JOHN-O's Zombie Road Trip...

Long Beach has some old school Chinese restaurants. At Fortune Garden on 4th Street you can get paper wrapped chicken, chow mein and chop suey. Chen's Chinese on Broadway has Almond Duck, paper wrapped chicken, egg foo young and chop suey. Chen's has great neon on the outside and vintage Chinese decor. Tea Garden and Le Yen Chinese Restaurant are 2 more chop suey serving places in LBC.
This is the outside of Le Yen.

I've been wanting to try Yen Ching in Orange, CA just because I like the building. It looks like it might have an interesting past life. They serve paper wrapped chicken and flaming pineapple chicken.

But is the food good? at any of these places.
Thanks Lori..

On 2013-03-22 15:10, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
But is the food good? at any of these places.
Thanks Lori..

Well...not really. Americanized Chinese food can be tasty, but I would give those places 2-3 stars out of 5. Should you make a special trip from Costa Mesa to LBC for dinner? No, but if you're shopping on Retro Row and need some MSG than visit Chen's.
I've been to each of those places once and it was 5-7 years ago. I liked their old school looks and that's why I checked them out.

JOHN-O does not condone bad Chop Suey !! :evil:

The Yen Ching has it's own thread on Tiki Central (kinda) and it has a great history as it's formerly Holo Wai Miniature Golf,

The food is good but it's Beer and Wine only. :(

Huh ?? Chop Suey usually begets Tiki. I guess in this case it was the other way around.

John-O, Great info on the old school Chinese restaurants. Being an New Englander/East Coaster growing up, unfortunately that was almost all we had w/ some tropical cocktails thrown in. In your knowledge quest have you ever come across this strange Mass/Rhode Island tradition? Chow Mein Sandwiches! We had them in Maine, also.
http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Review/8193-10224/mee-sum-restaurant-and-lounge
Thanks for the enjoyable journey. OGR

On 2013-03-22 19:04, Bora Boris wrote:
The Yen Ching has it's own thread on Tiki Central (kinda) and it has a great history as it's formerly Holo Wai Miniature Golf,

The food is good but it's Beer and Wine only. :(

I eat at Yen Ching quite a lot. The food is good.

I have indeed encountered the chow mein sandwich only it wasn't in a restaurant. It was in the Orange County CA kitchen of a close friend of mine. My friend Doris grew up outside of Boston, and along with her 2 siblings worked in their parents' Chinese restaurant. After college all 3 kids migrated to California, with the parents following suit after selling the restaurant to retire in the sunshine.

Also in a strange twist of Tiki fate, I learned that Doris's 2 uncles owned the recently closed Hong Kong Inn in Ventura CA where I ran a Tiki bus trip just last year !!

Anyway Doris's parents visited her OC home on a regular basis where I used to inquire about their old family business. One time I asked what their specialty was and without skipping a beat they mentioned the chow mein sandwich. They said that dish was so popular that it paid for 3 kids' college educations. For years I used to bug her parents to make it for me so I too could partake in that regional "ancient Chinese secret".

One day they happened to have all of the needed ingredients in the kitchen so they whipped one up for me. Essentially it was Chow Mein piled open face on top of hamburger buns with a bunch of crispy noodles. I tried to eat it like a regular sandwich but it ended up as one big sloppy mess.

I didn't quite get the appeal but they said their old Caucasian customer base LOVED it. :-?

I wonder how many of you had this growing up "Omelet & Rice" it is basically
"Fried Rice with an Omelet on top" and originated in post war Japan

My dad was in the Marines and stationed in Japan in the 1950s
where he acquired a taste for it for breakfast, it is Japanese style fried rice
topped with an egg omelet, top it off with a little ketchup & soy sauce.

This was in a few 1950s cooking books & old magazines,it was popular with service men who
had spent time in Japan, but on returning to the USA anyone wanting this dish
had to use "Chinese fried rice" to make it (which is very similar to the Japanese version)
Some Chinese Restaurants in the 50s & 60s used to have it on their menus.

We still eat it today.

Actually just as a point of clarification, the ex-Tiki golf course that's now a Chinese restaurant, Yen Ching, is not what I would consider a true Chop Suey restaurant. For one thing they they advertise themselves as Mandarin and Schezwan, not Cantonese. Also both chop suey and egg foo yung are conspicuously not on the menu.

