Jenny L.
Yelp
El Paso needs Cantonese restaurants like OG Chan's. I need restaurants like OG Chan's.
Do you know how hard is it nowadays to find legit Cantonese food in the US, much less in El Paso of all places? It's hard because 2nd/3rd generation Asians aren't exactly lining up to work a wok.
Well, we have one here in El Paso willing to take a chance and open up a Cantonese restaurant... Zamira Navarrete worked hard baking Japanese cheesecake and all of the profits went into creating OG Chan's and her dream of fulfilling a promise to her dad.
I broke my rule of buying a bakery item from a home based baker (an aunt baked at home to sell and she had 6 dogs and was disgustingly filthy, so I don't trust them) just because I craved a taste of home. I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and if you know the area, it's majority Asian (49 different sub cultures to be exact). Heck I didn't even feel like a minority until I went to university. It was worth it, her cakes are amazing authentic, super light fluffy, and not too sweet, so I became and fan and was rooting for her when she told me of her goal to open up a restaurant. Her story is also in the menu btw.
There were a lot of missteps and challenges, being a new business owner, building during a pandemic and shutdowns, and now dealing with staffing and ingredient shortages, but she persevered. She has apologized and asked to make right the wrongs of her staff and I commend her for it, I've seen business owners not caring at all about feedback. So for her to acknowledge mistakes and try to right them, it speaks to her character and determination to make her business viable.
Here's a NYT article that highlights why most Cantonese restaurants are closing:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/12/24/upshot/chinese-restaurants-closing-upward-mobility-second-generation.amp.html
And here's the crux of the matter: the food is legitimately authentic and GOOD. The only new Chinese restaurants that are opening in America are manned by new immigrants who are Mainlanders, which is why you have the baos, hand cut noodles, wheat noodles etc. It's good but I personally ADORE Cantonese food (dim sum, wontons, egg noodles, etc) and to have a great tasting, inexpensive, Cantonese restaurant in El Paso is a wish come true, so I don't know the owners personally but I sure as heck will support and vouch for their food!
I mean come on! Their lunch specials are $5+ and it includes hot and sour soup with ALL the ingredients (tofu, egg, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and chili flakes). Do you know how much it costs to source these ingredients that aren't exactly in demand in El Paso? It's expensive, more than $5 that's for sure...I tried, and I still can't make the soup as good as theirs.
Their crunchy egg noodles with shrimp and scallops is delicious and full of baby corn, water chestnuts, sliced carrots, scallops and big shrimp for $10. Their beef chow fun with flat rice noodles, onion slices, bean sprouts, tender beef with the legit Satay chili is on point and tastes even better 2 days later in the fridge. The portions are huge and easily feeds 2 adults per entree.
So yes, I will fight to have this restaurant stay open and do well, for the selfish reason of delighting in their food. I will drive across the devil mountain to get my fix. El Paso wants food diversity and not another Birria or taco shop? Well here it is, come and support them and be patient. They're new, they're learning, and they're locals trying hard. #supportlocal
Oh in case you may not like the food here because it's authentic and not Americanized like Panda or taste bland like Dumplings and Noodles (which is also toned down food), this is why...It's like saying how come New Mexican Chili doesn't taste like Minnesota Chili. Different regions different foods.
"China is a big country, people in the north, west and areas around Yellow River mainly consume wheat products, eg. noodles, steamed buns or different kinds of pan fried pancakes in their daily diets, while people in the southern part of China or area near to the Yangtze river mainly consume rice (in different ways such as steamed rice, congee, dumplings made of rice flour) in their daily diets.
Chinese food contains roughly 8 different cuisines, Cantonese is just one of them.