What is Cuban-Chinese Food? - Dining on a Dime 

This place closed last summer 😢. I missed out on checking the place out. My father would always talk about his chinese immigrant friends and the chinatown in Havana on Zanja street. Chinese Cubans represent a period of Cuba's golden era, their decline is just another fading chapter in Cuba's very sad history.

Lucas! You should have ordered the fried rice. Cuban Fried rice usually has three types of pork in it and it's topped with bean sprouts. It gives it a crunchy texture. Delicious! Buen Provecho, my friend! Great episode!

*_"That is the choice that you can make...and that's all I'll say."_* 😂👍

Reminiscing at this point. Pouring one out for this restaurant and many more eccentric places like this. End of an era for sure. Thank you Lucas and Eater team for capturing this moment in time.

i love the little grandpas that run the place! They are too cute!

I've seen a lot of Jamaican-Chinese restaurants, cause there's a lot of Chinese people in Jamaica, but never heard of Cuban-Chinese before.

I need to go to these resturants wow yoy can see the mix of Cuban and chinese in them when he spoke the spanish and Chinese his smile lit up

This place closed down for a while about a year ago for months nice to see open

I love that place! It's an UWS staple, the fried pork chops with that garlic sauce is very good.

yessss garlic lovers unite!!!! *inhales garlic aggressively*

They’re back on 72nd between Columbus and Amsterdam. On the other side of the street from Dinastia. You can’t go wrong with either one.

Cuba, Guatemala, Puerto, Panama (basically the entire regions of Central America and Caribbean) have so much Chinese and general Asian culture intergraded in it too. these restaurants are a shining staple

Totally would love to eat here! Place looks amazing! That Tso's Porkchop is smart!!!

I've been to that restaurant. It's awesome!

Did not even know this cuisine existed

I remember living in New York a long time ago and dining in a Cuban Chinese restaurant. The food was delicious.

There used be a cuban chinese place on 109st and broadway called La Bella China and the food there was sooo good. Unfortunately Manhattan lease is high and they closed. I just miss the thin steak, the chicharron de pollo, fried frice, and the sopa china.

I love it when Lukas is totally unimpressed but just hanging in the through the whole episode. He's rushing through the descriptions of the food as well. You can't fool us, Lukas!

I love Lucas’s descriptions. 😂

The pork chops look INCREDIBLE!!!

When I had a good day, I watch a Lucas Peterson video. When I had a bad day, I watch a Lucas Peterson video. Nothing beats a good food review.

Omg. I walk by this place almost every weekend. Need to check this place out now! :)

I need to check this place out.

I honestly didn't know affordable gems like this existed in Manhattan. Places like La Caridad truly make a neighbourhood. Lucas a Korean woman might be a good fit for you. Lol. We love to eat and garlic is at pretty much every meal. We even eat whole garlic raw in wraps!

Sam Chinita & La Chinita Linda were both legendary places in Chelsea. Such amazing food for very little on the wallet.

Can any Eater hosts try Peruvian Chinese food next? Heard of it and I can't find a good review, it sounds freaking fascinating, at least to me.

OMG... hit a Cuban-Chinese place in NYC back in the '90's. Found it in a Lonely Planet guidebook. Totally forgot about this kind of food. Hope this cuisine continues and just doesn't end up a reference on the internet... at least Lucas has documented this for prosperity. Trinidadian food kind of mixed up like that too... Chinese, Indian food items along with more regional creations.

This is what I miss in NYC and Peruvian Chinese food!

5:55 his face just SCREAMS "ehhh" Says "that's nice"

That guy at @5:22 , on the right ... looking at him like na bro, that's on you 🤣

used to dine here with my friends, just delicious overall

The breaded steak with white rice and black or Chinese rice is so good.

miss those great restaurants.

Miami's Chinese Jamaican take out food is amazing!!!!

One more reason I want to go visit New York! I want... no I need to try that food!!!

Never tried this fusion. I could imagine Tausi rice instead of rice and beans. 😊

I visited this restaurant in 1989 and when i heard it was closing about 2 years ago i wanted to visit again, but that was not to be. I'm dominican and a lot of the food is very similar as is also puerto rican food. The food as i remember was good and tasty.

Newer viewer here, did you ever get your grandma on the show? I think that would be awesome if you haven’t had her on yet!

"You like dark meat, Chinese people like dark meat" Hahahaha

What happened to Antonio Wong? I would have loved to have seen Lucas and Antonio go at it in spanish.

Oh!!! I love Cuban Chinese. It's the best! It's delicious!

Best ever chines food i test was in London, Singapore ,Boston and in Lima, Peru,tje the rest just nice ,i didn't understand very good if the chines food here is made with Cubans condiments as well or just the restaurant has cuban cuban and chines chines! Thank you anyhow vI test cuban food is delicious!!!

4:09 Yes they are bananas, but different from the ones you typically think of when you say 'banana' (usually cavendish), ie. a different group of banana varieties

Makes me appreciate my roots so much more! Cuban Chinese and proud 👏🏽👏🏽😍

yeah....doesn't seem like Lucas liked any of the food in this episode lol

Come on! We need more Cuban-Chinese restaurants to open!

I grew up eating there !

RIP to the OG loh wah keues, like the old one clearing tables at the end

I LOVE GARLIC - yay for us 💓

Lucas needs to come to Miami. We have those everywhere

Between that and the Southern American Chinese community, I am absolutely mindblown. It's pretty weird and amazing at the same time. French Chinese here heh.

