Just in Time

China Star Restaurant

Location: 1430 Coral Ridge Dr. Coral Springs, FL 33071
Phone: 954-341-0088
Offers: Take-out, Delivery    
Cuisine: Hong Kong, Cantonese, Szechuan and Hunan Cuisine
Signature Dishes: General Tso’s Chicken, Mango Shrimp, Mongolian Beef, Moo Shu Pork
Year of Establishment: 2003
Website: www.coralspringschinastar.com

Nowadays, we all have less time on our hands due to larger workloads and longer working hours. This has led to take-outs commanding a larger role in the foodservice industry. Chinese take-outs in particular have grown in popularity. What are they doing right? As revealed by Steven Liu, owner of China Star, the secret to really building a business is to form solid relationships with customers that are based on trust and honesty. Furthermore he believes that restaurants need to always be on the look out for more ways to enhance the quality of their offerings.

Located in a shopping center in Coral Springs, China Star is surrounded by competitors. Remarkably, this restaurant has stood its ground since 2003, and in the process has become one of the hotter take-out establishments in the city.

“Each restaurant has its own distinctive qualities and therefore attracts a slightly different demographic. So even with all those restaurants nearby, we still attract a large number of customers,” explains Liu.

Like any new business, it was hard in the beginning. Few people knew about the restaurant. Some restaurant owners when faced with this predicament would perhaps decide to advertise in a newspaper, magazine or on TV. However, Liu took another approach by choosing to focus on providing high quality food and service at a low price.

“I don’t believe in advertising everywhere, I’d rather just get back to the basics—knowing the customers and their preferences first, then adjusting the taste of our offerings according to what they like,” says Liu.

Straight To the Point
Like most Chinese take-out restaurants, China Star focuses less on its interior décor and more on the food. Despite its humble décor, the eatery still has a homey feel. The room is well lit and ventilated, and sports a fashionably minimalist type of décor. You won’t have any problem finding the menu board and its mouthwatering pictures of China Star’s specialties.

Chinese restaurateurs and chefs all know to “do as the Romans do.” This translates to localizing recipes. In the US, customers’ tastes in coastal areas differ greatly from those who live inland. For Liu, he traveled up and down the East Coast before finally deciding to settle down in Florida. Not familiar with the area in the beginning, Liu experimented with various flavors in order to find out what customers liked the most.

Featuring a lengthy list of menu items, China Star boasts a plethora of New York style Chinese food options with an emphasis on Hong Kong, Cantonese, Szechuan, and Hunan cuisine. While not adhering to any particular regional Chinese cuisine, the menu at China Star is tailored to fit local American tastes. According to Liu, this often means that the food is slightly less spicy than in traditional recipes.

More Dishes, More Flavor

Entrées such as Egg Foo Young, Fried Rice, Chow Mein, Lo Mein, Beef Skewer, and Spareribs, are real popular with the regulars; but the hottest sellers are the General Tso’s Chicken, Moo Shu Pork, Mongolian Beef and Mango Shrimp. These dishes are  offered in just about every restaurant that specializes in Chinese food but China Star’s are a bit different as the chefs have added an extra element of flavor.

When going over the restaurant’s specials, Liu made sure to make special mention of the Mango Shrimp. The extra plump shrimp in this dish are dressed with a layer of cornstarch giving them a crunchy bite. Matched with fresh mango slices, snow peas, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, it is a well-balanced dish which also impresses diners with its amazing color contrasts and nutritional value. Lastly, the tangy garlic sauce delivers a fitting end to the dish by helping to wrap its flavors together into something truly glorious.

China Star takes pride in its healthy cooking. While many restaurants seek to create a couple “healthy menu” items, China Star has gone a step further by providing a menu packed with healthy dishes, such as Chicken w. Broccoli, Curry Shrimp, Szechuan Beef and Shrimp w. Cabbage. These dishes have been proved healthy through a thorough analysis conducted by Healthy Dining, a professional nutrition analysis agency which tested the dishes in a number of areas including calorie count and fat content.

Beyond Great Food

“Running a successful business is a lot more difficult than just offering delicious food. Restaurateurs should provide customers with a comprehensive dining experience that can astound from every angle. “We don’t want customers just staring at their plates in awe. We’d rather they also notice our great service and the fact that we are really serious about providing everyone with healthy food,” Liu says. Everything from the way employees answer the phone to the cleanliness of the parking lot and even the quality of restroom supplies has an effect on the restaurant’s reputation and sales.

Despite being a humble take-out eatery, Liu still makes sure that everyone is focused on providing world class service. Not only does Liu serve in a managerial role, he also cooks in the kitchen and even takes delivery orders occasionally. The experienced servers take and fill orders quickly and efficiently, working together with the team in the kitchen. They also deliver orders to anywhere within three miles, and make sure the orders are delivered within 40 minutes.

“Even in the face of increasing costs, we never for even a moment think about compromising quality. Nothing can stop us from continuing to use fresh ingredients, and serving our customers in a speedy manner.”

Liu has endured a number of hardships to get to where he is today. He doesn’t dwell on the past but rather looks to the future. By rolling up his sleeves and continuing to work for his customers, Steven Liu looks to be well on his way to further success.