Legendary Los Angeles Restaurateur Madame Wu Has Died at Age 106 | Eater LA

"Opened in 1959 by Sylvia Wu—who died on September 19 at the age of 106—the restaurant began as a 50-seat storefront at 2628 Wilshire Boulevard and immediately became the hottest ticket in town, packed with celebrities such as Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Elizabeth Taylor. Wu, who learned to cook from her maid after immigrating from Hong Kong before World War II, transformed the space with a VIP imperial room outfitted with Chinese jade statues and a massive koi pond and later moved the restaurant into a larger space in 1969. Frustrated by Los Angeles’s then-majority of poorly executed Cantonese restaurants, she solicited support from her church and NBC president Robert E. Kintner to get the word out. The chef is rumored to have created the Chinese chicken salad for Cary Grant. Madame Wu’s operated until 1998." - Mona Holmes