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Sun, 06 Apr 2003

Milpitas Square and the new Chinatowns

The most interesting development in the restaurant world in the last decade or so, if you ask me, has been the rise of large all-Asian shopping centers in California suburbs.

Chinatowns, of course, are nothing new to California or other metropolitan areas, in the United States and elsewhere. One of the most famous Chinatowns is in San Francisco, where large-scale Chinese immigration dates back to the mid to late 19th century, in the form of support workers for the Gold Rush, service workers for the growing city, and then a huge influx of labourers to work on the transcontinental railroad.

While San Francisco's Chinatown was, comparatively speaking, a prosperous community for some, conditions for most were not ideal. The restaurant and souvenir-shop trade made it a major tourist attraction, but there was still a fair amount of substandard housing, crime, and little room to expand businesses or offer upscale alternatives.

As standards of living improved, and richer immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore arrived, there was the inevitable flight to the suburbs. The first suburbs were newer residential areas in San Francisco -- the Richmond and Sunset districts in the western part of the city. (Many visitors to San Francisco are not aware that a huge selection of Asian food, consumer goods, and other products exists along Clement St. in the Richmond District, and along Irving St. in the Sunset District.)

The newest Asian communities are many miles from the heart of San Francisco (and correspondingly, from Los Angeles as well). The communities of Milpitas, Fremont, and San Jose host many Asian and Asian-American families, a fair number of whom are associated with Silicon Valley high-tech businesses. And this has led to some amazing developments in the restaurant business.

There are many all-Asian shopping centers in California, but one of the largest is in Milpitas, near the junction of I-880 and Route 237. it's called Milpitas Square, it opened only a few years ago, and when I walked the length of the U-shaped strip, I counted no less than 17 eateries. And we're not talking food court here - these range from some small cafes to the large and elegant Mayflower Restaurant.

Anchoring the center is a 99 Ranch supermarket (worth a column in its own right), as well as satellite buildings with such establishments as a Chinese-speaking branch of Charles Schwab stockbrokers and several banks. But clearly the focus is on food.

I originally planned to eat my way through Milpitas Square in strict order, but it hasn't worked out that way. I did start at Cafe Wong Kee, at the north end (no memory of that meal, and no notes either), but quickly ended up jumping around. Next candidate was Hot Pot City, which I'll detail in a future episode, and then a little place that I think is called Pepper Lunch (but I'm not sure).

On a second or third visit I think I just ate at the cafeteria-style lunch counter at 99 Ranch, which offered some tasty Chinese barbecue (roast duck and pork) and some relatively indifferent but not altogether bad dim sum (mostly the pedestrian items like char siu bao, pot stickers, siu mai, har gow, etc.).

I'll have to look at my notes and total up my visits but I think I've made it to 8 or 10 of Milpitas Square's 17 candidates. Most recent was Darda Seafood (tomorrow's column).

Posted at 19:17 | permanent link

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