Street Front of Mabu Café on their opening day. Photo by Mabu Café
In this piece, I observe the connections of Chinatown, an area currently undergoing their own culture shift between their older Hong Kongese population and the newer, Mainland Chinese immigrants. In this little neon-lit modern eatery attempting to conjure Hong Kong’s 90s nostalgia, their paths intersect.
Originally recorded as research documentation for Professor Jesse LeCavalier’s urban design studio in the Fall of 2023, examining the culture of New York City’s Chinatown.
Background: Mabu Café, 18 Doyers St, New York, NY 10013. Doyers street is designated to be a part of the NYC Open Streets project, which encourages safe walkable communities by eliminating vehicular access on specific streets. Doyers street, in particular, has been made into a permanent pedestrian road and is decorated with a street mural as well as furnished with outdoor seating and sun shading for local small eateries. Mabu café is a cha chaan teng that had recently opened in May 2023 and has caused a stir on social media as ‘the hottest spot in Chinatown’ despite no formal advertisement due to their photogenic décor and food. When I went there at 12:35, the eatery for once doesn’t have a line, I forgot to bring cash.
There are five tables in the main area. Each of them have Mahjong tiles arrayed under glass with the outer rim having their green backing facing upwards, surrounded by medium brown wood frame. The tables are big enough for two people only. The chairs on the outside of the table near the bar/welcoming area are plastic (clear and tinted with brown or pink) and supported by a chrome folding chair frame. The seating along the wall is vinyl green booth, with the backing in a raised I I I I pattern, each ridge 6 inches apart. The space is lit by cold fluorescent and neon features.
I was seated at table 3/5, in the middle of the eatery.
Food arrives. I ordered the teddy-bear milk tea – a teddy bear shaped ice cube bathing in traditional Hong Kong Style milk tea- and a cheese instant noodle with egg, 2 broccolis, and spam meat (another classic.) Like everyone else, I can not resist taking a picture of the teddy-bear floating in the milk tea before I drink.
The pair on my right (2/5), an Asian mother and her teen daughter that were speaking mandarin, leaves. The pair next to them (1/5) was a Caucasian girl and her Asian date holding hands. They are talking about where to visit in NYC. The woman had just come back from South Africa, the man looks disquieted. He suggests the Rockaways. He wears biking shorts and has a knee-brace on his right leg.
A man comes in, passes behind me, says he has a reservation for Gigi for 6 people. Two girls in designer t-shirts and cross-body bags walk in after him and sign up for the waiting list. There was no line, they took a seat. Table 5/5. Another mother and daughter pair replaces 2/5. The mother is in a Weill Cornell medical scrub (4/5 are also Weill Cornell Alumni. They talk about changing Instagram profiles since the graduation picture no longer fits, and losing access to their school accounts)
The woman at 4/5 says they came here for things they can’t eat at other cafés, implying novelty. Her laptop is open, the man takes a picture of the food, she tells him to not post it due to patient confidentiality. They move onto discussing food. “I like [the restaurant], do you think your mom would like it here?” “No, she’s traditional, says noodles at the other cha chaan tang are too soft.” “Too Modern?” “Yeah. Well, we aren’t in Hong Kong anymore.”
2/5 is ordering. “叻沙okay?” “這個不是叻沙，有點辣。” “是叻沙咧”. The daughter points to the sheet “A15” “Okay” “想喝什麼”
4/5 Continues their conversation “Your dad would like this” “Yeah, it tastes like Macau” They proceed to talk about their friend’s recent engagement.
2/5’s daughter spills water on themselves and 1/5 while ordering. The paper cup rolls onto the tiled floor. “Oh shit,” the mother says. 1/5 shakes their head “Oh no, it’s my bad, bad fortune” she says. In Cantonese the mother tells her daughter “At least it’s just water, otherwise we won’t be able to eat” In Mandarin she turns to the server and apologizes. The server can’t speak Cantonese, the mother and I found that out separately when we tried to order in Cantonese out of habit. “不怕！不怕“ Says the waitress in Mandarin. 2/5 orders. The mother had red hair, mahogany dyed. My mom is approximately the same color. The daughter has a tattoo colored in teal of a dreamcatcher on her left arm. They finish cleaning up and talk about fried tofu.
The man at 4/5, “Do you know this song?” “No, this is before my time, this is the 80s” Cantopop coons in the cha chaan teng – I’ve heard this song on my mom’s albums, I can’t place the singer either. I know it’s famous. A girl singer’s voice joins the male singer. “I know this one. It’s Jacky Cheung”. (It is 愛是永恆 from 1997, I secretly use the google song identify function) “You know how they mistranslate Canto songs” The woman says. My attention drifts.
The neon light in front of me is white ringed with an outline of light orange. It reads “發”(hair). I wonder if it is because it is a homophone to “rich “。 On the back wall four circles (One for each character) Spell out the name of the restaurant on a background of blue. The wall in front is dark green, close to the color of the mahjong tiles on the table but not quite. Characters (I did not write them down) made of gold colored metal are mounted on it.
The Daughter at 2/5 says she recognizes the song. 4/5 is paying. “Cash gets 10%” off, the cashier tells them, they decide to use cash. “How much tip did you do?” The woman whispers. “Just double it” The man tells her. He gets up, presumably going to the bathroom downstairs.
I have to make class, I also pay. The restaurant is one of the few in the area that takes cards. I call the server over in Mandarin. The mother at 2/5 looks over at me.
I pack my barely touched food.
Comments