A Moment in Our History: Mary Sia's Kitchen and MCBL

One morning in the early summer of 2012, a few months after I joined YWCA O'ahu, I was called to a room on the third floor – a room I had never seen. It was assigned the number 304, and stood at the Makai corner of the building facing Iolani Palace. The room was filled with sunlight, coming with a full view of Iolani Palace. I remember hoping my desk was in that room which seemed unoccupied.

A few of us gathered that morning in Room 304 for a CPR class. Some dummy dolls laid on the floor for resuscitation practice.

“Remember the song Staying Alive? Play that song in your head as you give chest compressions. That’s got a good rhythm and tempo.”

“Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive….”

As I played that song in my head and kept pressing my dummy’s chest, I looked around the room (probably not a good thing to do as you try to rescue someone) and noticed cabinets, stoves, an island and sinks. Things you find in a kitchen.

I turned to my colleague who was also practicing chest compressions and asked, “Was this ever a kitchen?”

She replied, “Yes. A very famous Chinese cooking instructor taught here for many years. Mary Sia.”

Mary Sia shared the joy of Chinese cooking with people of all nationalities

People often looked for a class announcement in the local papers. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin: May 2, 1942)

Indeed, Mary Sia taught Chinese cooking at YWCA O'ahu for nearly 30 years. She also conducted many tours of Chinatown for us.

Room 304 at Laniākea where Mary Sia gave Chinese cooking lessons for years

Although we do not currently offer any cooking instruction at Laniākea, this was often a popular site for such learning—going back to the early 1900’s. One example was a YWCA-sponsored cooking class in 1914, the year WWI broke out, featuring methods that conserved wheat.

Chinese Cooking Class in 1924

A native of Honolulu with a degree from UH in home economics, Mary Sia also studied nutrition and music while studying at Cornell and Yale. She credits her mother Dr. T. H. Kong Li (her father was also a physician – Dr. Khai Fai Li) who introduced her to the joy of Chinese cooking.

Mary Sia with her students

“Her love of life attracted guests from every part of the world and her warm hospitality included the finest Chinese food. In this atmosphere, my interest in the art of Chinese cooking naturally took root and flourished.”

-Mary Sia’s Chinese Cookbook

She continued to hone her skills and deepen her knowledge of Chinese cooking when she moved to Peking, China in the 1920’s with her husband Dr. Richard H. P. Sia, a research physician.

As she moved to Honolulu with her family, she started teaching at YWCA O'ahu in the 1940’s. Her first book Chinese Chopsticks was published in 1935 and it soon went into a second edition due to its popularity. Her second book Mary Sia’s Chinese Cookbook in 1956 was also a hit.

Mary Sia was not only a good cook but also an innovative one. She took traditional Chinese cooking recipes, put them into measurements and offered specific instructions. She also modified them so that individuals could cook using ingredients that were locally available.

While she was trained in the classical cooking of China, her teaching style was versatile, flexible and user-friendly. Mrs. Sia knew how to modernize the old and traditional. This tip below demonstrates her pragmatic approach.

“If you do have any meat dumplings left over, save them to deep-fat-fry and serve them with cocktails.”

Mrs. Sia taught practical skills and techniques to her students

Her classes were well-received not only by women but also by men. One of her students, Dr. Arthur J. Marder, then a UH professor, described his experience with Mrs. Sia’s class in the early 1950’s in the foreword he dedicated for her second book.

“The date was 1951, spring and I was the sole male in a class of twenty-four! My embarrassment was not lessened when my classmates, assuming a total ignorance of cooking fundamentals on my part, would not even let me break my own eggs and open my own cans! Eventually, they accepted me as an equal, and I must say that we had a jolly time learning to make some of the more mouth-watering dishes of both north and south China.”

This was not his last class with Mrs. Sia.

Men also enjoyed Mrs. Sia’s classes

Mrs. Sia was also a director of YWCA O'ahu and served as the vice president of the board between 1945 and 1946. Long after she passed away in 1971, her time-tested recipes are still appreciated today.

In 2013, YWCA O'ahu converted Room 304, once known as Mary Sia’s Kitchen, to the Patsy T. Mink Center for Business and Leadership (MCBL). A few years later, the center moved to the ground floor, at the same front Makai corner of the building.

2013 Renovation of Room 304 – Mary Sia’s Kitchen

Today the center assists individuals who seek to start or grow their businesses. The center also offers leadership programs to the women and girls of Hawai'i. From cooking skills to entrepreneurship and leadership skills, our classrooms continue to create learning opportunities.

Patsy T. Mink Leadership Alliance Program

Girls’ Summit Youth Program

-Noriko Namiki, YWCA O‘ahu CEO