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In the Fall of 2004, some of my coolest Chinese menus will be exhibited at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas, in Manhattan, New York City. The museum has declared 2004 the Year of the Chinese Restaurant and they are doing lots of shows about Inspector Collector’s favorite topic, FOOD! They may even become the first museum to exhibit my Chop Suey board game from the 1970s. Here’s what the museum’s planning:

**A Taste of MoCA: Culture, Cuisine and American Dreams: MoCA Announces Food-Themed 2004 Season MoCA hosts a year of exhibits, programs and events focusing on what everyone loves most – Food. Throughout the year, MoCA will introduce artists, historians and collectors who explore different facets of Chinese restaurants, including Inspector Collector, who has collected some 10,000 different Chinese restaurant menus from 80 foreign countries, and filmmaker Cheuk Kwan’s Chinese Restaurants series, which tells the story of the Chinese restaurant owners in Canada, Israel, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius, Madagascar, South Africa, Turkey, Norway, India, Cuba, Peru, Brazil and Argentina.

Visit the Museum of Chinese in the America's Website.
 
       
       
 
From September 14, 2004 through March 2005, the Museum will exhibit Have You Eaten Yet? An Historical Look at Chinese Restaurants in America, a historical look at a central image of Chinese American life – the Chinese restaurant. Often the first introduction to Chinese culture for many Americans, the Chinese restaurant has functioned since the nineteenth century as a site of cultural exchange. The exhibit traces the Chinese restaurant’s origin and growth in America, and explores how these cultural negotiations have been made over time. It takes a revealing look at American and Chinese perceptions and expectations through Inspector Collector’s historical menu collections dating back as far as 1879, travel diary entries, and Chinese food myths.