Pearl’s restaurant is located at 13103 Liberty Ave, NY 11419. It is credited for causing the spread and interest in Guyanese-Chinese cuisine. This unique restaurant takes the best of both worlds and creates a masterpiece. Pearl’s has attracted the attention and taste buds of many people living around Liberty Ave.

Individuality:

A review from a customer at Pearl’s restaurant:

 This review talks about the originality of the food. Some might consider this to be unoriginal because it is talking food that was previously invented and putting them together, but she focuses on the taste of this combination. This taste is the same as the Guyanaese food that she ate before. This signifies that Guyanese-Chinese cuisine should not be considered asa new cultural identity to itself. This is similar to Indo-Caribbean would not associate themselves with Indians. Once a mix of cultures occurs, that hybrid culture will make its own history and identity, which will be different from its predecessors.

Exploring Cultures with Fear:

A picture of Pearl’s restaurant:

When I entered the place, I was aware of the Chinese decorations and Chinese symbols, which are so commonly found in Chinatown. However, there were no Chinese people. The vast majority were Caribbean. The meaning behind this Chinese decorations is similar to how Caribbean people would eat their traditional food to feel like there are at home, but instead it is to visit somewhere unknown to them. This is why hybrid restaurants  are so priceless to the Caribbean community. They allow these people to explore new cultures while giving them the comfort of eating from their own culture.

This interview tells me more about the values family within Caribbean migrants. The manager’s father up-took a passion for the Chinese food and decided to share it with his community and his son. He started a restaurant to allow other caribbean to see what he sees and enjoy what he enjoys. This mingling of cultures is associated with the Caribbean diaspora and evolution of tastes. Thus, this is only possible because the  caribbean culture is not a close-minded culture that is willing to evolve rather get held down by ethnocentric ideals. This restaurant is one of many that has been taking the charge towards mixing caribbean culture with other cultures

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Citations:

1.  Anonymous. Interviewed by Kelvin Zheng.  8 June 2016.