Some say the American Dream is dying, but for Quan Wong it is as much alive today as when immigrants saw the Statue of Liberty en route to Ellis Island.
In the coming days, Wong and some area investors will open Mei Yuan, a Chinese restaurant at 1702 Central Texas Expwy. However, the road to success for the 62-year-old Wong is a long and winding one.
Wong’s father served his country against the Japanese in the Second Sino-Japanese War, which saw more than 14 million Chinese people killed. After that bloodshed, China endured a civil war that ended in 1949 and saw the rise of Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong.
In the fight against communism, Wong said his father felt abandoned when Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Republic of China, fled to Taiwan after defeat. Wong’s father was able to flee China himself after surviving a fall off a cliff where about 50% of those who attempt it die.
“To him, it is no country anymore; he feels betrayed, like they abandoned him,” Wong said of his father. “So then, he goes to Vietnam just to be a regular farmer. And then, Ho Chi Minh come and try to take our land.”
Minh was prime minister and president of what is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam who fought against the U.S. and South Vietnamese during the Vietnam War.
LEAVING CHINA BEHIND
Born in 1962, Wong was raised in the thick of the war and remembers feeling an adrenaline rush while carrying M-16 ammo as a child. Wong lost two brothers in 1968 due to the conflict.
“I was about 7 years old, and I already had seen anything and everything already. And it is tough,” Wong said. “That is why I look at American kids. They have it all; they’re so spoiled. They don’t know what it is like to grow up in a Third-World country – all the food we waste, the world would fight for. We are so fortunate. We are so lucky.”
Wong’s father and one of his brothers served in the U.S. Special Forces during the Vietnam War.
“American Special Forces [are] real hard to select,” Wong said. “The Vietnam War, you just couldn’t tell. In daytime they could be South Vietnamese, and at nighttime they’re VC [Vietcong]. They selected a special group of Chinese people who fight the red communism, and my father and brother did that.”
SETTLING IN TEXAS
In 1979, Wong and his family settled at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. A month away from being 17 at the time, he was able to secure his first job at United Electric.
“I work in factory,” Wong said. “I don’t speak the language, but I work so hard I get promoted to be a foreman, a supervisor.”
Wong said his poor familiarity with the English language, foreign appearance and job success resulted in animosity from his co-workers. He shifted gears and went to AMSCO Steel for a wage of $4 per hour where once again he quickly was promoted to supervisor on the night shift.
Although promotions came with pay raises, as a non-native English speaker it was difficult for Wong to complete the paperwork required in his position. He eventually went to work in the offshore oil industry after his time at AMSCO, but he encountered the same problems.
“Same thing again, people get jealous thinking how they work here two years and I work six-seven months and get promoted,” Wong said. “It causes conflict, always politics. They threatened to jump me, so I got back to Wichita Falls.”
In 1982, he secured a role at Pittsburgh Glass and Paint for $13 per hour. But he had to show he was ready for the position through testing.
“I barely know the language and am like, ‘It don’t hurt; I will just mark whatever I think is right and see if I pass or not.’ I scored 90 points – it was luck,” Wong said.
LEARNING CULINARY SKILLS
Wong worked for PPG Industries for 10 years, finally finding a place where he felt accepted by his peers. He said he fell in love with the job and competed in fish tournaments with his co-workers.
After being placed on leave in April 1993, Wong worked at China House restaurant which was under the leadership of a first-generation Chinese American from the Boston area. In September that year, Wong was granted a retirement plan from PPG Industries and shifted his full attention to the food industry.
After the departure of a chef at China House, Wong became a cook for the Wichita Falls eatery after showcasing his culinary skills during his lunch breaks.
“He [the owner] says, ‘I seen what you been doing.’ He says, ‘Be bold about it, but be careful,’ ” Wong recalled. “I ended up being a cook, and I learned how to cook like chop-street style, like home cooking.”
Wong then moved to a new Chinese restaurant where he had to start learning all over again because the food was a different style. He had to work his way from dishwasher to prep cook to fryer and finally to cook.
After five years there, Wong’s boss decided to shut down the restaurant and work for a grocery store in Laredo. Wong accompanied his former boss and became a supervisor at the Chinese kitchen within the grocery store, however the work environment was not worth the pay, he said.
He landed a job at WanFu restaurant in Austin, but was forced to find a new gig after his employer expanded too quickly and couldn’t make payroll.
Wong took his talents to another Austin eatery, 888 Pan Asian Restaurant. He encouraged the owner to remain open until 2 a.m. to secure the business of the night crowds on Sixth Street. Despite a slow start, the restaurant eventually blossomed.
After 10 years, Wong was let go when new owners took over the restaurant, but they courted him back when they couldn’t find a cook who could produce like Wong did.
“He is waiting in the alley for me after I take break and wanting to talk to me,” Wong said of his former employer. “He say, ‘Just come in here and talk to me.’ I walk in and see like seven chefs. He said, ‘You were right. You said I would have to hire three to replace you. I had to hire four chefs to replace you.’ ”
MAKING THE MOVE TO LAMPASAS
While working in Austin, Wong resided in Burnet. Around 2010, he helped a struggling friend relocate to Burnet and assisted him in opening a Chinese restaurant to give him a fresh start.
Wong later learned the friend had let the Mei Yuan restaurant in Burnet fail.
“I give it to him; everything is my name,” Wong said. “He lost all the money; he lost everything. I come up here and electric, gas, employees and all the bills not getting paid. I had to clear my name.
“My daughter who was a teacher had to leave her job, so she and I come and take over, get all the employees back, borrow money, and it lasted me 13 years. Through it, I made a lot of friends.”
And that success in Burnet has resulted in Wong deciding to open a restaurant in nearby Lampasas.
With the upcoming opening of Mei Yuan here, Wong feels he has a fresh start.
“It was a nightmare, but right now it looks like the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “I see a future here.”
Wong said for the last decade he has been eager to see what Lampasas has to offer. Each time he attempted to shift his restaurant business here, he was beaten to the spot by someone else.
“I try to come up here for almost 10 years, but every time I try to come here, somebody shuts down, and it’s another Mexican restaurant [that opens in its place],” Wong said. “Before I could come and look at a location, unfortunately someone always beats me to it.”
Wong is a master chef who cooks each order fresh. Also, he said he is flexible and willing to change dishes to meet customers’ dietary needs. Most importantly, he said he cares about providing the customer with the best culinary experience.
“I’m the guy that likes to make my customers feel happy,” he said. “I like to make my customers smile – walk in with a smile and walk out with a smile.”
