After an extended sabbatical which consisted of much eating and tasting, I have returned with a new post.
There may have been earlier Chinese restaurants in the Chattanooga area, but the first I recall was Edmund’s Restaurant on Georgia Avenue at Patten Parkway. Sometime in the mid-1950s, I went with my dad for the first time to Edmund’s.
Named after its owner, Mr. Edmund B. Raines, this unique place featured a listing of American food on one side of their menu and Chinese on the other.
It may have been the first restaurant with a Chinese chef. I never saw the kitchen, but expect it would have been equipped with one or more large woks over a gas flame - the strong heat being necessary for the flash cooking for Chinese stir fry.
I remember first eating chow mein with my dad, but not sure if it was here. Mr. Raines also had an American chef with a broad offering of American food. In fact, as an adult I enjoyed their open face roast beef sandwiches.
The next local Chinese restaurant may have been Lin’s, which opened in a location on McCallie Avenue which had been home to the Beacon Restaurant, which had a small but strong rotating searchlight on the roof. It was followed by The Texan Restaurant owned by Texas native Joe McGilvary. Then there was Irelands, which was a part of a chain that featured fudge pie.
When the Lin family began serving a Chinese menu around 1972, they served the Oolong Tea in American coffee cups poured by servers from the round, clear glass Curtis coffee pots that may have been left by the previous owner. Their food was good and the servers very attentive, but unfortunately they, too, didn’t remain here very long.
Around 1974 on E. 10th Street, another restaurant opened called the China House. I never had the pleasure of eating there, but a very good friend did who shared his memories with me. The owner, Mr. John Lee, even shared cooking tips with him, which my friend later showed me motivating me to try wok cooking during what my wife called my “Chinese phase.”
I believe the Dwell Hotel now occupies some of what had been the China House.
On South Broad another Chinese restaurant opened in the former Albert Pick restaurant called Dino’s House of Canton. I only ate there once and it was on a date. I don’t remember what I had, but my date, who later became my wife, had for the first time the Hawaiian Duck. The tea was in a traditional pot on our table with the cups with no handles and the music was Asian coming through the speakers. I was told on weekends they had a live Rock band.
Sometime in the mid 1970s, to my delight, the Kowloon Restaurant opened in Eastgate Mall on the east side of the complex. They featured combination lunches and dinners, which became my favorite. I quickly moved away from chow mein to Chinese spare ribs and Kung Pao chicken.
Their combination meal, along with a stir fry specialty, included fried rice, an egg roll and choice of soup. It was then I discovered hot and sour soup. I had my first fried banana and PuPu platter there, which my kids loved.
The first lunch buffet was also at the Kowloon, and their vegetable egg fu yung, a Chinese omelette, with brown gravy became an instant favorite, along with char siu ding with its crunchy water chestnuts and celery. Their buffet introduced me to some new and different tastes also. Eventually this restaurant was sold and became the Shanghai without the buffet, which closed some time later.
In Hixson, the Formosa Restaurant opened about this time on Highway 153 and, even though it has been under several different owners, has remained a mainstay of delicious Chinese food to this day. It is now one of our favorites for a non-buffet style Chinese restaurant, since many are now buffet style.
In the late 1970s, the South Pacific opened, where the recycle center is now, and Jerry’s, of the 1960s and 70s drive-in craze, on Brainerd Road. It may have been the first large buffet restaurant with Asian specialties prepared by owner Chef Wong. As the name indicated, the food was primarily Chinese with a Polynesian influence and decor. Chef Wong had an American style salad bar, but with a delicious sweet and sour dressing I’ve never been able to duplicate. He also had wonderful egg rolls. I really missed the South Pacific when they closed.
One other Chinese restaurant I visited was at the foot of Lookout Mountain in the former Drake Restaurant. It was Kay Wong’s Golden Palace. Although not open very long, I believe the dishes there were the most authentic foods one could find here which were very close to the tastes and preparation you would get in China. I don’t mean the tourist stops, but where the locals would go in China or Hong Kong.
Most of the styles of Chinese food that we’ve had here are of the Mandarin and Hunan regional tastes and cooking. Some Szechuan and Cantonese recipes may be indicated in the menu, but the majority have been Mandarin and Hunan.
Since then I have seen favorites come and go, like the Imperial Garden, Sea Palace, Mandarin Garden, the Hunan on Brainerd Road, the China Garden on Highway 58 and the China Hut in East Ridge. That is where the kind chef taught me the proper way to prepare egg fu yung. I miss them all and their delicious food.
Today we have many choices of wonderful Chinese restaurants, and a drive to Atlanta is possible if your taste is for authentic Dim Sum. That’s Cantonese and it is an experience to delight the heart, and the subject of my next post.
The Quasi Gourmand
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