Yes I know it may appear like I'm spitting egg rolls there, but the types of places I'm calling attention to have a very specific vintage lineage to mid-century culture (and thus a spiritual relationship to Tiki IMHO).

Here's some of the criteria I apply...

1. Did the place open prior to Nixon's visit to China ? Having a pre-WWII pedigree would be the best but these places are almost extinct.

2. Do they explicitly advertise the word "Cantonese" or "Chop Suey" ? Having "Chop Suey" in vintage neon is the bee's knees.

3. Chop suey and egg foo yung have to be the menu (chow mein is still too pretty common). Also as I stated before, to me hom yu and pressed duck are the 2 dishes that really differentiate a true Chop Suey joint from a generic "Chinese food for White people" place.

4. Also this last point is really a personal observation of mine. The quality of Chop Suey cuisine seems to be proportional to the percentage of Mexican American patrons, at least in LA. I'm not sure why that is, I think they have the right palates for the good stuff. Case in point, not too long ago I was at Canton City in Montebello. Although they opened a little late for the genre (1972?) they have a solid Cantonese menu and a pretty good pressed duck, albeit a little salty (FYI, you have to ask for the brown gravy otherwise you get it with sweet & sour). Anyway on that Saturday night the place was packed with Latino customers eating in and picking up huge orders of carry out. I was impressed. :)

On 2013-03-23 21:28, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
I wonder how many of you had this growing up "Omelet & Rice" it is basically
"Fried Rice with an Omelet on top" and originated in post war Japan

My dad was in the Marines and stationed in Japan in the 1950s
where he acquired a taste for it for breakfast, it is Japanese style fried rice
topped with an egg omelet, top it off with a little ketchup & soy sauce.

This was in a few 1950s cooking books & old magazines,it was popular with service men who
had spent time in Japan, but on returning to the USA anyone wanting this dish
had to use "Chinese fried rice" to make it (which is very similar to the Japanese version)
Some Chinese Restaurants in the 50s & 60s used to have it on their menus.

We still eat it today.

I eat it like that too. But we call it Hawaiian-filipino style.

On 2013-03-24 08:49, JOHN-O wrote:
Actually just as a point of clarification, the ex-Tiki golf course that's now a Chinese restaurant, Yen Ching, is not what I would consider a true Chop Suey restaurant. For one thing they they advertise themselves as Mandarin and Schezwan, not Cantonese. Also both chop suey and egg foo yung are conspicuously not on the menu.

Yes I know it may appear like I'm spitting egg rolls there, but the types of places I'm calling attention to have a very specific vintage lineage to mid-century culture (and thus a spiritual relationship to Tiki IMHO).

Here's some of the criteria I apply...

1. Did the place open prior to Nixon's visit to China ? Having a pre-WWII pedigree would be the best but these places are almost extinct.

2. Do they explicitly advertise the word "Cantonese" or "Chop Suey" ? Having "Chop Suey" in vintage neon is the bee's knees.

3. Chop suey and egg foo yung have to be the menu (chow mein is still too pretty common). Also as I stated before, to me hom yu and pressed duck are the 2 dishes that really differentiate a true Chop Suey joint from a generic "Chinese food for White people" place.

4. Also this last point is really a personal observation of mine. The quality of Chop Suey cuisine seems to be proportional to the percentage of Mexican American patrons, at least in LA. I'm not sure why that is, I think they have the right palates for the good stuff. Case in point, not too long ago I was at Canton City in Montebello. Although they opened a little late for the genre (1972?) they have a solid Cantonese menu and a pretty good pressed duck, albeit a little salty (FYI, you have to ask for the brown gravy otherwise you get it with sweet & sour). Anyway on that Saturday night the place was packed with Latino customers eating in and picking up huge orders of carry out. I was impressed. :)

You are probably right, John. Yen Ching is not exactly a chop suey, but is more as you describe: "Chinese food for white people".

I do think the reason you find a lot of mexicans eating at these places might be because of where they are located? An interesting side note: My favorite restaurant is actually a korean tofu joint on garden grove blvd. The owners and staff hardly speak english. It is as authentic as you can get, but every time I am in there I see mexicans eating, sometimes in large groups. I have no idea how they communicate what they want to eat...but that stuff is very spicy, so maybe that's the appeal.

We need a theme song here on Chop Suey Central. And here it is !!

"Flower Drum Song" is to Chop Suey culture, what "South Pacific" is to Poly Pop culture.

