China Kitchen Goes Large

China Kitchen Goes Large

Interviewed by Cuiyin Zhang  Written by Elise Krentzel

Opened in 2008 in Groveland, Florida, China Kitchen take-out has been creating a variety of unbeatable American styled Szechuan, Hunan and Mandarin dishes that have been scoffed up by locals without question as to quality or price. That makes owner Bifang Lin a happy business woman. Since the inception, Ms. Lin hasn't had to worry too much about newcomers or upstarts. In her town of seven thousand, the population she says, seems to have been anticipating China Kitchen. Other competitors have come and gone yet customers rush to her place for lunch and dinner take-outs on a very regular basis.

There's practically no dining area save for ten seats which the owner rearranged to optimize the tiny space. The remainder is devoted to the kitchen and the counter area for ordering.

“Simple, clean and convenient, these are the main standards for a take-out eatery. I think the most important thing is serving amazingly good food at an economical price so customers get good value for their money”, says the practical owner.

She also has some down-to-earth observations to impart. “We serve regular meals for regular people. Their choice of China Kitchen in their everyday lives befits their budget: good and cheap.” “Our customers use us like their own personal magical kitchen, except without the mess of preparation or cleaning up.” They come and go, wandering in, meandering in for lunch or dinner and choose from any of one hundred items, all at their fingertips. The decision making process is plentiful yet easy to choose the one dish most appealing to a specific craving.

Ms. Lin informs ARN, “the menu changes on a rotating basis to allow customers a chance to try new specialties of the house.”

The quality of the produce is as important as delivering all dishes which contain an equally balanced flavor. There is an art to the alchemists approach towards preparation that takes years of experimentation, knowledge and hard work to master. Balancing flavors is an ancient Chinese tradition that is influenced by medicine as it is from the culinary arts. This is why one finds a rather low number of non-Chinese chefs serving up Chinese food; whether for dining in or take-out purposes, most chefs in Chinese American eateries are Chinese. If not 100%, then by far and wide they are Asian or of Asian decent. The know-how of balancing flavors also comes from being brought up with the cuisine and tasting it. A chef knows instinctually whether a dish is prepared right or wrong.

Some of the most frequently ordered dishes are General Tso’s Chicken, Lo Mein, Sweet & Sour Chicken and Spring Rolls. They are all very hot items on China Kitchen's customers’ lists mainly because of the unique processing and special taste. That special taste comes from fresh direct cooking. At China Kitchen, virtually nothing is prepared in advance. All orders are made right on the spot at the time of ordering. Leftovers are never ever used the next day as is common practice in some places.

The outsourcing of all produce, poultry, meats and other ingredients is handled by Ms. Lin daily. Her nose is keen to spot inconsistencies. She can detect blemished produce by a mile and will scrutinize all canned goods to make sure that nothing has expired. Because her customers have come to expect such fresh quality at comparably reasonable prices they continue to support her business.

Attention to Customers

Lin has trust and faith in the first rate service and high quality food China Kitchen delivers time and again because she knows, “it's the only way to win over customers’ hearts and minds.” After merely one year of operations they have successfully won over many customers who have become loyal and consistent visitors. One of her customers has moved her deeply because he visits on a weekly basis on her way to work whereas he could choose any number of other competitors also located near to her restaurant. Why does he covet China Kitchen? Lin is proud to attribute it to each side doing their best. “We do our best to please customers and live up to their expectations and they do their best to show their gratitude” says Lin. Some customers phone back the restaurant to express thanks at the cooking.

Staying Strong

In 1998 Ms. Lin came to the States. Initially she had a really hard time due to the language barrier. Staying strong and keeping her chin up was her only option of survival. She got a job as a chef's assistant in a buffet restaurant. It was there she brushed up on her English. After one year she moved ahead to the front of the restaurant and was in direct contact with customers. It was there she learned how to run a restaurant, provide customer service and to manage.

There was after that two attempts at her own business. First a Chinese take-out and the second a Chinese-Japanese eatery yet both ended in failure. Still, Lin did not concede her willpower. On the third try she wanted to do a Japanese dine-in restaurant and unbelievably, failed due to the poor choice of location. “The market is cruel” she admits. Yet still, she was not stopped nor did she yield to her repeated setbacks. She pulled herself up by the bootstraps and on the fourth try – China Kitchen – she managed to stay afloat and improve in all ways. “After digesting all my previous failures I was determined never to give up” says this powerhouse of a woman. And so, her amazing strength finally paid off with China Kitchen. An old Chinese proverb says, it takes a long cultivation to reach the harvest. Perhaps in the future Lin will reap even more rewards (materially and spiritually) with another restaurant? Only she knows.