The McDonald’s dining room is where my grandmother operated a pseudo daycare in the early ’90s. She and her friends would sip coffee and nibble on hash browns while conversing in Cantonese. My sister and I would run between the tables.
When we got hungry, the only thing we were allowed to order was the Filet-O-fish sandwich. My grandmother thought it was more healthful than the beef burgers, and less processed than the nuggets. Who cares if it was fried? It was fish. Fish is good for you.
When McDonald’s franchisee Lou Groen started testing a breaded fish sandwich at his Cincinnati restaurant in 1962, he was hoping to capture the attention of his Lent-observing Catholic diners. But he wasn’t the only one thinking about a meat-free option to boost sales during Lent. McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc created something called the Hula Burger. It was a grilled slab of pineapple with cheese on a bun. The two agreed to sell both sandwiches on a Friday to determine the more popular menu item. The Filet-O-Fish beat out the Hula Burger by more than 300 sandwiches. In 1965, McDonald’s made it the first addition to the original menu. It cost $.29. And to think that we could have had a pineapple sandwich instead.
The Filet-O-Fish is the fast food sandwich I enjoy most when riffed on by an actual chef, the breaded fish filet, cheese, sauce and bun so full of potential. In Los Angeles, there’s no shortage of restaurants pushing elevated versions of the Filet-O-Fish sandwich. But at Bopomofo Cafe in San Gabriel, the sandwich may have reached the apotheosis of its existence.
The original steamed bun is replaced by lightly toasted, buttery brioche. The restaurant uses cod fillets instead of Alaskan pollock, for a meatier, more tender bite. It’s dredged in a mixture of potato starch and nori, then deep fried. There’s a whole slice of cheddar cheese, a creamy, chunky tartar sauce, and slices of raw red onion. The sandwich is nearly three times the size of the original.
Though toasted, the bun registers as softer, more buttery and far more substantial. There’s enough tartar sauce that it drips in big globs from the sandwich, with the tang of the pickles pronounced in each bite. The coating on the fish is light and almost fluffy, with a crunch that permeates every layer of the sandwich. The cheddar cheese is melted onto the bottom bun, with the same, waxy melted texture as American cheese, but with a clear, very unprocessed cheddar flavor. And though not traditional, the red onion adds another layer of crunch and brightness to the flawless construction.
It’s not so transformed that it erases the nostalgia of the original, keeping true to those core flavors and textures, through merely enhancing them.
“Did you know that you can add lettuce and tomato to a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich?”
Philip Wang, the cafe’s co-owner, spent years cultivating a love for the sandwich. McDonald’s is where his parents took him for a quick meal after school before piano practice. Like my grandmother, his parents believed the fish was the healthier option.
“I think the reason why so many Asian immigrant parents took their kids to fast food was one, yes it was affordable and quick, but I realize it was also the easiest way to have American food,” says Wang. “Asian kids didn’t really grow up with burger or taco night at home, we had to go out for that. At home, our parents were cooking Chinese food, and that’s really where the Bopomofo identity as a whole stems from. Our appreciation for American classics that we had in the school cafeteria and at McDonald’s, and our cultural dishes that we had at home or in Chinese restaurants.”
Wang has built his career on sharing his lived experience as what he refers to as “an ABC,” or American-born Chinese. His production company, Wong Fu Productions, produces media that explores and celebrates various Asian cultures and identities. A video titled “Asian Actually” makes the case for more Asian-led romantic comedies. A Netflix talk show called “Spill the Boba Tea” invites guests to Bopomofo Cafe for an interview and a boba drink inspired by their careers.
After working at a boba tea shop in college, Wang decided that at some point in his life, he would like to open a shop of his own. He and his partner Eric Wang launched the Bopomofo Cafe in San Gabriel in 2019. It’s named for Bopomofo, a phonetic system for Mandarin Chinese.
The concept, which boasts around two dozen tea drinks and a food menu, has expanded to locations in Artesia, Irvine, San Diego and Hollywood, with more planned soon.
“We wanted to make a cafe that was inspired by our dual cultural upbringing as ABCs,” says Philip. “We really appreciate our Asian upbringing but also love being American and the idea of just like fusing the two with the menu.”
For the last five years, the two have been the driving force behind some of the most sought-after Chinese American fast-food mash-ups. Their walnut shrimp burger transforms honey walnut shrimp into a burger patty with a crumbly, sweet walnut topping. Hainan chicken is nestled into tortillas to create tacos. Their fried chicken sandwich is a gargantuan Taiwanese-style fried chicken thigh on a pineapple bun.
I’m partial to the mapo tots, with a scoop of rich, fiery mapo tofu over crispy tater tots under a blanket of melted cheese. Chili cheese fries, only much more satisfying.
“The word ‘fusion’ gets a bad rap, and for good reason, but all of our items are a mix of Western and Eastern influence,” says Philip. “ We felt that we could be very intentional about the inspirations and ingredients, especially with our Taiwanese and Chinese upbringings.”
The Bopomofo nori fish sandwich, also known as the “Bopo Filet-Mo-Fish” grew out of a desire to re-create a version of Dediao You Pian, or the Shanghainese seaweed fish fillet that incorporates threads of seaweed in a crispy batter.
The taste memory it triggers is powerful and immediate. I am back in that McDonald’s as a child, listening to my grandmother and her friends laughing. Only the sandwich soiling my hands is far better.
“If you think about it, we started ordering the Filet-O-Fish when we grew out of Happy Meals,” says Philip. “And now, our Bopomofo version is just the grown-up version for us as adults.”
Though the sandwich was intended as a limited, seasonal item, its popularity has forced Philip and Eric to contemplate a permanent spot on the Bopomofo Cafe menu. For now, it’s available at the San Gabriel, Artesia and San Diego locations.
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