicious
If you haven’t watch Cheuk Kwan “s Chinese Restaurant Series, you will be in for a treat.
Hey a shoutout to Humboldt! My family had one of the town's hamburger and chop suey cafes. In my day there were actually 3! The Ohio ( ours and don't ask me how that name came to be). The Princess and the OK Cafe ( if I recall correctly, it's been a long time). Lots of history behind how these small town cafes came to be. Thanks for the episode.
Almond chicken is da bomb ❤
Same in Australia. Every little town have a Chinese restaurant.
There’s two in Dryden Ontario
And that place is a dump
I grew up there unfortunately
IMHO, the best Chinese restaurant bar non was/is in the town of Wynyard, Saskatchewan. Agreed?
The restaurant owners especially in the early days had to adapt to ingredients that were locally available. For example, the iconic egg rolls prevalent in Chinese restaurants were stuffed with cabbage and were nothing like real Chinese food. Many Canadians grew up eating them and were dismayed when they can no longer get them because these small town restaurants were disappearing. I was reading some online posts about fond memories eating egg rolls and asking where they can still find them. One son of a former Chinese restaurant owner chuckled and replied that his parents would oblige if they are willing to make the trip.
I made egg rolls last night. Its easy. Even no frills stocks fresh egg roll wraps. A quarter head cabbage, 1 carrot, 1 onion. is basically all you need for filling but you can add meat and other veggies. You will get at least 25 egg rolls from that. I only first tried making them a couple months ago but its easy and they turn out great. lots of vids to guide you on youtube. There are spring roll wrappers also you can try.
Interesting then that the town of Lunenburg, N.S. had a Chinese restaurant until a few years ago, but it closed. But then again, we had a Burger King, but that ceased operations earlier this year. Curious!!
Thank you for sharing your stories. My Grandparents and parents also had a restaurant. Y’s Cafe in Val Marie. 💗
Because they built the railway system and built restaurants along the way
This is because Canada is the most respectfull and open to others.
The other group that used to run restaurants in Saskatchewan way back when were the Greeks. I’m thinking about in the 20’s 30’s and 40’s. I guess they became largely assimilated and moved on and up into other parts of Canadian society.
I have never seen a small town that didn’t have a Chinese restaurant, let’s face it everyone loves Chinese food.
Sometimes chinese food just hits the spot and fullfills that empty void everyone has
Every chinese restaurant in small town all over have their own story to tell it is also part of culture as who w are also recommend read chop Sui Nation
It's not rocket science. Rent and lack of competition. Reduced costs and maximized customer volume equates to bigger profits.
why do so may regions throughout north america have so many anglo and franco folk?
If you have to ask that question, then your school absolutely failed in teaching you history.
Boats
I really miss the western dishes that Chinese restaurants made. Now Chinese restaurants don't make that stuff trying for "authenticity".
Check kitchen of any Chinese restaurant in the back you will figure out why they are famously playing with people's health.
Chinese food is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love China food an all it's goodness an they know how to make food great an it's heavenly .... if anything open more Chinese food places!!!!!!!!!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤
EASY = Resident Permanent
All the small town ones suck though. Need to go to Markham Ontario for the Hong Kong food experience
Because Chinese are prepared to work longer hours.
Ni chi fan la ma .. hao peng you
🇨🇦 💪🏻
Wonder why there aren't any small Canadian restaurants allover the world , especially in small localities ... you make it sound sooo idyllic 🤔🤨🤯
Because of opportunity or easier entry to Canada.
When a lot of these small town Chinese restaurants were established in the early to mid 20th century, not so much.
Not easy entry when they have to pay a head tax
@@pnk8 And when the head tax was was abolished in 1923, most forms of Chinese immigration were outright banned.
1.3 billion chinese. There could be one on every block. Not rocket science.
I’m homeless help me
good question one that has been asked many times well why besides the fact they welcome wherever we had the cosy with Dicky Humm i still want western Chinese not that authentic stuff thank you
Yah it’s kinda like pizza and pasta. People always say new York or Chicago pizza isn’t real or authentic but I still love it. Who cares, it’s delicious and it tells a story that’s North American .
chinese restaurants almost a dying industry. soon going to be all gone due to the lack of true chefs. i work in the business, and you can see whats hgappening to these restaurants, either retiring and sell business.