On Losing (Another) Favorite Chinese Restaurant
Well, it has happened again. Our favorite Chinese restaurant has closed. It is a funny thing how this kind of thing seems to happen more often the older I get. Now the process begins to start looking for a new “go-to” Chinese place. But I am afraid that I have been conditioned to look for the kind of place that no longer exists.
I suppose it was inevitable. The House Of Cheung opened for business in 1979. Our local paper wrote about its closing, and the owner shared that everyone on the staff was north of age 70 and it was time to call it a career. The sad part for me was that we only started to patronize the place fairly recently – as in within the year before Covid. But the moment we were first seated there at a table, I knew I had found the kind of place I had grown up with.
Our experiences set our expectations, and mine were set at a place called Chen’s in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Chens had opened in 1959 and was the kind of Chinese restaurant I have looked for ever since. First, it was a sit-down restaurant, with a menu. I remember ordering from the “American” part of the menu until I finally sampled part of the Chinese meal of someone else in the family.
Chen’s served in courses, beginning with an egg roll, followed by soup and then an entree’. That entree’ came in a metal serving dish with a lid, which was always far more than I could eat in one sitting. I quickly developed a taste for sweet and sour chicken.
When I moved to Indianapolis in the 1980’s I found a place here – it was called The Forbidden City and was in a strip mall. Though unassuming in appearance, its food was amazing. That became my new go-to, and remained so for several years. But then the owners decided to open a new place. It was much larger and in a buffet format. It must have been too large and too expensive, because it closed within a year, and that was that.
We then landed at another place, only about a block away from the House of Cheung. I am not sure why we tried the other place instead – perhaps it was because its building was a little more understated than the exterior of the Cheung establishment. I don’t recall its name. I recall that it was a good, serviceable place. My only distinct memory was when we took our young children there. My middle son, who was probably around age 7, looked at the paper place mat with the symbols of the Chinese zodiac around the perimeter. In sheer horror, he blurted out “Oh Yuck! Don’t they have anything else?” He was set at ease when he realized that there were plenty of choices beyond rats and oxen.
But then that place closed too, and we entered a life of the Chinese buffet. It had its plusses – you could try a variety of things and eat as much or as little as you liked. But it was not the same. They all served my beloved sweet and sour chicken, but in a dumbed-down version. Instead of a house-prepared sweet and sour sauce with chunks of pineapple, pepper and carrot, it was (what I presumed to be) a commercially available sauce that was overly sweet and really, really red.
At some point a few years ago, we decided to look past the overly ornate look of the place and try The House Of Cheung. As soon as we got there, I knew I had found a new Chinese home. The food was wonderful, served in the metal dishes as I had remembered. The owner walked around the room chatting with guests. This was not the perfunctory “Hi, I’m the manager. Is everything great tonight?” that comes all too often. No, Mr. Cheung spent several minutes at each table, chatting with old friends and making newcomers like us feel welcomed and appreciated.
When Covid hit, they closed their dining room and went to strictly carry-out. Which was OK – we could still get our favorites. But as things returned to normal, the restaurant elected to keep the dining room closed. We went along that way for awhile until the inevitable closing finally came.
This is the downside of the “mom and pop” kind of business. Mom and pop get older, and when they close down, a favorite place will be gone. So now we are on the hunt for a substitute. The problem is that our expectations for a good Chinese restaurant were set by the kind of place that catered not to we aging boomers, but to our parents. So I know that I am increasingly unlikely to find the place that will truly satisfy, with table service and those metal serving dishes. I know, first world problems and all that. Until then, I will have to take what I can find. At least there is a good Mexican place nearby.
J. P.'s Blog 
Seeing such things is frustrating. For years, I have been looking for a similar Chinese place, to no avail. There had been one not too far from, but it was torn down a number of years ago to be replaced by a Smoothie King, UPS Store, and Panera Bread. Such exciting alternatives.
Bigger picture, we keep encountering similar scenarios with other types of restaurants, also. A locally owned breakfast place (which made a terrific three-egg omelet) closed soon after discovery and a favorite local pizza place (which occupied the old Radio Shack store front) just closed also. Given the food allergies of Mrs. Jason and Mrs. Jason, Jr, our selection of safe restaurants is sparse, which only adds to the frustration.
Speaking of things happening more often as you get older, it seems like your blog is running more often, despite it reliably being every Friday. Wasn’t it just a day or so ago when the last one ran??? It seems that pausing before commenting about candy suddenly engulfed a week.
