ABSTRACT
The chow mein sandwich is a unique form of culinary hybridity that first emerged in the 1930s in the Northeast. Once found as far south as Coney Island, the sandwich can still be found along the I-195 corridor connecting Providence, RI with both Fall River and New Bedford, MA. In Fall River, specifically, one of the best known restaurants serving the sandwich was China Royale (1950–2001). In the mid-1970s, the restaurant assembled a group of Pacific Islander musicians and dancers to create Alika and the Happy Samoans who became the in-house entertainment there for several years. Circa 1974/75, the band recorded an album, At the China Royal, which included an ode to the eatery’s signature dish: “Chow Mein Sandwich.”
The song “Chow Mein Sandwich,” no doubt, represents the intersection between several important currents in American pop culture. The song’s composition and arrangement draws upon the influence of funk music in the 1970s as the ethnic heritage of the band and dancers reflects the decades-long American obsession with “Polynesian culture.” The dish that inspired the song was is a fascinating example of hybrid culture and shows how immigrant cuisine adapts to new environs. This chapter follows the curious crossroads by which the chow mein sandwich would function as an early manifestation of both an Asian American cultural sensibility in both food and musical form.