And since Tiki Oasis is going Hulabilly this year. Here's some Rock n' Egg Roll... Oriental Rock by Bill Haley.

A surfy version by the Quarter Notes, who also did a related song, Suki Yaki Rocki.

And expanding on the theme, here's the 5.6.7.8's with their modern take.

Is the term "Oriental" really that politically incorrect? I kinda consider it "Tiki". :)

Great videos and songs John-O. :)

"Tiki is so Gay !!"

Ever hear that flippant remark from non-Tikiphiles who just don't get it ?? I guess it must be their knee jerk reaction to all of the flowery shirts, umbrella drinks, elevator music, and cute ceramic mugs. (

John-O. I never want to see the words "Drag" and "Big Tiki Dude" in the same sentence again, especially in the context of a gay tiki bar! :lol:

Tiki Cocktail Lounge in Modesto is another gay tiki bar.

That place has some great tikis.

Looks fun! I would think that they would want to keep the wangs on their tikis. I guess those silly missionaries made it all the way to Palm Springs...

I don't know how you find the time John
I thought you had been hanging with us the whole time?

I'm not saying anything.

I'm glad that my people are carrying on the great tradition of camp.

On 2013-06-04 07:55, Pittsburgh pauly wrote:
I'm glad that my people are carrying on the great tradition of camp.

Italians?

Where are the ferns?

On 2013-06-04 09:10, Hale Tiki wrote:

On 2013-06-04 07:55, Pittsburgh pauly wrote:
I'm glad that my people are carrying on the great tradition of camp.

Italians?

Steel workers?

On 2013-06-04 07:55, Pittsburgh pauly wrote:
I'm glad that my people are carrying on the great tradition of camp.

Steeler fans? Pirate Fans? Penguin fans?

On 2013-06-04 07:55, Pittsburgh pauly wrote:
I'm glad that my people are carrying on the great tradition of camp.

Fanatical lovers of Primanti Bros. & Robert Wholey?

On 2013-06-04 13:23, Or Got Rum? wrote:

On 2013-06-04 07:55, Pittsburgh pauly wrote:
I'm glad that my people are carrying on the great tradition of camp.

Fanatical lovers of Primanti Bros. & Robert Wholey?

Never thought I'd see a Wholey's reference on TC! HA!

Unfortunately, the Atlanta Trader Vic's is turning into a drag queen hangout on Thursday nights...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=328276533970809&set=a.111944038937394.15196.101202020011596&type=1&theater

I don't think they'd have to look very far to find genuine wahines, and I can only imagine what these bozos/bozettes sound like. I think real tikiphiles should register their opinions about this with Trader Vic's management.

TVs should stand for Trader Vic's, and not anything else.

[ Edited by: White Devil 2013-07-18 11:12 ]

On 2013-07-18 10:52, White Devil wrote:
Unfortunately, the Atlanta Trader Vic's is turning into a drag queen hangout on Thursday nights...

...I don't think they'd have to look very far to find genuine wahines, and I can only imagine what these bozos/bozettes sound like. I think real tikiphiles should register their opinions about this with Trader Vic's management.

TVs should stand for Trader Vic's, and not anything else.

Oh White Devil, don't be such a hater !! Don't you know that "Third Genderism" is an accepted lifestyle in many Polynesian cultures.

Cross-dressing is Tiki !! I'll mention this to Otto in case he's running out of theme ideas. :)

EDIT - Let me correct my grammar. I meant to say the "Third GENDER"."Genderism" would imply bias against said gender. :(

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2013-07-18 19:29 ]

On 2013-07-18 11:11, JOHN-O wrote:
Oh White Devil, don't be such a hater !! Don't you know that "Third Genderism" is an accepted lifestyle in many Polynesian cultures.

Cross-dressing is Tiki !! I'll mention this to Otto in case he's running out of theme ideas. :)

Look, I'm perfectly tolerant of you dressing up like Vince Masuka from "Dexter" at Hukilau, but I draw the line there, bud. :wink:

Hey, Anything is better then a "Hipster Crowd"
those kids are incapable of having a good time.....not to mention their insufferable sense (Lack of!) style

Like Ed Wood said: I need more Transvestites!

Yeah, Don's get pretty hipster after the sun goes down. Scary!

