VOY WONG (WONG GOW DOY)

AUGUST 8, 1914 - DECEMBER 25,1975

The Village

Voy Wong was born Wong Gan Voy in Gom Benn Village, Toisan County, Guangdong Province, China August 8, 1913 to Sam Wong (Wong Chun Yee) and See Yung Lee Wong. Voy was a sickly child but survived despite the lack of healthcare in rural peasant China.  Being the second son of an Overseas Chinese (wah que), Voy's father sent money home for his education and allowed him to study and complete high school.  Voy found village life quite boring and was interested in continuing his education, perhaps in medicine.  He studied in Toisan City, the county seat, but found it difficult.   When the chance came for him to go to America, he jumped at the opportunity and left China in 1937.  Before he left, as was the custom, his mother arranged his marriage to Fay Hing Lee (Lee Fay Hing) from a neighboring village in Toisan.

America

Since his brother Poy Wong (Wong Gan Poy) had already emigrated to America when his father returned, Voy could not gain automatic entry as the first born son of a U.S. Citizen.  Instead, he emigrated as a "paper son," the first born son of another Chinese immigrant already living in the U.S.

San Bernardino

Voy's father, Sam Wong or Wong Chun Yee, had a dry goods business (Gee Chong Co.) in San Bernardino.  There wasn't much business and the store did better with the Chinese lottery gaming held in the back of the store.  Voy did odd jobs and errands and even attempted school.  Although he was 22 and already married, it was decided to enroll him in junior high given his short stature and youthful appearance.  From 1940-1941, he attended San Bernardino Senior High School, but found the courses difficult and he didn't like being around "kids."  When World War II broke out, he had his first opportunity to make something of himself.  He learned of an opportunity to buy a restaurant business in Riverside from a Japanese who was going to be interned in a relocation camp.  He and two partners, Wong Bing Tew and Harold Wong, scraped together about $500 and purchased the business.

Riverside

The partners renamed the restaurant Chungking Cafe, Chungking being in the news of late as the wartime capital of China.  The restaurant was located at 3817 Market Street, in the heart of downtown Riverside.  It was located in the old Hotel Plaza building, owned by Bill Evans, Mayor of Riverside.  Voy, knowing something about politics, soon befriended Bill and always gave him special treatment when he came into the restaurant.

Voy and his partners knew very little about the restaurant business but had plenty of cook experience as most Chinese immigrant communities were almost entirely male and shared the meal preparation duties.  Voy and his partners also hired a few old timers who taught them how to make the Chinese American food that most Americans enjoyed such as chop suey, chow mein, egg roll, egg foo young and fried rice.

Return To China

The Chungking Years

For many years, Chungking was the only Chinese restaurant in Riverside and for all of those years, the only Chinese restaurant in downtown Riverside.  Lunch was a busy hour for Chungking as downtown government workers and employees of the many merchants enjoyed the special lunch menu.  Freshness was important and Voy and Fay made many trips to LA and local markets for the freshest items.  Chungking served many people from all walks of life as well as notables such as former Congressman and U.S. Senator John Tunney, and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez.  As a family owned and run business, Chungking employed family members as well as hired cooks who were from the same Toisan region in southern China.  Uncle Poy was the cashier, Voy and Fay the cooks, and the children served as servers, food preparers, dishwashers and bussers.  Every night everyone pitched in to clean up.  (Click on the menu to see a sample of food items and prices).

The Restaurant Period had three phases:  The Wartime Phase 1942 -1952, the postwar period to 1952-1961, and the remodel period from 1961 to 1974.   Before the remodel period, Chungking Cafe was a classic old time Chinese restaurant with high back red vinyl booths, a round glass countered cashier's station in the front, neon signs, a pressed metal sculptured ceiling and old red Coca Cola water coolers.   Typically, Voy and Fay's children stayed in the restaurant during working hours and when they weren't in school.  The old office and storage room in the back had a black and white TV when the kids watched some of the classic TV shows and movies in the fifties.   When they got bored with TV, they would play games or go outside to the parking lot or city park next door.  The kids got creative sometimes and even performed plays in the old store room.  Since the old office had a loft, Rapunzel was popular because the "hair" could be dropped down from the upper level.

The restaurant was closed on Tuesdays and this was the day that the Wong Family would go visit other Gom Benn villagers in the southern California areas.

Retirement

In 1974, Voy and Fay returned to China for a visit.  They had not seen China since they left together in 1948.  It was a difficult journey for both since Voy was very weak and in ill health.  They were part of a tour group of Gom Benn Villagers making their first trip back in many years.  It was a whirlwind tour covering many places that none of the villagers had seen before including Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing. They were treated to a big welcoming celebration in Gom Benn Village with feasts and festivities.  With overseas money, the Gom Benn village had several new homes and a new factory building.  A new school building was in the works at the time. Voy received some Chinese medical treatment for his heart condition in Shanghai, but came back from China very ill. On December 25, 1975, he became ill with pneumonia, was hospitalized and passed away at Riverside Community Hospital.  He is buried in Olivewood Cemetery in Riverside.