The first Chinese restaurants to open in Sunderland and here's what they served in the 1950s

The rise of popularity of Chinese restaurants was a phenomenon which came to Sunderland around 70 years ago.

But how many of you know which was the first to come to Wearside? Philip Curtis, of Sunderland Antiquarian Society, tells us more in an article which he included in the latest edition of the society’s newsletter.

There must be very few Wearsiders who have not either visited a local Chinese restaurant or partaken of a Chinese takeaway at home.

Today, the availability of Chinese food is taken for granted and there is a wide choice of establishments in Sunderland that specialize in foreign cuisine but, until the late 1950s, the town had no Chinese restaurants at all.

That all changed in 1957 when the Bamboo Restaurant opened its doors for the first time in premises in High Street West (right). Its owner was Mr Fu Wong, who resided in Sunderland having settled in Britain in 1952.

The Bamboo was at 114 High Street West and soon became very popular. Initially, of course, it was a bit of a novelty but it was new, unusual and served oriental dishes that few locals had even heard of. Wearsiders were curious.

A menu was always on display on the front window and it was not unusual to see groups of people gathering around to peruse the dishes on offer. Few had ever experienced a Peking Duck or any food that was described as both sweet AND sour.

The restaurant’s menu listed almost 100 dishes and, what’s more, you could eat them using chopsticks.

Most diners who could actually use them usually ate their meals with a look of distain and superiority on their faces as the majority of other diners struggled with forks and spoons.

Bamboo was the very first Chinese restaurant in the town but was soon followed by the Ling Hong in Vine Place.

After that, restaurants offering new types of of cuisine began opening in the centre of town and soon the Chinese restaurants were complemented by the Delhi Durbar (right), an Indian one, which opened in Hylton Road.

There was also the continental cuisine of the Pow Wow in Olive Street. Soon Wearsiders became au fait with most of the foreign dishes on offer and the large variety of different curries available. Sunderland was becoming cosmopolitan – well a little anyway.

Our thanks go to Philip for sharing the article which is one of many excellent features in the latest Society newsletter, which is issued to all members.

You can find out more about the Antiquarian Society by getting along to its Heritage Centre which is open in Douro Terrace on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9.30am to 12pm.

You can also visit the Antiquarian Society’s Facebook page or its website which is at http://www.sunderland-antiquarians.org

And to become a member, email [email protected]