On 2013-07-18 10:52, White Devil wrote:
Unfortunately, the Atlanta Trader Vic's is turning into a drag queen hangout on Thursday nights...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=328276533970809&set=a.111944038937394.15196.101202020011596&type=1&theater

I don't think they'd have to look very far to find genuine wahines, and I can only imagine what these bozos/bozettes sound like. I think real tikiphiles should register their opinions about this with Trader Vic's management.

TVs should stand for Trader Vic's, and not anything else.

[ Edited by: White Devil 2013-07-18 11:12 ]

It doesn't bother me at all, then again I'm funny like that, as are quite a few other tiki people.

-Lori

[ Edited by: tikilongbeach 2013-07-18 12:57 ]

And we need more funny "Tiki" People!

Yeah, hipsters are pretty gag-inducing as well: we get a bellyful of them in our college town. I don't mean to sound intolerant of transgenders and whatnot: it's purely a matter of relevant entertainment. Singing drag queens has as much to do with Polynesian cuisine & atmosphere as a Pink Floyd cover band or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Tiki and drag queens are both subcultures that love their kitsch. I'm guessing that is the tie-in or maybe it is the tv's at TV's theme.
The performers lip-synch so there isn't any slaughtering of Lady Gaga songs.

Fa'afafine: The boys raised to be girls
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1789586/Fa'afafine:-The-boys-raised-to-be-girls

[ Edited by: tikilongbeach 2013-07-19 08:14 ]

So do we want the uncomprehending public to associate one of our most esteemed tiki franchises & subcultures with Margaritaville, Party City crepe paper & now drag queens? Are we ready for the collapse of the tiki revival?

At least they're not closing down. :)
(When I was a wee lad, use to see the Smothers Bros at Don the Beachcomber
in Coronal Del Mar. Far from Tiki or Exotica.)

Who cares what the "uncomprehending public" thinks ??

As long as Hipsters, Parrotheads, Drag Queens, etc. are spending their cash in the Tiki Bar, that's all that matters.

$$$ is what keeps the Tiki Revival alive, at least from the standpoint of commercial Tiki establishments.

On 2013-07-18 13:31, JOHN-O wrote:
Who cares what the "uncomprehending public" thinks ??

As long as Hipsters, Parrotheads, Drag Queens, etc. are spending their cash in the Tiki Bar, that's all that matters.

$$$ is what keeps the Tiki Revival alive, at least from the standpoint of commercial Tiki establishments.

The elitist capitalist in me agrees with you, but the tiki elitist in me is preparing protest signage. The ATL Trader Vic's is in the basement of the downtown Hilton, and relies a great deal upon the uncomprehending hotel patrons who wander in for unplanned visits. I have to wonder how many will stick around when they hear RuPaul belting out one in the bar?

[ Edited by: White Devil 2013-07-18 13:47 ]

Hey at least your ATL female impersonators and drag shows have a connection to the original Tiki era (think "Some Like it Hot").

Our own So Cal. Don the Beachcomber hosts KISS tribute bands, Led Zeppelin (all female) tribute bands, Reggae Sundays, and events we affectionately refer to as "Cougar" speed dating.

And you know what ? WE LIKE IT !!

( Well maybe not Boris. And Atomic Tiki Punk goes postal when there's Karaoke in the Dagger Bar. :( )

I can relate to ATP, karaoke has that effect on me anytime I am unfortunate enough to hear it..

Whatever a classic Tiki Establishment needs to do to hang in there is fine with me but please don't post Comedy Traffic School (as an example) here as a Tiki Event. If Bahooka were still around and had Drag Queen Thursdays, I'd be happy that it was still there.

In the meantime John-O, please have another Zombie somewhere and get this thread back on track.

On 2013-07-18 21:34, Bora Boris wrote:

Whatever a classic Tiki Establishment needs to do to hang in there is fine with me but please don't post Comedy Traffic School (as an example) here as a Tiki Event. If Bahooka were still around and had Drag Queen Thursdays, I'd be happy that it was still there.

In the meantime John-O, please have another Zombie somewhere and get this thread back on track.

Well no Zombies, but I did finally make it to the Enchanted Tiki Room earlier this year. First time in my life !!

Kari Hendler aka Tangaroa-Ru aka Smartest (Nerdiest) TC Disneyphile was my guide. :)

So many insider details and raw Tiki emotions to share but it's late... At least we've jumped to a new page.

Jon-O you missed the ETR when it was the best back in the 80's.

Now it's all clean and perfect!

:(

Also before they removed the Offenbach section of the show...