Word: pauling
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Upon his return, Sen found a wife and opened a laundry in Waltham. According to Paul, "Back then, if you were Chinese, it was either laundries or restaurants." In 1954, Sen and his wife, Buoy, grew tired of the difficult lifestyle that the laundry demanded and decided to pursue their other economic option. Along with a group of partners, he leased the bottom floor of 1236 Mass. Ave. and opened the Hong Kong Restaurant. Paul recalls, "They all told my mom she was crazy. They thought it was too far from the Square." But at the time, the Kong...
...established success. Sen's partners came to him with a proposition. They wanted to buy him out. He considered his options and decided that it didn't make much difference to him whether he cleaned clothing or cooked chow mein. His wife, on the other hand, was less flexible. Paul reports, "My mother told him that if [he sold his interest] and went back to the laundry, she would stay home with the kids, and he could work there by himself." So, Sen went to the bank and took out a loan. He returned to his partners, bought them...
...suck on three-foot straws as if those straws were their mothers' teats. Indeed, since the first Bowl was laid down in the center of a table by a disgruntled non-English-speaking waiter, men and women have found themselves inexplicably drawn to the Scorpion's sweet ambrosia. Paul modestly tries to explain the phenomenon: "The Scorpion Bowl is our signature drink. But every Chinese restaurant in America has a Scorpion Bowl on the menu. For some reason, we just made it popular...
...Playboy magazine named the Hong Kong "Harvard's Hottest Hangout." Paul waxes nostalgic: "Back then it wasn't considered socially irresponsible to drink. Every night, the whole week, it was just crazy in here." To capitalize on the country's alcoholic inclinations, Sen started the 69 Club. The qualifications for membership? Drink all 69 varieties of beer that the Kong serves. For every 69 customers who complete the gauntlet, the Kong mounts a commemorative plaque on its wall. According to Paul, there are some folks who have earned their membership 20 times over...
...gambling hall, a smuggling ring and a brothel. All one had to do was order "three egg rolls," and the doors to the underworld would swing open. Where precisely did this vast criminal empire reside? Up the dark stairs, behind the closed door of the unused third floor. Paul recounts, "People used to ask my father what was on the third floor. He'd tell them it was storage. No one would believe him. They'd say, 'Come on, you can tell me. What's really up there?' They couldn't accept the fact that it was just old junk...