Takeout, Anyone?

If you’re familiar with gambling, you’ll understand the risk of trying Chinese cuisine in Southeastern Idaho. You might find yourself clutching the rim of a porcelain bowl after a bad loss, attempting to digest the gristle-ridden Sizzling Chicken coated in signature Tasty Sauce from the night before. Or was it the eight flaccid Pork Potstickers for $6.25 that siege your stomach with the fury of the Hun army?

            It’s hit or miss at Hong Kong Restaurant: Finest Chinese & American Foods (1570 Broadway Idaho Falls (208)522-3314), where you might find crackling Egg Rolls or more sesame seeds than sweet pork. This hasn’t deterred patrons to forgo their Sizzling Beef, Cashew Chicken or Family Dinner Specials with Eggflower Soup, Fried Shrimp, Lemon Chicken, Bo Bo Platter and Special Fried Rice.

            As a bell chimes behind the entrance, sun-stained walls surround you with paintings of pandas and Chinese culture among deli-style tables and chairs. Foreign chatter from the kitchen hovers over any would-be conversations. A co-owner, Erika Lyn, discusses her decade-long involvement in the business, which was founded by her mother and father, Jain Lyn and Xin Huang, who immigrated to the United States from Canton, China. With the help of her brother, Aidain Huang, each tend the restaurant Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. till whenever they decide to close.

            Erika spoke on behalf of her parents, saying they didn’t like to talk much due to language barriers; she wasn’t much better herself. Instead, Xin loomed over the two of us as we discussed details about their family history.

            Canton, or traditionally Guangzhou in Southern China, was once a major contributor on the Silk Road, providing a plethora of trade goods, food and transportation. Now it serves as a mecca for over 13 million people from varying countries including Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa. Erika’s family were natives of the area, but moved to the United States in pursuit of business opportunities. Her account of family history leaves much to be desired, only stating their chance of success was better in America.

            “I didn’t know English as a kid,” recalls Erika. “I went to Idaho Falls High and learned there.”

            Her furrowed brow implied a communication breakdown after discussing the restaurant specialties. “All [our] food is good,” Erika boasted, but she says the rice and lo mein are “very good.”

            This was as punchy as Erika can be in publicizing her fare, as she released a small smile at the thought of the tender noodles, expressing how she eats them every day with vegetables and various meats. Her favorite is beef.

She then turned abruptly. Her six-year-old boy sat alone behind her at one of the four empty tables, drawing and intermittently yelling for attention.

            A Caucasian woman dawning a grease-stained apron and an uncanny resemblance to Alice from the Brady Bunch joined the conversation as she sat beside me. Wendy Powell, a waitress of the establishment for 31 years, loyally serves and cooks for her foreign owners.

            “The friends I’ve made [here] are amazing,” she says. “They always come back and visit.”

            Powell thinks of herself a part of the family, although she may not speak Chinese, but she’s become a staple in the daily operations of the quaint restaurant. Her personal recommendation on the menu is the Pork, Beef or Chicken Hong Kong Special. For $10.25, you choose a side of meat accompanied by mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts mixed in gravy with Cantonese style fried noodles. Compared to American variations, traditional lo mein is mixed with wonton or beef brisket with thin sauce on a bed of elastic flour and egg noodles. Erika’s family prepares both options, but Americanized versions consist of a stir-fried combination of soy and varying spices.

            Idaho Falls local and recurrent customer Morgan Nadauld expressed her family’s personal attachment to the restaurant. “Whenever my brother and I go in there, they always fill up our bag with fortune cookies,” she beamed. “They’re always so nice.”

            At $15.99 being their most expensive option, it serves a family of two or more. Quantity and value are no issue here. The to-go order comes in what appears to be the lid of a sheet cake with greasy, crumpled wax-paper on the sides, a necessary precaution to prevent the cardboard from oozing like the pores of a pubescent teen.

            Green onions, beef gravy and fried food begins to percolate. Small Chinese take-out boxes of white and fried rice line the perimeter. When your entrée arrives, splotches of damp secretions surround each item. The crunchy, fibrous bamboo shoots amid a mound of water chestnuts could spark an imminent bowel movement. At least the beef is tender and forgiving on the way down, thanks to the lightly seasoned soy sauce.

            Erika’s family will remain at their location for the foreseeable future, continuing the culinary routine they’ve created for almost four decades. Eventually her son will learn the trade of his family. Wendy also intends on serving and cooking for as long as the restaurant stays in business. She’s created a family away from home among Lyn and Huang’s.

            “It’s great being here with everyone,” Powell expressed. “When you love something, stick with it.”