Because of its portrayal of the "bachelor society" in New York's Chinatown after World War II, it has become an important work in Asian American studies.
The novel focuses on four primary characters: a young married couple, Ben Loy and Mei Oi, and their fathers, Wah Gay and Lee Gong.
Eat a Bowl of Tea begins by describing newlyweds Ben Loy and Mei Oi sleeping peacefully in their bed in New York City.
The story then jumps backwards several months to the "Money Come" gambling house and the men who spend their days there: Wah Gay, Lee Gong, Chong Loo and Ah Song.
The text depicts the close friendship between Wah Gay and Lee Gong (both Chinese immigrants with wives back in Guangdong (Canton)), and a conversation concerning their unmarried children ensues.
Upon learning that Wah Gay has a marriageable son (Ben Loy) here in the States, Lee Gong spies on him at his restaurant and decides that he is the right man for his daughter (Mei Oi), who is still in China.
When he is not busy working at the restaurant (in the fictional suburb of Stanton, Connecticut), he and his roommate Chin Yuen visit white prostitutes in New York City, a habit Ben Loy picked up while serving in the Army during World War II.
When he meets Mei Oi in China, he decides that he made the right decision – he is immediately enthralled by her beauty and pleased by her modesty and courtesy.
She continues her affair with Ah Song, oblivious to the increasing gossip that she is "knitting Ben Loy a green hat" – sleeping with another man.
The neighborhood eventually assumes the identity of the man as Ah Song, and Ben Loy and Mei Oi move to Stanton to avoid further embarrassment.
Wah Gay, crazed by the shame this affair has brought upon his family, lurks near the apartment and attacks Ah Song as he leaves, slicing off his ear.
Ben Loy visits another Chinese herb specialist and decides to take the doctor's advice and "eat a bowl of tea" to treat his impotence.
This unfortunate predicament is depicted through the old men of the novel, such as Wah Gay and Lee Gong, but it also plays out in the way Mei Oi's arrival affects the entire community.
It starts near the beginning of the time span of the story, depicting Ben Loy and Mei Oi as a married couple sleeping in the "quiet of the early morning" (9).
By setting an ominous tone and introducing complicated primary characters, the first chapter engages readers and creates a desire to know more about their history and future.
This chronological order is interrupted only after the first chapter when the text reveals an important memory to the reader, usually triggered by something in the character's present environment.
These instances not only give readers the unique chance to assume and create their own details, but also reflect values of politeness and privacy in Chinese culture.
The city: New York: San Francisco: Eating a Cup of Tea: When the novel was first published in 1961, reviews denounced it, deeming the content offensive and the language "tasteless and raw" (2).
Due to its influence and popularity, the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre in New York City produced the novel for the stage[citation needed] and Wayne Wang directed a film version in 1989.