Part 2 of our miniseries about the Mirama Dining & Lounge dim sum restaurant: How does Mirama fit in the wider history of Edmonton’s Chinatown? How did business go for Mirama after the alleged gang incident in 2004? And why did Mirama eventually shut down? Reporter Nathan Fung asks Lan Chan-Marples and Games Choi for their insights.

Lan Chan-Marples is a board member of the Chinese Benevolent Association and has long been an active member of the Chinese community in Edmonton. She helped fill us in on what made Mirama special and how it was the favourite place for Chinese community events.

Games Choy is the president of ASSIST community services centre and like Lan, he is also active in Edmonton’s Chinese community.

Both Lan and Games helped contextualize Mirama with the formation of Chinatown South after Edmonton’s first Chinatown was demolished to may way for Canada Place in the late 1970s.

We also asked Tom Ly, who was the owner of Mirama before the business shut down, and what he remembers from the restaurant’s final days.

Shout-outs in this episode to The Well-Endowed Podcast from the Edmonton Community Foundation, and to fellow Alberta Podcast Network member Creative Block.

Further Reading: 

• Chinatown at 100, (Chinese Benevolent Association)
• Two local bars and one restaurant fined for fire code regulations (CTV Edmonton, March  20, 2010)
• Alberta Government Telephone Books (Medicine Hat and District Genealogical Society)