A TALE OF TWO LANDS, TWO FAMILIES AND ONE CUISINE

Established in 1987 by Alan Fan & Winnie Yuen, the Golden Palace is a Chinese American family restaurant with a Chinese American family story.

In the midst of the turmoil & poverty in China during the Cultural Revolution, Alan left his country village for a better life. Walking under the cover of night, Alan journeyed for four days & one hundred miles while surviving on only pork lard biscuits. Reaching the border of then British-occupied Hong Kong, he eluded the border patrol by swimming across the shark-infested bay at night. In Hong Kong, Alan created a new life. Instead of hawking the vegetables he grew as he did in China, Alan worked in whatever jobs he could get--from making shoes to pushing dimsum carts. Eventually he earned a degree in accounting & pursued his childhood love, Winnie. The two had met in China--his mother was her mother’s nanny, & the two families’ destinies were linked from birth. Despite her reservations about leaving her family in Hong Kong, Alan convinced Winnie to establish a better future for their own family in the United States, the land of golden opportunity.

Just like generations of other American immigrants, they arrived in 1975 in Manhattan’s Lower East Side with few means & few resources. After over a decade of training & working in Chinese restaurants, they saved enough to realize their dream of opening their own. Since then, many members of Alan’s & Winnie’s family have arrived in America to help. Joined by Winnie’s brother, Ping Yuen, & his wife Pauline, today several generations of the Fan & Yuen families continue to serve yours.

Welcome to the Golden Palace Family.