The artifact is my uncle’s restaurant which was founded in 1998. For this project, I used their menu as a representation of the restaurant and larger themes about identity and culture. The restaurant is significant to my family because it is the place where we not only eat, but celebrate holidays, birthdays, and returns home. China First is also significant because of the role it plays as a service to mainly working class first generation Chinese immigrants in the neighborhood.

Menus are typically thought of as just a form of communication between the establishment and customers. However, Chinese restaurant menus in America serve a larger purpose than just what kind of food they have; it is a reflection of Chinese identity and historical events. My family came to the United States after the Hart Cellar Act of 1965 and established a Chinese restaurant as a way to be employed. The restaurant is in the Inner Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco which is mainly Asian and white, and though it is not an ethnic enclave, there is a large enough Chinese specific population where it is possible for my uncle’s restaurant to still be in business outside places like the San Francisco Chinatown.

Through looking at China First and the role of food, I realized that the presentation of food-- as presentations of culture and identity-- is extremely important and not always recognized. Restaurants and menus, in particular, play a huge role in reflecting and spearheading racial and political identity formation through stradling what it means to be “authentic”-- or traditional-- and how to assimilate. Looking at my uncle’s menu, it has both Chinese characters as well as English words which reflects the clientele as well as reflecting a time period where racism against Chinese people are not as violent or severe as it had been in the past. But looking at, for example, the 1920s to 1950s, most Chinese restaurant menus were all in English; those menus did not even have English letters attempting to translate the sounds of the Chinese words because of the strong anti-Chinese sentiments and a desperate attempt from the Chinese to assimilate. Chinese and more broadly Asians as well as Asian Americans have always been on a spectrum of authenticity-- pride and cultural practices-- and assimilation-- adaptation into white America; I was not expecting to have found this trend through the analysis of menus and food service.

Key Terms: Chinese, Chinese American, Immigration, Food, Assimilation, Authenticity, Class