After the Bumpus hounds destroyed the Parker’s Christmas turkey, the family headed out for dinner at a Chinese Restaurant, Bo’ Ling Chop Suey Palace.
Chop Suey Palace
Who is Bo’ Ling?
Obviously, Bo’ Ling is the word Bowling, without the “w”. As a young child, assistant director Ken Goch was riding around with his family looking for a bite to eat. His mother noticed a neon sign that read, “Bo Ling”, and mistook it for a Chinese food restaurant!
Where is Chop Suey Palace?
This scene was filmed in Toronto, Canada at 744 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 1Y3, Canada, now home to Batifole Restaurant.
Batifole
Chop Suey Palace Department 56 Building
Department 56 Chop Suey Palace
The story is that my family was driving from New York and moving to Florida in the early 1960′s.
From the highway, in the rain, she saw the neon Bo_ling sign and we exited to find out what it really was and we all had a good laugh about it.
My Mom told that story to Bob when he was a student @ U of Miami, with my brother Gary, while they were raiding her refrigerator.
He used that idea for the sign as a nod to her and her refrigerator.
Thanks for commenting, Ken! So many great, personal stories contributed to A Christmas Story