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My dad & I crossed Canada from West to East in search of stories, eating our way across the country.

3 road + train trips 2017
/2022

I had the gift of slow time on these road trips with my dad, his vivid memories of small town life and working in these cafés giving shape to our journey and the places we visited along the way.

He was my driver and interpreter - both of language and of café life.

We visited mostly the small towns, stopping in old-timer cafés which I thought would be more like my grandfather’s.

We saw so many variations on the menus -- starting from classic Chinese dishes and adding on whatever suited local tastes: Pizza, poutine, fish and chips, or with Good Morning pancakes and egg specials. “Smorgs”, shortened from the Swedish word smörgåsbord, were everywhere too - these all-you-can-eat buffets were popular with diners across the country, their silver trays filled and refilled with favourite dishes.

From
Vancouver
to Halifax

#1

Sechelt

— British Columbia

Population 12.000

Ming moved to Sechelt in 1999 with his family and opened a restaurant. They now own two in the area.

He has two children, one an engineer and the other a recent university graduate. He knew the kids did not want the restaurant passed down to them:

“I think they know the parent is working hard and working the long day all day everyday and the hours are too long”

Since 1999

Ming

Driving from Saskatchewan to Manitoba was beautiful.

The Prairie landscape becoming even flatter, the sky bigger and full of freedom… I didn’t realise that flat land could become even flatter after 2 hours of driving. The open skies seemed to run on forever.

The Prairies

#2

Estevan

— Saskatchewan

Population 10.000

It was strangely thrilling to order pizza at this Chinese café. When it arrived, the layers of hot cheese and ham were joyous, and felt like a treat to eat while my dad ate his noodles.

Since 1965

Estevan
 Pizza
 & Chinese

#3

Carberry

— Manitoba

Population 1.700

Kwan took over the café in 1965, following on from his grandfather who opened the café in the 1940s.

The café is only open around dinner time each day.

His son told me that the café used to be packed until 3am ...
“It was wild back then”.

Since 1965

Kwan

“Operating a restaurant is ok if you get enough help, if you’re willing to put in long hours…

Sometimes you don’t see if you’re making 10 cents in an hour… Some days I work more hours after I close than when I’m open... I can prepare the meat, chicken balls ahead of time tonight for tomorrow. So when I open tomorrow I get supply to use.”

“For me if I’m younger for doing again I would pick accounting. I think Accounting is a good career.

You can do accounting as long as you can see the numbers.”

I learned later that the CVM Cafe was a designated Manitoba heritage site.

We travelled as soon as we could travel again after Covid. The impossibility of travel made this journey feel so full of pure joy and freedom.

Third trip 2022

This time our roadtrip was completely spontaneous and unplanned, with no hotel reservations.
We made our way from Toronto to Halifax, sitting in easy silence as we drove, popping into the nearest Chinese-Canadian café in town to say hello.

From
Toronto
to Halifax

“The struggle, the heartache, and the grueling long hours are all prerequisites for running a small Chinese take-out restaurant.

On the flip side are generational family cohesiveness and many hours of laughter.”

Owner, South Pacific

Alec

“Through the lens of our many humble restaurants, my mom has transformed from being a willow branch to a mighty oak tree, standing tall to protect and shelter her kids. I will always owe a debt of gratitude to our family restaurant(s) and my mom.”

#3

Toronto

— Ontario

Population 6.37M

My dad and I ordered the Morning Specials with pancakes.

I searched for Chinese-Canadian cafés on my maps, and was surprised to find one in such a large city, and in a prime location surrounded by independent boutiques and art galleries.

Since 1985*

The queen star

This café had a long menu with Chinese food combos next to homemade hamburgers, poutine, and gyro pita.

The owners were very warm and happy to chat, smiling for photos.


I saw later that their story had been written up in the local paper. The Queen Star had been open for over 35 years and was now one of the few remaining Chinese-Canadian cafes in Toronto - the others had closed in recent years.

In the Eastern provinces, the opening hours seemed sporadic. I often took pictures from the window looking in.

Sometimes I felt like I couldn’t eat another fried egg roll. But we charged on...

Many places were “Takeaway Only”, bustling with a different kind of energy as the phone rang with orders, the interior spaces closed to diners, temporarily or forever changed by Covid. The café owners often seemed busy in the kitchens or back rooms.

#4

Charlotte
-Town

— Prince Edward Island

Population 40.500

The shop interior was beautifully preserved. The dated 1970s decor from the original owners had been passed on intact to the new owners from Vietnam. The phone was now ringing non-stop with a stream of people dropping in for takeaways.

Canton Cafe

I was told that the original owner had purchased another Chinese-Canadian café across the street, a space for his niece and nephew to run.

Two sister Chinese-Canadian cafés on Charlottetown’s Queen street.

#5

Truro

— Nova Scotia

Population 12.300

When I walked in, I was greeted with smiles and warm curiosity.

I spoke to them in my broken Cantonese and they asked me friendly questions about my trip.

Ho-ho wok

I sat in their café for over an hour, and tried to help them fix the menu on their website. One son had moved to a big city, the other worked at a bank in town.

I stayed on as regular customers came through with their orders, and felt for a moment like a part of their world.

Long days of hard work, sending kids away to the big city for more opportunity, opening a café to heal a broken heart & the surprising joy of seeing his mother everyday, fishing on a day off & moments of joy...