Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant
2026-04-25 / 11:00 – 13:00
On Sunday, April 25, join us at Chinatown House for a conversation with author Curtis Chin. His memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant delves into his memories of his family’s Chinese restaurant, located in the Cass Corridor in Detroit.
Curtis Chin grew up in 1980s’ Detroit. As one of six kids, he spent his childhood roaming the backstore of Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine, the Chinese restaurant his great-grandfather started in the 1940s. As a young closeted Asian man at the height of the AIDS crisis, the family restaurant was a place of refuge for him as well as for generations of Detroiters navigating their city’s economic collapse, many of whom were decades-long regulars. Throughout Turtle Island, Chinese restaurants are known for their affordable menus and long open hours. In that way, Chung’s became a gathering spot for a diverse community to bond over egg rolls and spontaneous conversations.
Curtis Chin is now bringing stories of his family’s restaurant on a Canadian tour. Don’t miss his stop at Chinatown House, where our current exhibition focuses on legacy businesses in Montréal’s Chinatown. These businesses are more than restaurants, herbal shops, hair salons, and art studios. They act as vital anchor points for a living, vibrant community, to gather in.
This event is free. No registration is required.
🏠 Chinatown House (116 De La Gauchetière West)
🪧 Saturday, April 25
🕟 11am – 1pm
EVERYTHING I LEARNED, I LEARNED IN A CHINESE RESTAURANT
ABOUT CURTIS CHIN
A co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City, Curtis Chin served as the non-profits’ first Executive Director. He went on to write comedy for network and cable TV before transitioning to social justice documentaries. Chin has screened his films at over 600 venues in twenty countries. His memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant” was named one of the best books of the year by the Boston Globe in 2023.