Ying Hui Rising with the Sun

Ying Hui is a small take-out eatery that stands out despite lacking an overly fancy décor. Instead, Ying Hui is a humble establishment that attracts customers by simply delivering delicious delicacies to the Bordentown community in a timely manner. Ying Hui’s menu unites different elements from Sichuan and other cuisines together into a winning combination. The restaurant incorporates a wide repertoire of 200 items and dares to satisfy everyone. “Ying Hui,” meaning “to go towards the rising sun” in Chinese, has definitely lived up to its name with its excellent service and innovation, making it one of Bordentown’s brightest stars.

House Specialties: Chicken with Garlic Sauce, Seafood Delight, Hot & Sour Soup

Ying Hui

Address: 303 US Highway 130, Bordentown, NJ
Dining Style: Casual Dining
Cuisine: American Style Chinese Food
Year of Establishment: 1998
Phone: 609-298-6400

The owner

Hui Lin has always been a pioneer. In the studying abroad craze of the late 1980s, Mr. Lin decided to augment his education by studying in Japan. He studied economic management, an essential discipline for restaurant operation. However, at the time he had no aspirations of getting involved in restaurant industry. The unique educational experience gave him an extraordinary insight into society and developed a broad vision and an open mind. These qualities served him well in his later restaurant operation.

Having worked as a chef for over 20 years, Mr. Lin finally opened his own restaurant in 1998. Having traveled throughout inland China, Hong Kong, Japan and many other places, Lin learned the culinary art of authentic Chinese, Japanese and Hong Kong cuisines and gradually became familiar with each cuisine’s ingredients, prices, qualities, production areas, and distribution locations.
Lin has stayed true his moral and philosophical values throughout the years. He treats people with tact and honesty, and carries on with life in an unobtrusive manner. His restaurant management has relied on the principle of serving the highest quality food at a low and reasonable price. He never thought about controlling the cost at the expense of his loyal customers.
“The customer [comes] first’ should not only be a slogan, but a first priority. Achieving profit does not appeal to me.” Lin said.

In Focus

Ying Hui’s dedication to providing the freshest and highest quality of products really showcases itself in the restaurant’s three signature dishes. First, the Chicken with Garlic Sauce is a must-try item that received many accolades for its tasty flavor. Although it is a common dish that you may see in many Chinese restaurants, the unique sauce separates Ying Hui’s dish from the rest. Rather than employing the standard seasonings of typical restaurants, the dish is sauced with chicken broth, celery, garlic, ginger, seafood sauce, oyster sauce and cooking wine. The rich flavors fuse together, giving it a sweet, sour yet spicy flavor to make it a refreshing creation.

Another signature dish is the Seafood Delight. The dish derives its name from the jumble of seafood favorites wedded together, including lobster, jewfish, sea-mussel, scallop, sea bass, and abalone. The fusion of seafood is then marinated with white wine, lemon juice and cilantro for approximately 15 minutes and then later fried with minced garlic, olive oil, red pepper power and tomato juice. After four minutes of frying with a small portion of white wine, the entrée is served on a special platter, giving it a hot, juicy and glamorous presentation.

“Remember to remove shells from the sea-mussels, scallops and abalones, and don’t forget to tear off the sea mussel’s bread.” suggested Lin, the owner.

The Hot & Sour Soup at Ying Hui is a surprisingly delicately seasoned and well-prepared dish. By simply looking at the combination of ingredients, customers will be convinced of the intricacy of the dish. However, a cluttered list of ingredients will never make a palatable creation; instead, a strong dish requires a harmonious combination of color, aroma and flavor. To prepare this special soup, tofu, dried mushroom, sea cucumber, and cuttlefish are minced into match stick pieces and combined with pork and chicken. These ingredients are placed into a pan with chicken broth, salt, MSG, soy sauce, and heated to a boiling point. The heat is reduced and the soup is blended with cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Next, the chef adds white pepper, vinegar, green onion and lard. According to Mr. Lin, the secret of preparing Hot and Sour soup is finding the right portions of salt, white pepper, and vinegar.

The Hot and Sour Soup serves as a great health assistant to the digestive system with its ability to comfort those who have drunk or eaten too much. One of Ying Hui’s patrons admitted that, “The Hot and Sour Soup is the first thing that comes into my mind whenever I have a poor appetite.”

Despite its attention to well-prepared food and the Mr. Lin’s educational background, success did not come immediately to Ying Hui. Sluggish sales plagued the restaurant initially, and the owner had to find ways to get through these tough times. The solution? Menu innovation. Addressing his problems with determination and pluck, Mr. Lin engaged in an extensive period of research by studying and analyzing menus from other establishments to inspire him to come up with more innovative dishes for the menu. His continuous dedication and hard work has paid off. Not one to cloister himself, Mr. Lin seeks to share his “menu expertise” with fellow restaurant owners.

First, Mr. Lin believes a menu’s design must be “customer driven.” It must yield to customers’ needs and desires. Restaurant owners should take time to research their customer pool in the community. They should not shy away from asking questions regarding a patrons’ preferences. “Construct your menu accordingly to the information you gathered,” explains Mr. Lin.

Second, a menu should place emphasis on its distinctive features. Restaurant owners need to show the difference between their establishment and their competitors. Popular dishes should not be cut. Rather, owners should incorporate as many “specialties” and “signature” dishes in their menu as possible. By highlighting and making these entrees visible, it allows customers a chance to gain an appreciation of the restaurant’s uniquely diverse offerings.

Third, chefs need to constantly improve old dishes or create new ones every four to six months. It is an opportunity to refresh customers’ taste buds and expose them to more variety. In addition, since some ingredients are seasonal, changing the menu is also a great opportunity for chefs to improve their cooking skills. Mr. Lin believes that nutrition and health concerns should always be taken into consideration.

Finally, a menu should look beautiful and elegant, because it serves as an advertising tool. Incorporate art, coloring schemes, shapes, literatures, paper qualities, and workmanships to reflect the atmosphere, decoration and uniforms of employees. A well-designed menu signifies to customers that the restaurant is a classy establishment, and surely helps in increasing the number of repeat customers.

The restaurant owners are currently overwhelmed with the unfortunate economic downturn in the US and now must work to take measures to stay afloat despite the slower business. The strategy Lin has taken for four years is creating no additional promotions or raising the prices of dishes. However, the increasing worldwide inflation may force the owner to change his strategy a bit.

“The costs [of ingredients] have been rocketing these days by 30 percent; we really couldn’t stand such a big price cut if we offer discounts. I believe the customers will understand us,” explained Lin. “The superior food will make good on the heightened expectations that customers have when they make an order.”