From My Little Hole in the Wall: Cissy's Night Out at the Golden Dragon Cafe

One of the things I most enjoyed as a child was going out for Chinese food during a holiday. It was a treat that we all enjoyed. It didn't happen more than once or twice a year because we just didn't have the money, but when we did, we ordered several dishes and took our time sharing and savoring the wonderful food. I especially loved the dinnerware and the tiny teapot and little cups with no handles. The fortune cookie at the end of the meal delighted me no end, and I believed what ever the little slip of paper said. It was magic.

When we got up to leave, my father would stay behind and visit with the owner. Sometimes this lasted a very long time. I never knew what they were talking about, but as an adult, today, I would guess the war, and San Francisco...things like that.

We'd often come in the back door since there was better

parking and to the right as you'd walk into the Tao Tao Cafe in Sunnyvale, there was a beaded curtain and behind it, "the den of sin". That was where people went to drink cocktails like the one on the little neon sign above the door outside. We'd sit in the waiting area chairs with our teacups and my sister would pretend to read the tea leaves at the bottom of our cups. Of course, I believed all this, too, since this was such an exotic place. It was magic. It was dark. There were little lights strung and Chinese lanterns and miniature lanterns and paintings of Chinese people in traditional dress. Life was different back then. A place like a Chinese restaurant was a journey to another land and you could live this, just for the moment.

The first known Chinese restaurant in America, Canton Restaurant, opened in San Francisco in 1849. It originally arrived with the flood of Chinese immigrants to California in the mid-nineteenth century - mostly from Canton province, by the Gold Rush and fleeing

economic problems and famine in China. By 1880, there were more than 100,000 Chinese people living in the U.S. Restaurants had begun to crop up to feed the growing population of workers, missing the flavors of home. The dishes had to be modified to use available ingredients as many were only found in China. The dishes were also tweaked to accommodate American palates.

By the 1930's, Chinese restaurants went upscale with the merchant visa. By the 1940's, after the Chinese Exclusion Act was repealed, the cuisine had gone mainstream and Chinese restaurants were ubiquitous.

Increased prosperity after WWII saw more Americans able to dine out and more often, and authenticity came into vogue. Classic Americanized dishes like chop suey were abandoned in favor of more authentic and regional dishes. Chinese dishes like General Tso's Chicken, invented by a Hunanese chef in the 1950's, were brought to the U.S. soon after.

Interestingly enough, there was no such thing as a fortune cookie in China. As early as the 1870's, some Japanese sweet shops started making little crackers that were folded into shapes which allowed a message to be tucked inside the bend. These original crackers would have been darker in color and made with miso and sesame, giving them a less sweet taste than the cookies we enjoy today.

It is believed that the fortune cookies of today arrived with the Japanese immigrants in California and Hawaii in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

By the 1950's, the desire for easy meals to feed your family produced the canned Chinese food by Chun King. If a housewife wished to put an exotic meal on the table, all she had to do was open a can. We ate it. And we thought it was a treat, too! I have to laugh because it really is just awful. Perhaps the American palate has developed over time, but back then, a Chun King meal on the table was delicious. About the only canned Chinese food I'll buy is La Choy's Chowmein noodles for my Chinese chicken salads.

Sadly we don't go out for Chinese food anymore now that I can make several dishes and my husband thinks they're better than anything you get in a restaurant. Phooey! I thoroughly enjoy going out for Chinese food and don't mind one little bit if its not the best. Except for the Hot and Sour Soup. That has to be good or I'm not coming back!

And so when I was designing Cissy's new 1950's Mandarin style

dress, I couldn't help but think that this was something she'd wear for a night out on the town.

While the segue into making her a kimono for Cherry Blossom season was fun, I had all this lovely fabric arriving from China. This beautiful yellow-gold in a dragon embroidery was the first I wished to play with.

I'd been saving off lots of pattern images from the 50's specifically in the Mandarin style and chose a typical, full skirted dress with the bodice designed in the Mandarin style to make up the fabric in. I put some effort into this as the pattern I made will continue to be modified for other Chinese style dresses for her.

I'm assuming that there was a resurgence of this style back in the 50's, as I found several designs I'd like to reproduce for Cissy. The 1920's and 30's also enjoyed the style, but in a design appropriate for the decade. Everything old is new again.

The pattern for Cissy's Golden Dragon Cafe dress is the second image seen in this posting. I included standard black pumps and white gloves to complete the look.

Cissy wears a pair of real jade earrings with a Chinese symbol, in gold, in the center. Her hair sticks were fun to make.

I checked. Both Japanese and Chinese women wear hair sticks, but not for the purpose of pure decoration. They are used to hold the hair in place with up-dos.

Cissy's are gold sticks with little gold butterflies, blue flowers and a cloisonné bead. Once again, they are made from cut down bamboo skewers, painted with metallic gold acrylic, then fashioned for jewelry to be dangled.

I have a pin vise that makes tiny holes in wood like a drill, but

operated by hand. A throw back to my miniature days. This is pure fiddly work but they come out so nice and are enjoyable to design.

I have a literal ton of Chinese style beads and jewelry findings now for the many costumes I'll make Cissy. They are beautiful little works of art in their own right.

A view from behind.

Believe it or not, the first thing I made was her purse. The lovely kiss lock frames are superb to work with. They have tiny holes in the frame and you stitch the cloth to the frame through the holes.

She also needed a Chinese take-out box and after much searching, I found the perfect one which I added a silver wire handle to for authenticity. I've provided the clip art for you in the case you wish to make one or more for your own dolls.

The little box you see the take-out carton and purse on belonged to my mother. She called it her Chinese magic box and bought it in San Francisco's Chinatown when she first came here from New Orleans. It opens on hinges with several compartments. It must be 70-80 years old.

The little lantern that folds up was the kind that the Tao Tao Cafe had on its shelves and on the check-out counter. It is extremely difficult to find these today, but I'm always on the hunt for small items like this as doll accessories.

Just in case you were looking for an excuse to go to a Chinese restaurant, July 20th is National Fortune Cookie Day. Yes, its a way off, but mark it on your calendars and go enjoy some Mongolian Chicken and Orange Peel Beef. My favorites! I'll leave you with a popular fortune cookie fortune.

"We must always have old memories and young hopes", Melissa