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Of those new options, I think I’d prefer eating at the UPS store.
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Haha, I sometimes suffer from that kind of pause! And yes, dietary restrictions take a tough situation and make it worse.
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Yup, it’s happening in Canada too. I listened to a radio documentary once about regional variations on Chinese food in Canada that was really interesting. A wave of Chinese immigrants came to Canada to work on railroad construction, and once that scaled back they found themselves with only two options for work: Laundry or Restaurants. So these people who were not trained cooks developed recipes from what they remembered of home, and using the ingredients they had available.
One of my high school friends was of Chinese heritage, and his parents ran a little Chinese restaurant. He worked hard, got a good education and is now a banker working downtown in Toronto. I think overall that’s what has killed a lot of the traditional style Chinese restaurants; immigrants working hard and their children moving into better jobs.
You guys also don’t appreciate how lucky you are to have great Mexican food available. I took a co-worker from Florida to lunch once, he was surprised to see that the burrito place was staffed by Indian immigrants.
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Thankfully, Chinese restaurants have outlived Chinese laundries. I suspect that a lot of Asian chefs these days hail from countries other than China – something that was probably not true decades ago.
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I really love Asian food. I’ve eaten at some outstanding Chinese and Thai restaurants growing up at places that know Asian food in Washington D.C., and Chicago’s China Town, and while working in San Francisco. I’ve been to places in Chicago’s China Town that have a separate menu for Chinese people, in their language, that they won’t give an American unless you beg them for it, won’t even admit they have it, because they think you won’t like the “Chinese Only” specialties. I used to live in Oak Park Illinois down the block from a Vietnamese restaurant in a defunct Burger King that was so good it was amazing. When your favorite Asian restaurant all of a suddenly isn’t as good as it used to be, it’s because the chef left and took some of the kitchen staff. I’m told by owners, that Asian restaurants are so cheap to start because the wholesale food is so cheap, that someone can easily start one up and get it going, especially if they don’t like what they’re making as a chef. I’m lucky now to live five minutes away from a take-out only Chinese restaurant that most of the neighborhood supports.
Why do I say all the above? Sorry J.P., I lived in Indianapolis for five years, and ate in every Chinese restaurant in a ten mile radius of my abodes. I begged everyone I met or knew for a Chinese or Thai food recommendation. I stopped strangers on the street, some even Asian, and begged for recommendations. (Most of the Asians I stopped said: “…we just cook at home…”). I never had a decent Asian food dinner in any place I ever ate in, in five years in Indianapolis! I actually quit eating it! The food went from just bad, to wholly inedible. One time I ate at a recommended place by someone, and my Chinese food entrees came covered in a foul tasting sauce that was actually gray colored! I didn’t even know what that was, having never seen it! That one was the last straw! Let’s face it, when gourmand cities in the United States are mentioned, Indianapolis is on no one’s short list! I actually think most of the population there doesn’t even know what fine dinning food is supposed to taste like? Their fine dining starts and stops at a pork chop sandwich. Don’t even start me talking about pizza and the cities heavily sugared red sauce! You know you are in a sad place when the only passable pizza is a national chain! When I first got there, I wondered why so many people were walking around with bandaged feet, like they had been in skiing accidents? Turns out they all had toe and foot amputations because of diabetes! Sorry J.P., one man’s informed opinion. I’ve lived so many places that I’ve realized that for a lot of people, the food they love is the food they grew up on.
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I once wrote on how Indianapolis seems to have no signature food or dish of its own, for reasons I can’t really fathom.
Peoples’ tastes in food is an interesting thing. Some like what they were raised on, and others branch out farther. I know some people for whom food is almost an obsession. But all I ask for is one good traditional Chinese restaurant! 🙂
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I was told repeatedly, during my Asian food search, that the Pork Chop sandwich was the signature dish of Indianapolis, like the Chicago Hot Dog made with a Vienna dog in Chicago. I have to say, I had some pretty outstanding Pork Chop sandwiches while I was there!
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By pork chop sandwich, do you mean a pounded, breaded and deep fried pork tenderloin sandwich? That’s really a thing all over Indiana, so I can’t give Indianapolis credit – though you can find some good ones here.
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Thats the one!
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That’s sad to hear.
Our local taco shop is a family-run business, but fortunately the kids are involved and they just opened another place (3 total now).
