Behind the Scenes: Made in Chinatown x Hop Kee + #SaveChineseRestaurants Giveaway with Grace Young and the James Beard Foundation
Hop Kee has been in business in Chinatown since 1968, dishing out classic dishes like squid fried rice and razor clams that represent the Cantonese immigrant community. Peter Lee is Hop Kee’s second generation owner. His restaurant is a pillar of what connects Chinatown’s past to present, preserving the neighborhood’s history and introducing the cuisine to a broader audience. Hop Kee is also a grant recipient of The Longevity Fund; you can learn more about the story behind this historic business here.
Welcome to Chinatown partnered with Hop Kee to create their addition to Pearl River Mart’s Chinatown collection. Designer Harry Trinh created a t-shirt and mug grounded in neighborhood history. When older Chinatown businesses like Hop Kee started out, there were only a small number of businesses that made signage and graphics for them, and within those businesses there were very few suitable typefaces and illustrations. The fact that Chinatown businesses used the same limited graphic palate to create places that feel distinct is a testament to their pragmatic problem solving ability.
To honor that, the t-shirt and mug use the Willow pattern featured on almost all of Hop Kee’s dishes and cups. The Willow pattern is part of a large European Chinoiserie art movement that exotifies the “far east.” We chose to remix the pattern to reclaim that imagery and symbolism to portray Chinatown and Chinese people as they actually are. The need for this isn’t limited to old art movements, either. White-owned streetwear companies co-opt and profit off of Chinatown style, so we wanted to reclaim Chinatown’s own narrative, using it on our own terms. The logo and typography were pulled directly from Hop Kee’s signage and glass decals. Bringing all these elements together shows the diversity of visual styles Chinatown uses.
You can support Hop Kee by purchasing some merch (profits from sales go back to support Hop Kee). Or stop by for some take-out! If you do, please consider joining us in the James Beard Foundation’s #SaveChineseRestaurants campaign to show your support for your favorite Chinese eateries, and have a chance to win a Hop Kee t-shirt!
It’s easy to participate:
Order takeout or dine-in at your local Chinese restaurant
Post a photo of your favorite dish
Tag @BeardFoundation, @StirFryGuru, @Welcome.to.Chinatown and#SaveChineseRestaurants (make sure to tag all four).
You can even nominate your friends and followers to do the same, and we’ll continue to share some of your shots!
Entries for the #SaveChineseRestaurants giveaway close Dec 31, 2020.
Learn more about our campaign with @BeardFoundation and @StirFryGuru here.
