Unwavering Dedication

For Guirong Chen, the owner of Szechuan Delight in Brooklyn, New York, the road to success was a long, arduous, and ultimately rewarding one. Szechuan Delight opened in 1999, but took about ten years to really mature into one of Brooklyn’s finest restaurants. A hard worker, Chen is quick to point out that the secret to running a successful restaurant is caring about both the customers and the staff. His unwavering pursuit of delivering great food is exemplified by his practice of buying only high quality produce, meats and vegetables.

The Food

The owner’s dedication to the concept of freshness is embodied in how Szechuan Delight handles take-out and delivery orders. Mr. Chen makes sure that everything is perfectly done.

Szechuan Delight serves Americanized Chinese cuisine that includes Cantonese, Hunan, and Szechuan dishes. In traditional Chinese cooking, stir-frying, deep-frying and sautéing are the main techniques used. But steaming and poaching are preferable for diners craving a healthier dining experience, and so the chefs at Szechuan Delight utilize these healthy methods in an effort to provide more healthy options.

At Szechuan Delight, each dish has its own unique characteristics. There are many popular dishes on the menu, including General Tso’s Chicken, Salt & Pepper Shrimp, Boneless Spare Ribs, Mongolian Beef, Chicken w. Broccoli, and Wonton Soup.

While Boneless Spare Ribs is popular in many Chinese restaurants, whether it is tasty or not depends on how the chefs prepare it. Szechuan Delight’s Boneless Spare Ribs are not like other versions found elsewhere. It is distinct due to the homemade sauce, which includes apple & pineapple juice, honey and other healthy ingredients added in to enhance the fragrance and taste. On top of that, the ribs are marinated three days in advance to ensure that the sauce really permeates the meat, leaving it moist and juicy. In addition, the method of preparation is quite different because Mr. Chen does not fry the ribs, which is the preferred cooking method at most other Chinese restaurants. “Instead, we grill them. In this way, the oil on the ribs is reduced making it almost grease-free,” says Chen.

Wonton Soup also sells very well at Szechuan Delight. The filling is skillfully prepared, sealing the pork juice inside of the wrapper, One online reviewer can’t get enough of it,...Rich meat juice leaks out of the wonton as your first bite. How could they make it? It’s AMAZING.” Patrons have really come to love this extraordinary Chinese dish.

One stereotype of Chinese food is that it is oily and salty. But, at Szechuan Delight, you’ll find that the food is anything but that. Chen boasts that all of the dishes served at Szechuan Delight are healthy. Many dishes are steamed and very little salt or oil are used. Lots of vegetable dishes are available and special requests from customers are always met.

The homemade sauces are all made to suit the locals’ palates. Chen specifically mentions the restaurant’s Kung Po sauce, in which he adds in liquorice-root. Liquorice-root is a traditional Chinese herb containing natural sweetener. It also has pharmaceutical properties, acting as an expectorant when ingested. Customers can set their minds at rest when having Kung Po at Szechuan Delight, because the liquorice perfectly neutralizes the strong flavor and rich sauce.

And when it comes to the quality of the food, Mr. Chen is especially particular about the freshness. His restaurant purchases its stock on a daily basis to insure high quality, freshness, and customer satisfaction.

Service Talks

The mainstay of a service business is its customers. In the take-out business, the theory goes much deeper. Chen doesn't want to lose even one customer. He keeps them coming back for more by consistently delivering great food, excellent service, a warm communication style, and a spotless environment. All guests, whether regular customers or first time diners, leave Szechuan Delight happier than when they came in. Each guest is greeted with sincere, amiable smiles and treated politely throughout the duration of their stay.

“Understanding customers' needs is an absolute must for anyone in the business,” admits Mei. “As a family business we pride ourselves on doing everything we can to provide them with a quality dining experience,” she says adding. “We treat every customer like they are part of the family.”

Chen’s Story & Further Growth

Guirong Chen arrived in the States in 1992. He quickly realized that accomplishing the American Dream was not as easy as it seemed. He found a job working at a famous Chinese restaurant in Manhattan where he learned restaurant management from the Taiwanese owner. Slowly, he soaked up every part of the trade learning how to manage the kitchen and front house staff, finances, customer service, maintenance and cooking. It was a tough job that required a lot of patience, perseverance and tenacity. Still he never gave up. In 1999, he finally opened up his own restaurant.

“I knew my restaurant would be a success if I continued to make progress," Chen asserts. His success is attributed to always observing the present and looking to the future. One example is his belief that selecting the ideal location for a business is the key to running a take-out operation. Besides that, he views strict management as being necessary for establishing an efficient work environment. As for the immediate future, he is satisfied with the restaurant’s progress but is not opposed to opening another location if the opportunity presents itself.

“For the past ten more years, I've seen restaurants come and go in this area, so I feel lucky and fortunate to have such a loyal following supporting me.” The steady customer base has helped Szechuan Delight avoid any financial setbacks during these tough economic years. And that’s fine with Chen, all he wants is to continue to bring great Chinese food to the Big Apple.