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Mexican restaurants seem hot right now, and it is like another one opens every other week. But then most Mexican immigrants are here a lot more recently than the Chinese families that started restaurants long ago.
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That’s likely.
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The city I live in now has about 5 or 6 Mexican restaurants that have been a going for well over 40+ years now. A “family style” one (meaning paper plates and cheap costs) had the original owner pass away recently, altho it’s still in the family. To tell you how long that one has been going, it was near my high school, when I was IN high school, and now I’m 70! The big thing now, because of costs, is the high end Mexican food truck! But I have to say, I’m not much into al fresco dining when there’s really no place to sit. Some did so well over the last 10 years or so, it allowed them to actually open a space!
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I’ve had the same experience, although not with Chinese restaurants. All of the restaurants I loved in my hometown have since closed. My first job was as a dishwasher at our town’s main family-owned restaurant – Burkhart’s Restaurant. Everything now and then I still get a craving for their in-house shoofly pie (served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream) and “Burkie Blimp” sandwiches.
For years, after the Carlisle car shows, my friends and I would have dinner at Scalles restaurant in Carlisle. We loved that place – and loved the service (some of the wait staff had come to recognize us from our regular visits). Sadly, it closed a year after COVID. We still miss that place!
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It is a sad feeling when some loved dishes go away.
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The Colorado town we lived in for thirty-odd years still hosts our favorite (local) Mexican restaurant, which opened right about when we moved there. Several chain Mexican restaurants have posed challenges over the years, but it’s endured because a) the locals are fiercely loyal to it, b) the menu is unchanged with the same dependable, delicious entrees, and c) the parents handed the keys to the kids, who’ve been capably running the place ever since. The day this restaurant closes is the day we sever our very last tie with Colorado.
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We have some local Mexican joints that are quite good here too.
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That wasn’t always the case. In the 1980s at Notre Dame, nobody seemed to know what a burrito or an enchilada was.
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I live in a suburban city of about 150,000 people. The city diversity statistics list categories they label as White 47.1%, Asian 39.5%, Multiracial 7.8%, Black 2.6%, and other categories 3.0%. I lived here during my high school years in the early 1960’s (when the city was 98% White) and moved back 26 years ago. In my particular neighborhood, the local elementary school is 85% “minority” according to the school district. A large percentage of the parents are foreign born and English is a second language. My granddaughter’s best friend speaks French at home. If you want authentic foreign cuisine, you just have to go to the restaurants frequented by people speaking that language. Most all of our favorite restaurants have closed in the last 26 years, including our “go to” Chinese eatery where we ordered takeout every Christmas Eve.
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It is a long time since we went to a Chinese restaurant! Our go to for ‘oriental’ type food in our community is a Vietnamese Restaurant that is, fortunately, now being operated by the daughter of the original owner. They know us so well there that they don’t bother taking our order – they know what our favourites are. They closed down briefly during Covid, then opened up for take-out. They are still doing that – cheaper than hiring wait and cleaning staff, and they are busier than they have ever been!
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There is a Vietnamese place near us. I was not impressed with their Chinese dishes, but perhaps I need to try actual Vietnamese stuff. There are also a couple of good Thai places we like. Also, a new restaurant is going in where House of Cheung closed – the sign says “Salvadoran and Mexican” food. My opportunities for growth are opening up, it seems.
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It’s always a bummer when mom & pop shops go out of business and sometimes when the kids take over it’s the same or better but other times…not so much.
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True – sometimes the original owner has that special secret something that really works, and others who try to improve or modernize it end up destroying it. Or at least knocking it down a notch or two from what it used to be. But then again, I guess it is hard to stop the march of time.
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I can’t remember the last time I went to a Chinese Restaurant and that one also bit the dust a while ago, for the same reason. It is unfortunate when any of these favorite “mom and pop stores” have no family interested in carrying on the tradition and they are forced to close. I like when the owner of the restaurant personally walks around and chitchats with the customers. We used to go to “Mama Mias” which, as you can tell from the name was an Italian restaurant. The owner started out doing all the cooking, which she no longer did, but would always ask what our favorite part of the meal was, while sliding another basket of fresh-from-the-oven breadsticks onto the table. Sadly, it also went out of business when the owner passed away.
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I can recommend the Thai Papaya restaurant at 96th and Michigan.. Total hole in the wall, but you can eat in and i have found their food to be uniformly good.
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Someone else told me about that place several years ago, but I never got there and wondered if it was still around. I will have to check it out. Thanks!
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