Six Toledo Chinese restaurants named in nation’s ‘Top 100’
Written by Caitlin McGlade | | news@toledofreepress.comPick up the chopsticks — out of 1,900 nominated Chinese restaurants across the nation, six in Toledo were named in the top 100 by Chinese Restaurant News Magazine, a popular publication amongst Chinese restaurant owners and fans.
“We saw there were so many good Chinese restaurants and the image of Chinese restaurants in mainstream America is not that good,” said Christy Tan, one of the editors of Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the U.S.A. “For us, we have a long history of fine dining, but the image is more like fast food and that’s not really authentic.”
Chifu Sun prepares food at Jing Chaun Restaurant on Secor Road.
The Sixth Annual Dining Guide of 2009 included China Garden on Airport Highway, China Garden on Alexis Road, Happy Rose Buffet on Airport Highway, Jing Chuan Chinese Restaurant, Ocean Garden Buffet and Happy Rose Buffet on Monroe Street in the top 100.
“Mystery Diners” from a company called AboutFace secretly tried each restaurant that was nominated through the Top 100 Web site and ranked each site by variety and quality of the food, cleanliness and customer service, Tan said.
Judges also determined winners by collecting votes from people who submitted online or at the restaurant, factoring in prior awards and evaluating the merit of the restaurant as a whole, she said.
Restaurants did not pay a fee to be included in the book.
Chifu Sun, owner of Jin Chuan Chinese Restaurant on Secor Road, said this is his second time receiving the award.
A third-generation restaurant owner, Sun said that his recipes came from his grandparents, who owned a restaurant in China, and his chef experience came from his parents’ restaurant in Korea.
“In most American Chinese restaurants, the food is real close to what American food is like; it’s about 30 percent Chinese and 70 percent American,” he said. “Our food is more like 60 percent Chinese and 40 percent American.”
An average meal at Jing Chuan costs about $10, and his chefs make everything from scratch, he said.
The Ocean Garden Buffet, also family-owned, serves both American and Asian food totaling 250 different menu items. From sushi to egg rolls to steak or ice cream, family manager Christina Chen said they serve everyone’s tastes.
“We have a really nice environment, and every customer is surprised when they see the quality of our food,” Chen said, adding that most people don’t expect buffets to get awarded amongst the top 100.
Chinese Restaurant News Magazine began 15 years ago and helps new Chinese restaurant owners understand how to run a business in the United States. and how to connect with other owners across the country, Tan said.
“Many people think they just prefer one or two Chinese dishes, but we do have a lot of variety,” she said.
The awards were broken into different specialized areas of Chinese food that each restaurant emulated.
The book listed China Garden on Airport Highway as presenting American Chinese, Sichuan Chinese, food from a Chinese province particularly known for spiciness, and Cantonese, the leading cuisine in Hong Kong.
China Garden on Alexis Road was noted for its presentation of Sichuan as well, and both the Happy Rose Buffet and Ocean Garden Buffet were listed for tasty American-Chinese food.
