Tin Choy Lee

Choy Tin Lee was born in Kwangtung, China in a village called Nam Moon.

Tin became a resident of Hawaii in 1895 at the age of 16. He ran a Chinese grocery business at 135 Hotel Street under the firm name of Wing Lee which he started in 1907. It ran without any employees but he rented counter space to another man who sold pork. Average yearly sales were $6,500. He bought the store from a man named Duck Yuen Hung Kee for $200.

Tin returned to China in 1903 to marry Kou Shee and then returned alone to Hawaii the following year. Kou Shee remained in China and Tin requested permission for her to come to Hawaii in 1911. She made her journey over by boat and on September 6, 1912 she was denied landing in Hawaii as she was suffering from trachoma, a dangerous contagious disease. She was deported and returned to China. In December of that same year, she was approved to return to Hawaii as she was cured of the disease.

On May 6, 1954, Tin Choy and his wife became U.S. citizens.

He was a member of Lee's Society and Leong Doo Society.

He died at age 85 in the St. Francis Hospital in Hawaii and had a traditional Chinese funeral.

The following was written by his daughter-in-law, Edith Lee in 1992:

I met Kung Kung and Ah Yun when Johnny and I were going together. The family was living on River Street on the first floor of that apartment. In their parlor there was a Philco radio. We used to listen to programs like Chandu, the Magician, in chapters. Those days there were no TV or newspapers in the house.

Kung Kung used to work for P.Y. Chong and later at the Waikiki Lau Yee Chai. One of his duties was to clean duck feathers. This must be done correctly. If the water is too hot, it would cook the skin and if the water is not hot enough, the duck feathers will not come off. Dai Hoy Chang, a world renowned retired chef at the Golden Dragon room at Hilton Hawaiian Village, told me Kung Kung was a very reliable worker.

Kung Kung used to make his own rice wine for home use. He would go to Chinatown and buy a round rice cake with ingredients in it for wine making. This is called Mai Jau Bang. He would soak it, make it into a mash, and ferment it in a crock. This later is steamed and condensed using a spout to drop into a bottle. He would only take two bottles at a time. In the old days, people in Chinatown must not be caught bootlegging, so they would do that when Wing Coffee Company roasted the coffee beans or they waited for a strong wind to take the smell away.

From River Street, the family moved to Palama on Banyan Street. Family dinners in Palama were lots of pork hash, salt fish, hot rice with raw eggs mixed together with shoyu. Chinatown roast oven owners would give drippings of the roast pig to anyone who asked for it. We used this with rice and shoyu. Violet was always a big help in the kitchen. Bread those days cost 10 cents a loaf. Watercress, lettuce and green onions were cheap. For sweet snacks we would buy from a man who carried two five-gallon cans of manapua and sesame candy hanging from a long bamboo stick on his shoulders.

On Banyan Street home there was a big starfruit tree on the side of the three windows in the parlor. Sometimes we would dry the fruit when plentiful.

Johnny and I bought a home in Kapahulu. Kung Kung liked the area and asked me to help him find a lot there. I did on George Street and the family home is still there.

After a few years, I borrowed $2,000 from Kung Kung for a down payment on a lot in Kahala Heights. When my Kapahulu home was sold, I paid Kung Kung through Randolph.

Kung Kung belonged to a Chinese society. During Chinese New Year we had free lunches of roast pig and manapua at the clubhouse on Vineyard Street. On Chinese Memorial Day we would order roast pig sliced up, roast chicken, steamed fish, jai and oranges. We would fold papers to burn so our ancestors can spend paper money, burn punks and firecrackers.

Kung Kung and Ah Yun were close to Beu Suk’s family and another family who lived near the School Street Park in a lane facing Vineyard Street. Beu Suk did all the letter writing to China.

Kung Kung had diabetes during the last few years of his life. On my way to work, I would go to his home and give him his insulin shots in the kitchen. Johnny and I used to take Kung Kung and Ah Yun to the Waikiki Theater whenever they had a good movie.

One Kung Kung was cooking a Chinese New Year dinner at Kapahulu and while we were setting the table in the parlor, we heard he cut his finger while chopping chicken. No one rushed to him. He worked so hard. We all kept quiet and waited. We all loved his roast chicken, always done to perfection. There was roast pork – kau yuk stile, lily root soup, jai and tin ler (snails/escargot). Kung Kung would sit on a chair after dinner and pass Li-see to all the grandchildren as they stood in line.

Ah Yun loved to buy jade and gold pieces. She taught Theresa, all the girls and I, how to make Gin Dui from scratch. We all took turns to pound the mochi rice into flour and sift it. Also she showed us how to soak and cook the red beans for paste used in stuffing Gin Dui. Her recipe was very good; the crust of the Gin Dui was crispy. Theresa, Violet and I helped mold and fry Gin Dui. She used a little wine in the batter. She made the steamed pudding called Gau. She is the one who boils the Chung Bu Leong and Lotus Root Soups.

Ah Yun had small Chinese style bound feet. Her shoes were bought at Kim Chow Shoe Store and clothes at Lai Fong.

Kung Kung gave Johnny and me two teak wood armchairs and one stand with two marble shelves from China.

I cannot remember one cross word between Kung Kung, Ah Yun and myself.