An Alaskan Bear prefers more than just fish

Visit the best Chinese restaurant in Alaska—Panda Restaurant

605 E Northern light BLVD, Anchorage, Alaska. 99503

 WWW.akpandarestaurant.com

Tel: 907-272-3308, 907-272-3306, 

Fax: 907-272-3302

Written By Elise Krentzel

Photo by Diana Currier

Way up north in Alaska where the mighty brown bear roams, a bear of another sort is hard at work cooking fine Chinese cuisine.

Mr. Jinsong Zhao, the successful owner of the Panda Oriental restaurant in Anchorage (Alaska’s largest city), is a consistent winner as the “Top Chinese eatery in the state.” Mr. Zhao says that despite Alaska’s plentiful supply of wild salmon and other popular fish like Alaska halibut and cod, the most popular dishes at his restaurant are “meat and chicken served hot and spicy.” Anchorage is a diverse city with many cultures represented. Chinese restaurants are prevalent throughout the city, but one routinely stands out with awards and strong patronage—the Panda Oriental restaurant.

Located in mid-town Anchorage, amidst shopping malls and small retail businesses, Panda serves the local clientele like they’re family. His attention to detail and authentic Chinese cooking has engrained itself on the local clientele. It is a story not only of cooking consistent and fine Chinese cuisine, but caring about the service and attention to detail that allows Panda Oriental to stand apart from the other competing restaurants in the city.

Glad to Meet You with Specialty Sauces

Unlike Los Angelenos or New Yorkers, Alaskans want, in order of importance according to Mr. Zhao, beef, chicken then seafood and lastly pork. The best selling dishes at Panda Oriental are Mongolian beef, Sesame Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken and Spicy Seafood Noodles. One of the house specialties made by Chief Chef Mr. Lee,Tsengchiang, Mr. Zhao's partner at Panda, contains King Crab, scallops, shrimp and red clam so inviting you'd think the items were caught that very morning.

What endures here are the specialty sauces that chef Mr. Lee and his team of 3-5 sous chefs have developed. Both Mr. Zhao and Lee experimented with Cantonese dishes as well as pure Sichuan styled foods. Every single seasoning from both ends of the spectrum of these disparate regions within China were used. Yet the two couldn't find a suitable taste that would be accepted by the American public. With critical supervision, repeated testing and tasting critiques offered by Mr. Zhao, the team eventually landed on 4 winning sauce recipes that would accommodate American taste-buds without sacrificing authentic Chinese sensibilities. Not to give any clues about the actual method of preparation, Mr. Zhao and Lee conceded the core components include soy, oyster, seafood and vinegar sauce. Added to these are the mainstays of Chinese kitchens: ginger, garlic, chili, red and black pepper to name a few. Rare is the fact that 95% of the meals are MSG free.

What makes the “best” dish? In Mr. Zhao's viewpoint it's very down to earth. He used Deng Xiaoping's simple and philosophical sentence to describe his business approach, “It's a good cat that can catch mice, whether that cat is black or white.” Meaning, if the guests like something then that is the best dish to go with. All of the dishes prepared at Panda are done so in a healthy and fresh way. Once he discovered his patron's likes and dislikes he found a way to their hearts. A similar proverb is the American expression, “a way to a man's heart is through his stomach.”

Bring On the Awards

Mr. jinsong Zhao, who hails from China, graduated from FuZhou University with a degree in business Management. He then took the position of Lectureship of Business management Administration in China. In 1991, he went to study abroad in the USA. After finishing studying for MBA in California, he worked in a trading company doing business with wholesale and retail stores in Los Angeles. He then set his sights on his family’s veritable namesake—restaurant ownership. He wanted to move north, to the cold climate which reminded him of his childhood in northern China’s, Yanji in Jilin Providence. This prompted him to seek out opportunity in Alaska.

Mr. Lee is a third generation chef with prodigious skills. His native place is in Rizhao of Shandong Providence of China. His grand parents settled in China offering him a childhood rich in cultural and culinary diversity, where he would learn to the art of cooking fine Chinese cuisine.

The Panda Restaurant is located in mid-town Anchorage, 605 E Northern Lights BLVD. For six years steady Panda has been awarded Best Chinese restaurant by The Anchorage Daily News and the Anchorage Press. In September of 2005 Panda was honored as one of ‘10 great places to dine on Chinese food” By USA TODAY. From 2005 to 2008 four years in a row, it was ranked one of Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in the USA, organized by a national publication, Chinese Restaurant News. In 2005 & 2006, it won the “Overall Excellence” award, in 2007, it received the recognition in the category of Nutrition Friendly Menus. In 2008, it again was honored as one of the top winners in the Overall Excellence category.

In the time that Panda opened there were roughly 20 other Chinese restaurants in Anchorage, Now there are 30 competitors, and, yet, Panda still wins the hearts of its residents as the number one choice in town.

Magnanimous Management Policy

Business and ethical culture are the cornerstones of Mr. Zhao's way of handling his employees. It's the same in the F&B industry he says, “If management is done well business will be brisk.”

Of the 17-18 employees who work at Panda most have been with Mr. Zhao for many years because of four key aspects of Mr. Zhao's management style.

1. Without mutual trust and hardcore benefits cooperation cannot be achieved. Their own initiative and undertaking will create a community where they can live, work and create wealth harmoniously together.
   
2. Provide excellent benefits to employees. Mr. Zhao recognizes that without the hard work of his employees business wouldn't thrive. He offers high salaries and extra benefits to all.
   
3. Provide a comfortable and happy working environment.
   
4. Have a strict management system. To grow steadily the restaurant needs to enforce rules and those rules must be obeyed by employees. Following regulations is key. To ensure the system works, Mr. Zhao offers an incentive program, a system of rewards and demerits.

He speaks with his staff. If they wish to leave he will offer them the chance to stay yet encourages them to find a better job or even open their own restaurant. 

Investment in China

In addition to helping his “own”, Mr. Zhao is caring and heart-felt man. He and Mr. Lee have donated much to the education of poor children in China as well as to the disaster relief including replanting of fir trees. These two homesick Chinese feel it in their bones to carry forth China's civilization as expatriates. While they have a deep love of their Motherland they also would not leave Alaska. As Mr. Zhao reminisces, “the environment is so beautiful here it is like heaven on earth. Having traveled to 40 states in the USA, I would not leave this natural wondrous habitat for anywhere else on earth.”

In conjunction with their worldwide charity programs, they also help with several organizations in Alaska. They love their hometown of Anchorage, Alaska, They are proud of the Panda Restaurant and wish to always do their best in bringing the tastiest, healthiest Chinese food to their hometown folks and visitors alike, and they hope they enjoy it and love it.