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Wandering around the sunny, busy Maspeth on a Saturday morning, I came across a very inconspicuous Chinese food restaurant named “Moon Palace Kitchen.” It seemed like any other: it was a pretty small place, cramped between two other businesses, and had a delivery bike resting up front. Feeling skeptical, I entered with hopes of discovering a great story waiting to be told, or at the very least, enjoy some mediocre steamed dumplings. To my surprise, however, entering the restaurant proved every bit of my skepticism wrong. Immediately, I felt an unusual sense of familiarity as the mouthwatering scent of fried shrimp, and the unmistakable aroma of cooked chicken and string beans filled the room and sparked my appetite.

Walking around the restaurant, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary, except a small sparkling chest, standing on the counter. Assuming it was some sort of traditional decor, I didn’t think much of it. As I approached the lady behind the counter and was about to speak, an old Chinese man suddenly came out from the kitchen behind the counter. As he stepped forward he was wiping sweat of his forehead, and seemed very tired. But as soon as he lifted his head and saw me, his eyes lit up. Before long, I had realized this hardworking man was the boss — the owner of Moon Palace Kitchen..

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Meet Xiang Zhang; a husband; a father; a business owner; a hardworking man; and a kind soul. Xiang Zhang immigrated to New York from China in 1990, and has struggled to open his coveted business for years afterwards. As many immigrants do, Zhang had a difficult time trying to assimilate to his new life. As one might imagine, the language, culture, food, and many more challenges, presented Mr. Zhang with towering obstacles that he had to overcome before even starting his business. Having to take loans from his friends and family, Zhang risked it all in order to open his restaurant.

Upon asking him to conduct an interview, Zhang agreed with much zeal. I wanted to learn more about his business and so I asked him some questions about the history of his business, the obstacles he faced, and the customers that go there. Mr. Zhang told me how starting Moon Palace Kitchen was anything but easy. “It was hard to get the business going when I opened it in 1994. You need to build a name first, you know?” He added, “People have their usual places of eating; why would they come to the new guy that just opened his Chinese place recently?” That makes sense. We all have our favorite go-to place that can’t be easily replaced. “But today,” Zhang continued, “as I finally have a good number of regular clients, I can talk to you about them all day. We get Polish regulars and Irish regulars and all different types of races, but mainly Chinese people, because after all, ”he chuckled, “my people can sense a good Chinese place.”

I don’t know whether it was because he was such a nice and friendly man, or something else, but as soon as Mr. Zhang and I began talking, there was an immediate sense of connection formed. Before I could say anything else, Mr. Zhang announced that we’ll talk over some hot lunch, and asked for the finest meal to be prepared for us.

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Image Created By Ben Moore

“Did you notice anything interesting, any changes, in the neighborhood of Maspeth, or even around this block?” I asked Mr. Zhang. “Well,” he was thinking, “Over the years I have welcomes all demographics to my shop, of course there were always more Chinese folk and Polish, but recently, I noticed that the customer base has shifted more towards the Chinese end of the spectrum.”
       This sparked my curiosity and made we want to discover more about the demographic shift that Mr. Zhang mentioned. I departed from Mr. Zhang that day with the ambition of conducting further research on the neighborhood of Maspeth. I found that there is, indeed, a shift in population occurring in the neighborhood of Maspeth, and around the area of Zhang’s restaurant, in particular. Census data show that from the year 2010 (left) to the year 2013 (right), the area’s Polish population has decreased by about 5%, from about 23% in 2010, to about 18% in 2013, a significant drop.

Furthermore, my research partner, who interviewed a banker around the same area as my interviewee, shared his data with me, and found similar results. Dominik informed me that the banker he interviewed hired more Mandarin speaker individuals as he indeed felt a stronger influx of Chinese immigrants into the town, agreeing with my interviewee’s statements. This allows us to conclude rather safely that there is indeed a racial shift in this area. Additionally, it must be noted that such a notable decrease in Polish population in the area took place in merely 3 years, and so there was probably a decline within the Polish population between 2013-2016, as well.

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Before I returned to Moon Palace Kitchen to discuss what I found with Mr. Zhang, I wanted to also research the particular history of the building, and see if it will bring any pieces together. And what I discovered was rather surprising. Before it was an “eat in & take out” Chinese place, Moon Palace Kitchen used to be a music school:

(Image obtained from archives at nycma.lunaimaging.com)

According to the archives on the aforementioned web-source, the date for this building is 1983-1988, and the structure was built in 1940.This data seemed to match with the fact that Mr. Zhang opened his business in 1994 but to get any more information, I had to go back to Moon Palace Kitchen, and investigate the situation further with Mr. Zhang.

