August Moon Shines Bright

For Chinese families, the 15^th day of August marks the end of the harvest season, celebrated with a big feast and family gatherings. This festival is known as August Moon, and in Murray, Kentucky, a Chinese restaurant owned by Daniel Yong is living up to its name.

Since it’s debut in February of 1990, August Moon has reached national acclaim, receiving honors such as the Top 100 Chinese Restaurants in America in 2007 and 2009, as well as “Best of Chinese Restaurants in 2005” by restaurantlistings.com. Besides national recognition, August Moon has become a staple in the Murray community as well, winning the “Readers’ Choice Award” by the Murray Ledger and Times newspaper every year since 2002.

Centrally located near the university and many corporate businesses in Murray, August Moon has an ideal location for catering to the local crowd.  This stylish buffet of 8,000 square feet offers Authentic Chinese cuisine with Asian influences as well as American fusion, and can accommodate up to 270 eager diners at once.

 An Elegant Experience

The décor at August Moon combines the components of both Japanese and Chinese—two aesthetically opposite cultures—creating a luxurious yet demure atmosphere in the dining rooms. Custom-made Chinese stained glass, redwood furniture, a display case, and stained hardwood floors are classic, and give the restaurant a timeless look. The beautiful flower etched glass panel divides the rows of tables and offering diners privacy and intimacy.

The craftsmanship and modern design featured in the dining room also extend to the three private rooms at August Moon which offer customers a place to hold parties, meetings, and other functions. The largest “party room” is decorated with Chinese framed paintings and calligraphy works, and can seat up to 60 diners. The “business meeting room,” adorned in a Chinese fashion, seats up to 40, while the smallest, called the Tatami room, can seat up to 18. These rooms are all customizable to fit the diners’ needs, with individual music and light controls to set the ambiance for the occasion, and each one can be made entirely private by closing the hidden sliding doors. 

In 2005, Mr. Yong built a new, larger location for his restaurant, to the delight of the local population. This restaurant is divided into totally separate smoking and non-smoking sections to comply with state regulations. This separation is taken one step further by the use of completely independent heating and air conditioning units in each section to prevent smoke from being circulated throughout other sections of the restaurant. Specifically, the smoking section features a very high negative pressure airflow system, ensuring that any smoke is circulated out of the restaurant. While this system is considerably more expensive to operate, Mr. Yong’s concern for the health of his customers negates any additional costs.

 The Cuisine

Like many Chinese restaurants, August Moon caters to the mainstream public’s preference by featuring Authentic Chinese cuisine along with Asian flavors. The buffet features a collection of delectable freshly cooked Chinese dishes, offering variety of soups, salads, appetizers, entrées and desserts. Popular entrées include Black Bean Chicken, Sautéed Green Beans, and August Moon Shrimp.

For a delicious treat, the most popular entrée is by far the “Dragon’s Flame” Chicken. This is a flaming hot dish featuring diced chicken stir fried with green and red peppers, onions, and water chestnuts. A homemade special chili sauce tops the eye-catching bed of greens and reds, giving it the smoky aroma and spicy flavor that customers love.

Eight buffet bars, offer an astonishing selection. Two bars are dedicated to appetizers such as Crab Rangoon and Cho Cho Chicken, while another three feature delicious entrées. Nightly, there is a Mongolian grill where customers can pick from a variety of fresh meat, vegetables, and noodles, to be cooked to order. Here, there is also selection of freshly made sushi. Finally, there are two cold bars with salad and desserts. The vegetables found on the salad bar are cut by hand on a daily basis. The dessert bar features delectable desserts, ranging from to homemade No-Bake Cookies to gourmet pastries. Hand-dipped or soft serve ice cream offer the perfect ending to a delightful dining experience. 

 In the effort of giving customers only the very best, an employee is always standing by to ensure that the buffet as fresh as possible by keeping portion sizes small, and refilling them only when needed. By ordering only what is needed to accommodate the diners, food is guaranteed to be hot and fresh at any time of the day.

Each dish at August Moon has its own unique flavor, providing countless tastes to please the customers. Chefs use cooking wine and a medley of fresh spices and ingredients to enhance the flavor of food prepared at August Moon. The Chinese cuisine pairing with a modern kitchen and Mandarin wok cooking, using only the freshest quality ingredients available, are traditional trademarks of success at August Moon. Although many of the recipes remain hidden to the public, the chefs at August Moon have mastered them, which sets its cuisine apart from the competition.

 Food preparation at August Moon is labor intensive, with nearly all of the ingredients being prepared by hand right in the restaurant’s kitchen. Very few ingredients are ever frozen, ensuring freshness no matter what season it is. Although the food preparation process would be less strenuous (and definitely less expensive) with pre-packaged or frozen ingredients, Mr. Yong insists on serving only the best.

 The Service

In addition to quality food, Mr. Yong is adamant about quality service. The waitresses he employs are selected from the local populace and work continuously to keep the tables clean and the atmosphere pleasant. They strive to keep the restaurant spick and span, clearing dirty dishes and tidying up the dining room as they attend to the needs of the customers in their care. Each waitress is also knowledgeable in guiding customers through the dazzling array of over 100 menu items available while making helpful suggestions.

 Helping the Environment and Community

Despite rising food costs, August Moon never sacrifices quality for profits. Mr. Yong is an innovative owner who is always trying to update and adapt to the latest trends in the restaurant industry. In early 2006, when the ban of trans-fat was aimed exclusively at chain restaurants, Mr. Yong was a step ahead, and eliminated trans-fat oil in food preparation at August Moon. Beginning late 2006, August Moon also became very environmentally conscious. The staff attempts to reduce waste by recycling all cardboard and metal cans, and by using 100% recycled material trash bags. The restaurant also features hand dryers instead of paper towels in the restrooms and kitchen, which, in addition to being more sanitary, are beneficial to the environment by saving trees. The entire restaurant is also lit by energy efficient light bulbs. 

Mr. Yong is extremely involved in the community. Since its opening in 1990, August Moon has been supporting the local and surrounding communities though donations of goods and services such as gift certificates. Every year, Mr. Yong also sponsors countless community school programs, the local fire and police departments, fundraisers, and charity events, including Relay for Life, the American Heart Association, the Rotary Club, the Lions Club, and Boy and Girl Scouts.  Mr. Yong never turns down the chance to help out a worthy cause.

August Moon draws in customers from Murray, as well as from the surrounding areas. There is also a multitude of customers who are willing to go the extra mile to experience the fine dining of August Moon, coming from towns such as Paducah, Cadiz, Mayfield, and Dover and Paris, Tennessee. 

 Mr. Yong is always open to suggestions from loyal customers, and takes the appropriate measures to improve service when needed. He is continually thinking of new ways to improve the restaurant through updates and remodeling. Attention to detail and maintaining cleanliness are also of the utmost importance to Mr. Yong. His desire to please his customers keeps the atmosphere of August Moon lively and comfortable; at any given moment you can find him either supervising the buffet, assisting customers, or socializing with loyal patrons.

About the Owner

Daniel Yong briefly attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock before transferring to Arkansas State University where he received a degree in Marketing. He later pursued his master’s degree at Murray State University in Kentucky for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). He now operates his business full-time, and spends time with his wife, Patricia, and their four children.

 Mr. Yong’s educational background, paired with is intuitive knowledge of marketing, gave him a head start when he realized his passion for the restaurant business. When asked about his secrets to success, Mr. Yong replied, “You have to pay attention to detail, and that means everything. Cleanliness is one of the keys to success, and it is very basic but of foremost importance to me and for my restaurant. Change does not necessarily come from the macro level; rather it can come from a single individual with the right vision.