02-17-2005, 12:28 AM
|
#84 (permalink)
|
|
MVP
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 8,989
|
Yao's restaurant taking Chinese food to new heights
Quote:
The seven-figure salary. The high-powered agents. The commercial endorsement deals.
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has all of the above. But one fashionable hallmark of the superstar-athlete lifestyle is missing: the eponymous restaurant or sports bar.
Michael Jordan has The Steak House N.Y.C. in Manhattan. Former Rocket Clyde Drexler has Drexler's World Famous BBQ & Grill near the Toyota Center. And don't forget Mike Ditka's Restaurant, operated by the Chicago Bears' former coach in that city's Tremont Hotel.
Come Monday, the doors will open at Yao Restaurant and Bar, a $1.5 million Chinese eatery and sports bar at 9755 Westheimer.
The owners are Yao's parents, father Yao Zhiyuan and mother Fang Fengdi, who own a home near Katy.
But the son's mark is evident. The chairs in the VIP room fit his 7-foot-6-inch frame.
The doorways are about 10 feet tall, so he or other NBA players won't need to duck.
The walls are plastered with photos of Yao in action.
The menu will feature Yao's favorite home-cooked dishes, as well as contemporary Chinese creations from co-owner/chef George Phou, founder of Houston's Fu's Garden.
"The Yaos love to cook. Peking duck is a real favorite of theirs," Phou said. "Their son loves it, too, so we've hired a chef who will do nothing but Peking duck.
"Once the restaurant opens, Mr. and Mrs. Yao will be here every day to greet guests and help them make their selections."
Yao has a penchant for his mother's soups, including the featured slow-simmered chicken soup with shiitake mushrooms, and pork and shrimp wonton soup.
"There will be other dishes from Shanghai, where the Yao family is from, like sautéed baby shrimp with snow pea leaves," operations manager Wendy Ju said.
Yao's restaurant is on a commercial stretch of Westheimer, just west of South Gessner.
The area is peppered with such established restaurants as Amazon Grill, Churrascos, Kasra Persian Grill and Benihana Japanese. The eateries draw from an eclectic mix of neighborhoods, from upscale homes along Memorial Drive to more modest dwellings near Beltway 8.
Houston's booming Chinatown is about three miles away.
The restaurant will seat 440, with private dining rooms and the super-sized VIP room.
|
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory...bk/bkn/3043849
__________________
"He's the best center in the NBA on one end now," Mavericks swingman Jerry Stackhouse said. "The team has to focus on him more than any center in the NBA, even Shaq."
"He's 7-6, turning and fading. You want a guy to turn out, unfortunately he was hitting the shot," Brown said. "What could I do? I had a hand up. I was, '(Man), another one.' Now I know what it's like when guys play against Kobe (Bryant)."--- Kwame Brown on Yao's 16-25 shooting performance
5/29 Mock Draft 1.0
|
|
|