Chinese Restaurants Open on Christmas Face the Busiest Service of the Year | Eater

"A multigenerational, family-run Chinese restaurant founded in 1972 by an immigrant chef and rebuilt at its current 89th and Wornall location in 1981, it is known for Northern Chinese and Szechuan–American dishes cooked to order (with appetizers like dumplings, crab rangoon, and wontons handmade daily). The longtime head chef plates every entrée himself from a wok of constant high flames, and the kitchen operates without a POS system—orders are shouted in and finished rapidly—creating an intense, theatrical service that the family embraces. Signature items include a house spiced crunchy beef, Peking duck, lobster in garlic sauce, egg rolls and dumplings (often made with beef tenderloin to accommodate Jewish diners), and a devotion to adapting dishes to customers’ preferences. The restaurant also caters weddings (mostly Vietnamese and Cambodian) and has developed a Christmas tradition over the last decade, turning the holiday into a massive, reservation-driven operation with separate ordering protocols, early carryout cutoffs, and several thousand seasonal items prepared for service; extended family and grandchildren staff the operation. Throughout, the place functions as a community gathering spot—families have returned there for generations for birthdays, weddings and funerals—and the staff pride themselves on attentiveness, hard work, and preserving a legacy of feeding multiple generations of customers." - Nina Yun