Delectable Wontons

Delectable Wontons

Wonton House opened its doors in Santa Clara, California in 1991. This casual take-out and dine-in restaurant is located in a bustling, high traffic area near residential areas, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara Airport, and many famous hi-tech companies.

The restaurant is bright, clean, and noticeably devoid of luxurious decorations. However even without a lot of decorations, the 1,500 ft2 restaurant’s interior has a warm vibe that will help draw you in once you step through the doors. On top of that, the staff at Wonton House treats everyone like family and will make sure to attend to your every need without being intrusive.

The competition is fierce according to the owner, Chun Au. With several Chinese restaurants in the vicinity and a variety of restaurants serving other cuisines just blocks away, it’s up to every restaurant owner to find a way to make his restaurant stand out from the rest. Mr. Au can’t really pinpoint why the customers favor Wonton House. But he knows it has something to do with the personalized service and relationships that have been built with customers throughout these years at this family-run operation.

Hearty Food Served Here
Those looking for home-style Chinese American items will have 100 choices to choose from at Wonton House. Since Mr. Au opened Wonton House in 1991, he's made sure to update the menu and periodically creates new dishes in response to the changing tastes of his customers.

Wonton House’s menu consists mostly of Chinese food prepared in flexible methods to satisfy the locals. Most dishes are stir-fried; however, the kitchen will boil dishes upon request if a customer is looking for a healthier option. The most highly recommended dishes are the Mongolian Beef, Szechuan Beef, Ma Po Tofu, Stir-fried Fish Fillet w. Seasonal Vegetables and Salt & Pepper Pork Chop. If you are in the mood for other dishes, consider ordering the Stir-fried Assorted Mushroom, Congee, and Lamb w. Cumin, Seafood Rice or Stir-fried Chinese Vegetables which are favorites of the Asian customers.

The recipes are written with a perfect combination of ingredients giving dishes a delicious and balanced flavor. Mr. Au’s detail oriented approach helps him by giving him the ability to occasionally tweak dishes and improve them. Other times he invents entirely new dishes. “I offer authentic and exquisite Chinese dishes of the highest quality,” he says.

According to Mr. Au, the secret to making delicious, memorable meals is in the ingredients. Each ingredient needs to be fresh and of the highest quality. He spends hours picking the freshest ingredients from wholesale markets nearby. For the health conscious customers, Wonton House offers a wide variety of options. But even so, every single dish on the menu is prepared with little salt, sugar, and oil.

Competitive Service
Wonton House stands out from the crowd because of the staff’s team mentality. Their goal is to be sure the customers leave happy. Mr. Au always reminds his staff, “Treat customers the way you want to be treated when you dine out.” Having taken his advice to heart, the staff can always be found smiling sincerely and doing their best to provide customers with the best dining experience possible.

Mr. Au prefers to hire chefs who are willing to learn and have strong analytical skills. “First in importance for a chef, in my opinion, is to have extra sensitive taste buds, which means he must be able to remember each nuance in the taste of the food that he has sampled.” Mr. Au also requires his chefs to be flexible and tuned into individual customer preferences. “They have to know what their customers want, and learn to provide exactly what they are looking for.”

Mr. Au encourages his staff, especially his chefs, to continuously improve. He highly recommends people who are keen on studying the mysteries of the culinary game to broaden their knowledge by researching relevant information. ”The value of being a good cook is aiming to satisfy customers by providing healthy food,” he believes that even the most talented chef should always stand on the side of the people he’s going to serve. “It’s not good to obtrude your opinions on others.”

An online reviewer writes, “I get off very late at night. Whenever I am in the mood for some Chinese, Wonton House’s is always my first choice. The restaurant always treats me with steaming food and exceptional service.” Wonton House is the only Chinese restaurant in town opens that is open till late. Mr. Au explains that the restaurant is open later to cater to office workers and airport staff who work late at night.

The restaurant is often hired to prepare food for celebratory gatherings. “I always feel honored when customers choose me to cater their events,” Mr. Au says.

Overcoming the Difficulties
Mr. Au first came to the United States in 1980. Over the years, he worked in and opened a number of restaurants throughout the country. In 1991, he decided to put all his skills and experience into Wonton House. “I love this job, and I really put my soul into it.”

“It is easy to open a shop but hard to keep it going,” he tells ARN when asked about his attitude towards his career. “The only way to have confidence in your own strengths is to arm yourself with experience and always look to improve your skill set.” He urges restaurateurs and chefs to be diligent and always maintain a positive attitude towards life and career. “You should endeavor to truly understand your staff because it will help keep everyone’s morale high, even during tougher times.”

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Name: Wonton House
Location: 1205 EL Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95050
Phone: 408-984-8668