The Kwong Chow Restaurant

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“Jean was a wonderful hostess at the restaurant. She was so bubbly, alive and gracious – she was all those things. In those days, the Kwong Chow was the best Cantonese restaurant in Toronto.”

Pierre Berton, author

Jean and Doyle decided to open a restaurant, rather than continue the grocery store. In 1959, they opened the restaurant in downtown Chinatown and called it Kwong Chow, named after a city in China – famous for its Cantonese cuisine. The restaurant was successful for many years and attracted well-known people over the years from prime ministers and politicians to movie stars and theatre people.

Excerpted from Spirit of the Dragon by Arlene Chan, published by Umbrella Press. Copyright © 1997 by Arlene Chan
 

Image Credit: Toronto Star Photograph Archive, Courtesy of Toronto Public Library