Chinese cuisine in Boston: The legacy of Kowloon
October 19, 2022 5:45 PM Subscribe
Kowloon, a "technicolor Polynesian paradise" in Saugus, Massachusetts, is a legendary 50,000-square-foot restaurant serving 20,000 people each week. The Wong family worked hard to please their customers and expand their business, continually reinventing the menu and the venue. They also helped hundreds of Chinese immigrants (and Chinese-diaspora, for example, Chinese-Venezuelans) find work and become integrated into American society. This is the story of Kowloon, and the story of Chinese food in America.
...oh my god the stories I could tell about being at Kowloon, underage, getting served booze, and really digging the lounge band... One of the local BBS's used to hold all their meetups there. I grew up just off Rt 1—this was part of the landscape I was steeped in. Good to know the backstory and see old pix. Thanks!!
posted by not_on_display at 7:53 PM on October 19, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by not_on_display at 7:53 PM on October 19, 2022 [11 favorites]
Route 1 is good for exactly three things:
• minigolf
• Kowloon
• knowing that every minute you aren't there, you aren't driving on Route 1, and that feeling is amazing
posted by andreaazure at 12:37 AM on October 20, 2022 [10 favorites]
• minigolf
• Kowloon
• knowing that every minute you aren't there, you aren't driving on Route 1, and that feeling is amazing
posted by andreaazure at 12:37 AM on October 20, 2022 [10 favorites]
1970s teen me can confirm not_on_display’s account! Other Route 1 architectural gems included The Ship, torn down in 2017, and Hilltop Steakhouse, which featured fiberglass steers on a fenced-in patch of possibly artificial turf, but was best known for its enormous neon cactus sign.
posted by carmicha at 2:40 AM on October 20, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 2:40 AM on October 20, 2022 [5 favorites]
The mini golf is gone from Route 1. Soon the Kowloon will be, too.
posted by pxe2000 at 3:09 AM on October 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by pxe2000 at 3:09 AM on October 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
What a great article. My experiences with Kowloon are pretty limited, but the description of heading to the white tablecloth Chinese restaurant as a special occasion brought back a lot of memories. My own family will do the same thing whenever people make their way back to New York City, but those occasions are becoming rarer and rarer.
As for Kowloon in particular, it was a favorite lunch spot for my group when I was working down the street at the engine plant. Of course, my coworkers thought even General Tso's chicken was too exotic, so I was the only one trying the more interesting dishes while they all got wings and burgers.
When I was living in that area, there were still quite a few tiki rooms scattered around the North Shore; Kowloon must be the only one left standing at this point. And now that we're in the city, it's just a bit too far of a drive. Might have to make a special trip back.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:36 AM on October 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
As for Kowloon in particular, it was a favorite lunch spot for my group when I was working down the street at the engine plant. Of course, my coworkers thought even General Tso's chicken was too exotic, so I was the only one trying the more interesting dishes while they all got wings and burgers.
When I was living in that area, there were still quite a few tiki rooms scattered around the North Shore; Kowloon must be the only one left standing at this point. And now that we're in the city, it's just a bit too far of a drive. Might have to make a special trip back.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:36 AM on October 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
I need egg fu yung and pork strips so fucking badly right now.
posted by tristeza at 8:16 AM on October 20, 2022
posted by tristeza at 8:16 AM on October 20, 2022
If it’s of interest, Eater published a wonderful feature on Kowloon and the Wong family back in March.
posted by sidesh0w at 12:00 PM on October 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by sidesh0w at 12:00 PM on October 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
I work just off route 1, not too far past Kowloon. They're gearing up to redevelop the whole strip, judging by the new NoBo (North Boston LOL) campaign being rolled out. Totally weird spot to get hit by gentrification, but it is what it is I guess. I'm constantly trying to get people to do a 2 bar route 1 bar crawl day one we'll hit every old school bar and restaurant remaining on the north bound side, pass out somewhere (probably somewhere gross, but we'll be way too gone off the scorpion bowls to worry about that), day two we'll work on way back towards the city on the south bound side, stopping to pour one out at the remains of the hilltop steakhouse. We would hire a stretch limo to ferry us from place to place to keep it classy/keep us from being murdered by people driving like 80mph on an ostensible surface road.
posted by youthenrage at 12:43 PM on October 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by youthenrage at 12:43 PM on October 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
The Ship is gone? what about the leaning tower of pizza? the car hop drive-in? the classy Town-Lyne House? the Golden Banana?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:01 AM on October 22, 2022
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:01 AM on October 22, 2022
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posted by rednikki at 5:45 PM on October 19, 2022 [3 favorites]