Upon calling and scheduling to chat with Mr. Zhang, I arrived with the same warm welcome as before; but then, it was straight to business. He was not surprised to discover the decline in Polish population. “Yeah. I knew I wasn’t going crazy,” he said with a chuckle. Then, I asked him when and from whom he purchased his business, and to my avail, he remembers, somewhat vaguely, that he purchased the lot for this building around 25 years ago, and opened his business in 1994. I asked him if he remembers what this building used to be, but Mr. Zhang did not recall this information. This was fine, however, because the date of purchase (provided by Zhang) and the date of the building (provided by the archive website) matched, allowing me to deduce that the building was, in fact, a music school. I asked Mr. Zhang if he remembers what the owner of the music school was like, and ironically enough, Zhang told me that he was of Polish origin. Before I left, I wanted Mr. Zhang’s opinion on why increasingly more Chinese folk are immigrating into Maspeth. A question, which made him think for a few moments, to which he finally responded, “It doesn’t matter what race you are, you will always look for a sense of brotherhood, or togetherness, from the people around you. Having people around you be from the same race as your own, allows this natural desire for unity to be fulfilled.” What he said immediately resonated with me perfectly. I understood that it only makes sense for people of the same origin to immigrate to a certain area, and remain unified through all challenges in life, whatever they may be.

As foreign as a new country, a new language and new an entirely new culture might have seemed, it is always reassuring to be able to step back and appreciate all of the people who make one feel connected to one’s roots. “But, you’ve lived in Maspeth for over 25 years, very far from Chinese culture,” I said. “How do you manage to find your own sense of brotherhood and togetherness?” Mr. Zhang smiled and pointed over my shoulder, to the counter by the kitchen, on top of which rested the same shiny Chinese chest that I saw when I entered Moon Palace Kitchen for the first time.

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I wasn’t following. “That chest is not just for decor?” I asked. “No,” he took a deep breath, “inside that chest lie a few pieces of parchment with my family recipes that are the basis for all of the dishes we serve here.” Again, I was left speechless. “My family’s recipes, were passed down from my grandfather to my father and then to me.” Feeling thirsty for more knowledge, I told him that I find that incredible. He told me that everyone must have something that helps them feel connected to home: “something to be your anchor. Your connection.”

I continued listening as he proceeded to open the chest and take out a single old, and damaged piece of parchment. “Can you really read what’s on that torn piece of parchment?” I asked. “My workers and I don’t necessarily need to have this recipe to make the food. I don’t keep it to give me directions on how to prepare food. I keep it as a reminder.” These few small pieces of paper, wrapped up and stored in an old Chinese chest, mean a constant reminder for Mr. Zhang, of the things he sacrificed and the challenges he has faced. But it is not meant to discourage him, or sadden him. “It helps me remember the obstacles I was able to overcome, and how fortunate I am to have come this far in my journey of life.”

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I watched as Mr. Zhang was deep in thought, when he simply got up, and walked over to place his hands on the small chest. He turned to me. “One thing I want you to take away from this entire thing is that no matter how tough life may seem, it’ll get better.” While interviewing Mr. Zhang, I have learned intriguing information about the world around me. Through the interviewing process, I was able to discover that the population demographic around Maspeth is changing. Mr. Zhang made a note that he has noticed more Chinese folk attending his restaurant than Polish over the years, which encouraged me to research further into the topic and discover that the neighborhood that was once predominantly Polish, might soon be predominantly Chinese.

And even more so, Mr. Zhang helped me discover many invaluable details about human nature. Xiang Zhang represents any person who has felt hardship in life, and was faced with the possibility of no salvation. But Mr. Zhang’s story is not one of recounting obstacles and challenges; it is a story of overcoming them. As an immigrant, Mr. Zhang arrived at the port of New York with nothing but hope, stored in a small, shiny chest. He did not know whether his immigration will be a story of success or failure, but he kept his hope as his anchor, praying for a brighter future to come ahead. Now, after 26 years, Mr. Zhang is able to sit back, and look back on all of his powerful accomplishments in life, and his grueling journey to achieve them.

Looking ahead, Mr. Zhang is looking forward to a more unified Maspeth, whether it be Chinese, Polish, or any other culture. “When people immigrate here,” he said, “they need to have a sense of belonging. Without it, they will be lost like I was.” Mr. Zhang hopes to help all such immigrants that he sees in any way he can. He views them as brethren who should help each other in times of need.

As for the future of the restaurant, Mr. Zhang hopes to soon pass his business down to his eldest son, along with the chest. But as of right now, being that both his sons are successful doctors, he doesn’t see that happening in the near future. Zhang then told me that he doesn’t have a large interest in expanding the business as he is happy with the what the restaurant is providing him both financially, and spiritually. He hopes to pass down this business for many generations to come and be remembered by his children and great children as “the immigrant who had hope.”

If you’d like to enjoy your own experience at the Moon Palace, you can find it at the location marked on the map to the right.

(Image of moon reused from ASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute)