This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Recognizable by the large gates that surround them and their businesses which maintain a certain imagery of the Middle Kingdom, there is no shortage of Chinese neighborhoods from one end of the world to the other. They can actually be found in all major cities outside of Asia, from Lima to London, and from San Francisco to Johannesburg, including… Montreal, of course! The latter has just been classified as a heritage site, which gives us a good excuse to look into its unusual history and charm.
Initially, Montreal’s Chinatown, which stands today in the quadrilateral bounded by Avenue Viger, Rue Saint-Urbain, Boulevard René-Lévesque and Boulevard Saint-Laurent, was not really Chinese, nor even Asian. There we met many more English-speaking Europeans of various origins and faiths, notably the Irish. So much so that we named this area Little Dublin!
Beginning in 1875, a first wave of Cantonese immigrants, transcontinental railway workers fleeing the systematic discrimination they suffered in British Columbia, settled in the neighborhood. There they found affordable rents, a community spirit and a commercial vitality which allowed them to emancipate themselves, in particular by working in laundries which they sometimes opened.
Even if we mention for the first time the existence of a Chinatown in Montreal in daily life The Press in 1902, we cannot yet really speak of a community, because women there are extremely rare (around thirty for 1,500 nationals in 1911). And this situation lasted until the 1950s, due to the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, which prohibited the arrival of any national of Chinese origin until 1947. During this period, however, Chinatown has taken root in people’s minds as a place of nightlife and underworld linked to the Red Light, with cafes, clubs and restaurants open all night, but also opium smokehouses (licensed until 1908), gambling houses, erotic massage parlors and structured criminal networks.
Without sounding the death knell for this festive wing, family reunifications, urban revitalization projects undertaken by the City of Montreal and the emergence of a new category of wealthier immigrants, particularly of Hong Kong and Vietnamese origin, have lastingly transformed Chinatown in the second half of the 20th centurye century.
Still considered the “most Chinese” of its peers in Canada because it is still almost exclusively inhabited by immigrants from China, this space now has more of a symbolic, community, cultural and tourist role compared to sectors like Brossard , where 20% of the population declares being of Chinese origin. We also find sections of the Chinese community in the Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Saint-Laurent neighborhoods, as well as in Concordia Chinatown, an area that has emerged since the 2000s to the west of the university of the same name with shops, restaurants and the establishment of the consulate general of the People’s Republic of China. Which doesn’t stop the original Chinatown from enjoying a rich history and attracting us for a host of good reasons!
Montreal’s Chinatown: the great seduction
Since 2012, Mélissa Simard has set herself the goal, with her company Tours de la table, of exploring Montreal’s history through gastronomy. She has thus created routes intended to discover Iberian, Jewish and Chinese cultures. “Chinatown evokes something sentimental for me,” she says. Whatever our generation, we all have memories linked to this place, which has a somewhat magical aura, both nostalgic and mysterious. »
Why does the guide have such a close connection with this neighborhood? It is not for its small Chinese shops or its Asian herbalists, but first of all for its history and the built heritage which tells many others. “To know, for example, that the current Chinese hospital was built on an old synagogue, or that certain churches were Scottish before being Chinese, it changes our point of view on this neighborhood, which I have always considered to be resolutely multicultural. “, she explains.
Indeed, although it appears to be Chinese, this neighborhood could not be more cosmopolitan. Half of its businesses are Vietnamese. Bars and restaurants like Necessary Evil, Flowers and Gifts, Capital Tacos and Tiramisu sit alongside institutions like the Wings noodle shop, open since 1897, the Hoàng Oanh banh mi counter, the popular Dobe & Andy barbecue counter, the Pho Bang New York, or the Hong Kong pastry Coco. Mme Simard adds that “we also come across a very heterogeneous crowd, made up of tourists strolling in Old Montreal or attending an event at the Palais des congrès, as well as civil servants, businessmen, partygoers and travelers who have several amenities in the area. I love this diversity specific to Montreal’s Chinatown. »
A space that the guide has been traveling for more than eight years and that she continues to discover. “There are so many unexpected corners there! she says. Little-known fountains and gardens in passages, restaurants hidden on a roof or in a basement: it is impossible to know everything about this district. » Just as it is difficult to taste everything on site, there is so much choice. However, you should know that some popular dishes like chop suey (a vegetable stir-fry with a protein and a thick sauce) or better yet General Tao chicken are much more American than Chinese. And that the famous Chinese cookies were created in the United States! Beautiful examples of the marriage of cultures, aren’t they?
Taste the Chinatowns of the World
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.