New Cantonese cuisine in America: young chefs put modern spin on nostalgic dishes their parents and grandparents served them growing up
- For a young generation of Chinese-American chefs and bakers, eating Chinese food growing up was a way of connecting with their heritage
- Now they are opening restaurants and bakeries that celebrate Cantonese flavours while reworking and updating them
On March 20, 2021, Calvin Eng staged his first restaurant pop-up in New York. On the menu were marble-sized wontons filled with fish and shrimp paste in an amber-coloured chicken and Parmesan superior broth.
The event was an effort to drum up excitement for Eng’s first solo restaurant, Bonnie’s, which was slated to open in Brooklyn by the end of the year. The dish, a blend of Cantonese wonton soup and Italian tortellini en brodo (filled pasta in broth), was the essence of Eng’s style – playful, delicious and evocative.
When Bonnie’s opened nine months later, it was one of the most buzzworthy new restaurants in New York. “We’re very fortunate that people want to eat here,” says Eng. But his success is more than just good luck. In fact, Bonnie’s is part of a much broader trend of new Cantonese cuisine in America.
Across the country, a generation of Cantonese-American chefs and bakers are transforming their childhood food memories – memories passed down by relatives from Hong Kong and Taishan – into thriving businesses and brands, leading to a revitalisation of Cantonese cuisine in America.
After six years cooking in restaurant kitchens across New York, Bonnie’s is Eng’s breakout project. The restaurant is named after Eng’s mother, Bonnie, who lived in Hong Kong until she was 13, when she emigrated to New York.
The menu combines foods Eng ate as a second-generation Cantonese-American kid, including savoury steamed egg, restaurant-style shrimp with walnuts, and, of course, McDonald’s – with his contemporary culinary training.
