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NYC's Museum of Chinese in America Gets a Little Sour, Sweet, Bitter, and Spicy

Mission Chinese Food, Xi’an Famous Foods, P.F. Chang’s, Fung Tu, and Mandarin Restaurant…these are some of the most beloved and influential Chinese restaurants across America, a country that’s just beginning to acquire a Chinese “food voice.” Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America, the latest exhibit  at downtown New York's Museum of Chinese in America, features the founding chefs from all of these culinary heavyweights, incorporating their stories into a narrative that  includes the sharing of dishes and the integration of Chinese culture in America.

 

Museum of Chinese in America

Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America creates an immersive experience for visitors, allowing them to take a seat at a dinner table with plates that represent the 33 Chinese and Asian-American chefs highlighted in the exhibit. A dynamic video installation presents the famous faces of many pioneering chefs, including Cecilia Chiang, Ken Hom, Ming Tsai, Martin Yan, and Anita Lo. In addition to the many “founding fathers” (and mothers) of Chinese cuisine in America, a healthy selection of new, up-and-coming power players are also featured, such as Danny Bowien, Peter Chang, and Vivian Ku. Finally, to round it all off, home cooks like Biying Ni, Ho-chin Yang, and Yvette Lee make appearances in the video installation.

The exhibit’s title, Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America, actually has a more layered meaning that many Americans may know. “Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy” refers to the ups and downs of life, which finds itself so perfectly applicable to the story of Chinese immigration — a story that cannot be told without the incorporation of culture, memory, experiences, and, of course, cooking.

Museum of Chinese in America

The installation’s dining table will feature a dish for each of the 33 chefs highlighted in the exhibition. Along with each dish will be a relic that’s been personally selected form each of the chefs’ home kitchens, as well as place settings that feature unique ceramic vessels created by Heidi Lau and Lu Zhang that will serve to help link the chef’s cooking style to his or her regional culinary traditions.

Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy: Stories of Chinese Food and Identity in America is curated by Audra Ang, Kian Lam Kho, Andrew Rebatta, and Herb Tam. While the exhibit was originally scheduled to stop showing on March 26th, 2017, it has been extended through September 10th, 2017.

"Sour, Sweet, Bitter Spicy" on view October 6, 2016 through Ma...

"Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy" is on view October 6, 2016 through March 26, 2017. #SourSweetBitterSpicy http://bit.ly/1SfDek8 Posted by Museum of Chinese in America on Thursday, August 25, 2016

 

The following chefs will be featured in the exhibit:

Danny Bowien (New York, NY)

Peter Chang (Rockville, MD)

Nancy Chen (Naperville, IL)

Chris Cheung (Brooklyn, NY)

George Chew (New York, NY) Cecilia Chiang (Los Angeles, CA)

Philip Chiang (Los Angeles, CA)

Sally and Gilroy Chow (Clarksdale, MS)

Susanna Food (Radnor, PA)

Jeff Gao (Boulder, CO)

Ken Hom, OBE (Bangkok, Paris, Rio de Janeiro)

Vivian Ku (Los Angeles, CA)

Yvette Lee (Honolulu, HI)

Leonard Liao (Jackson Heights, NY)

Anita Lo (New York, NY)

Biying Ni (New York, NY)

Doniyar Sobitov (Brooklyn, NY)

Cara Stadler (Portland, ME)

Wilson Tang (New York, NY)

Yvonne and Mike Thompson (Pounding Mill, VA)

Kimmie Lee Tie (Raleigh, NC)

Michael Tong (New York, NY)

Ming Tsai (Wellesley, MA)

Jason Wang (New York, NY)

Doron Wong (New York, NY)

Frank and Tommy Wong (Mandeville, LA)

Jonathan Wu (New York, NY)

Cori Xiong and Heng Chen (Houston, TX)

Martin Yan (San Mateo, CA)

Ho-chin Yang (Alhambra, CA)

Chris Yeo (San Jose, CA)

Grace Young (New York, NY)

Wenbin Yuan (Brookfield, WI)

For more information on the Museum of Chinese in America, visit mocanyc.org.

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