Chinese Friends, one of the longest continuously operating Chinese restaurants at the same location in Los Angeles, is closing after 50 years. When they opened they were one of the first, if not the first, non-Cantonese restaurants to open in Chinatown (not that are very many non-Cantonese Chinese restaurants there even now). Still it was an introduction for many Angelenos to non-Cantonese dishes such as mu shu pork, hot and sour soup and sizzling rice soup in the wake of the final repeal of the Chinese exclusion laws which saw non-Cantonese Chinese come to the US for the first time ever. Chinese Friends closes after this weekend so you don’t have much time for a final visit.
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Thank you for the historical information.
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Video from the LA Chinatown instagram site with a few comments from yours truly.
Wanted to try that house special shrimp