Go to Phoenix and try Chino Bandido where you can get jade chicken, chile relleno and fried rice on the same plate.

Yo that's me, Cuban mixed Chinese, Manhattan born, word! 😋 yummy!

I am from NeW YorK, but moved to AtlanTA, Ga. BOY DO I MISS THAT TYPE OF FOODS! They are Cookers! Atlanta want one to EAT Fast Food! It is bad for your health!😊

cool!

tesn tuyet v ngon thank

You must try Barrio Chino in old Havana

I grew up with this in Jamaica, but didn't think it was that big of a deal. Of course it is a big deal but I was so used to it, eh...it is just Caribbean food to me with island variations. I now realize Ive been spoiled.

Bro the Chinese/Cuban accent though ! Lmao that’s badass

Chinese food is very common throughout the Caribbean due to a long history of Chinese labourers who migrated there in the 19th Century. The food in this episode didn't look all that exciting but the Chinese food that you find in Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, and Jamaica are all amazing. I don't even like Chinese food but when I tried some Chinese dishes from these countries years ago, I was seriously hooked. It's to my understanding that the Chinese population in Cuba has dwindled significantly since the 19th century. From what I've read, there were well over 120 000 Chinese labourers in Cuba at one point back in the day but they were almost all men and so they intermixed with local women. I guess this just goes to show what an extremely rich melting pot the Caribbean is. If you're looking for Chinese-Latin American fusion, the best type might be Peruvian Chinese as there's a huge Chinese population in Peru as well. I've only tried one of their dishes (lomo saltado) and it was very interesting. I think Panama has a significant Chinese population as well but I've never been able to try their dishes.

You would never expect bad food having a dream job like this...but when it happens it's gotta be so disappointing haha

“I love the food” *Saying with flat expression*

Eater, plz get to work on that Lucas's grandma series.

LUCAS, AGREEDD

There used to be a show where a Chinese Canadian guy travelled around world exploring how Chinese food was done in various countries. He went to South Africa, South America & the Caribbean. So the Chinese-Cuban connection doesn't surprise me.

Should have come to Queens for this one Lucas. Jardin de China

Pretty sure this is the first time I've seen a commercial on an eater video

I would like the soft dhall rice.

I don't think he's gonna get married. He's like a male version of a cat lady. Without cats but living alone in a very neat and clean house using the appropriate kitchen utensils when cooking "Arroth ala Cubana". The utensils are his cats.

I only know of this restaurant from a reference in an episode of Seinfeld... I didn't know it was even a real restaurant till this video

Lucas had a part in Westworld?!

6:18 the look

Great episode as usual!

I just found out La Caridad closed in 2020. Correction: affordable gems like this no longer exist in Manhattan :-(.

Lucas definitely wasn't wowed by the food

Who's watching this channel and not knowing what a bay leaf tastes like? Plantains I get but bay leaf?

lol I know how he nonchalantly describes the food delicious

i somehow have no problem with lucas using his hands haha. i also tend to gravitate to using my hands. my justification is that i know how clean they are, versus utensils :p

I love the Lucas strut.

Being trilingual is awesome! Oh, and I must be Chinese because I love dark meat (that was funny). LoL! A quien le estas diciendo guey @8:43, the camera guy?

I want everything

Some good Cuban Chinese in Tampa places

😋😋😋

I LOVE GARLIC, BAY LEAF, DARK MEAT (CANNOT STAND WHITE MEAT) LET'S GET MARRIED! I'm part Cuban :DDDD My grandma is from Cuba and I never knew about the Chinese labour over there, so she might have some Chinese ancestry in her DNA!!! Oddly enough Mulan has always been my favourite Disney princess/character/technically Empress of China because I always felt misunderstood, like her, but also because whoever designed her parents used a picture of my mom and dad to model their concept art off of...at least, I'm convinced. Long story short, I've always been fascinated with Asian culture, and my dad worked in Japan during my childhood, so my siblings and I became mesmerized by the anime and video games, etc. Maybe I should take a trip to a few of the HUNDREDS of beautiful cities in China to "find myself" haha Also, I was once on chatroulette and some guy was like, "you look Chinese when you smile", and he was actually from China, and I was like, "oh, okay! Sure lol" Idk, it's all so weird for me because I've always known more of my Haitian background, but if my grandma is from Cuba and could possibly be part Chinese, I think it'd be pretty cool to know!! Someone plz HALP!!!

I wanna know what did he do with the leftovers

Both countries love two things more than anything. Rice n pork 😂

You should try Panamanian-Chinese food. There is a large population of Chinese people in Panama that stayed after Panama Canal was built.

Lucas is King of finger food

"chinese people like dark meat" no truer words have been spoken

i;ve seen them before, in Manhattan.

Come to miami and you'll see Cubans packed in every Chinese restaurant. We have a big Chinese community in Cuba like many others! The ignorance is strong with many of you! Btw the food is the best of both worlds! And yes I'm Cuban

According to Yelp, this place closed. :(

👏Plantains are not bananas👏 ty Lucas

Mark Wiens and Mike Chen are pretty festive and energetic when doing videos about food. Lucas on the other hand seems jaded.

Flor de mayo is incredible

woo hoo, my like pushed the count to 1k likes

Care to do a documentary on Chinese in Cuba? CHINATOWN CUBA

Mandioca Frita é oque há!

man you must start to enjoy more the food ....you are like you do it by force

Cubans are Chinese also. We are from everywhere