THE BEST OF EVERYTHING
Not Your Bubble's Chinese Restaurant
Hong Hua adds creative gourmet innovations to the traditional fare.
C
hinese restaurants are rarely
to do business with a count
placed in the gourmet realm of
of about a thousand custom-
dining ... Big among the rea-
ers each week ... Not bad ...
sons is because traditional dishes are so
However, today, four thousand
many times a must for the consideration
people weekly is considered nor-
of it being a good Chinese destination
mal for its three rooms totaling
spot.
150 seats plus 15 stools at the
Hong Hua on Orchard Lake Road, a
bar set between them ... Lunch
half-block north of 12 Mile, Farmington
or dinner is served seven-days-
Hills, is celebrating its ninth anniversary
a-week ... Monday-Thursday,
with both the traditional offerings and dif- 11-10:30; Friday and Saturday,
ficult to obtain or not available anywhere
11-12 midnight; Sunday 12-12
else items ... This feature has brought it a midnight.
high recognition as one of the few Chinese
Smart restaurateurs know better than
restaurants with a gourmet status.
to rest on their laurels ... Those like Hong
Some long established authentic dishes
Hua who receive award-winning accolades,
are available, like General Tso's chicken
are constantly upgrading items on their
or various styles of rice and noodles, but
menus with consistency to satisfy the diver-
in the main, innovative selections by its
sified wants of their customers.
chef and co-owner, Peter Chan, make up
Since opening, Hong Hua has placed
Hong Hua's very satisfying culinary results extreme emphasis on healthful cuisine ...
... Whole miniature pumpkin shell filled
Peter's cooking talent is a primary reason
with shrimps, scallops or chicken, with
why so many of his health-conscious
curry or black bean sauce; healthy ginseng preparations have met with such favorable
soup steamed with chicken for five hours
acceptance by those ever so conscious of
that must be ordered a day before; excel-
their hale and hearty diets.
lent Cantonese lobster with soft or crispy
At a table next to our booth during a
noodles; barbecued beef short ribs; scal-
recent visit, out-of-town people had obvi-
lops with shell steamed together with suc- ously been taken to Hong Hua and were
culent rice noodles.
very pleasantly shocked at it being much
Superb appetizers, too, befitting Hong
more than just another Chinese restaurant.
Hua's epicurean status ... Crab meat with
In its nine-year existence, Hong Hua
garlic sauce in an oyster shell ... Sauteed
has held most of the cards for pleasur-
scallops in a light soy sauce, etc.
able gourmet-style Chinese cuisine
When Hong Hua opened in 2000, it was
... Enjoying a reputable standard is
without a liquor license which was finally
important in the continuance of dining
received a year later ... Today, among the
value received ... This Hong Hua truly
various cocktail and beer selections, more
embraces.
than 50 different wines are featured, most
SHORT ON AGE but long on experience
available in both bottles and glass.
are the new owners of Giorgio's Gourmet
In that first year, Hong Hua continued
Diner, Sugar Tree Plaza, Orchard Lake
Road, West Bloomfield ...
The youthful 30-year-old
each engaged couple, Dina
Kalis and Paul Demaz, are
no strangers to the restau-
rant business ... They also
own a deli in Hazel Park,
but will devote their entire
time and efforts to continu-
ous on-the-spot efforts at
their new endeavor ... Dina's
mom and dad own Theo's
on Hoover in Warren, where she operated
the restaurant for them and worked as a
waitress and prep cook ... Paul was a cook
back in Florence, Italy, and here at Sero's
and Dimitri's, both in East Detroit ... Plus
altering the menu, Dina and Paul will also
change the restaurant's name.
THE PRESENT whereabouts of a most
popular gent comes with discovery that
Angelo Georgizas, former manager at Zoe's
Pancake House, West Bloomfield, is back
in action ... With his absence from Zoe's,
some people feared the likable host might
be ill ... But, in reality Angelo has only
moved on to become manager of George's
Senate Coney Island, 11 Mile and Pontiac
Trail, South Lyon ... George's in South
Lyon is owned by Gus Dimopoulos, who
bought the restaurant from brother George
Dimopoulos, owner of the Senate Coney
Island chain.
GAMING WITHOUT spending a
dime? ... Craps, blackjack, roulette, slot
machines, etc? ... Sure, and even under-
age guys and gals who ordinarily aren't
allowed on a gaming floor.
For that matter, when entering, one
would almost think he or she were going
into a miniature Las Vegas try your
luck area ... Also a couple of machines
where you steer the car on a screen, just
like those at Marvin Yagoda's Marvelous
Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills.
The black-tie festivities were in the
foyer of Ben's Cafe Royale, outside Temple
Israel's Handleman Hall where Benjamin
Weinstock, the new-man son of Suzy and
Paul Weinstock, had his recent bar mitz-
vah reception ... Handleman Hall itself
was decked out by Suzy and Paul in a lush
array of balloons and interesting gaming
decor touches.
Almost 250, including about 80 young
guys and gals, had a good time ... Plenty
of alcoholic drinks for all except the young
folks (plenty of soft stuff for them), with
one lassie happily showing age proof and
thanking the bartender for the compli-
ment ... A generous variety of passed
hors d'oeuvres in the foyer was followed
by a well-organized candlelight ceremony
that preceded a fine dinner, sumptuously
lavish sweet table and dancing.
CONGRATS ... To Lainie Klein on her
birthday ... To Maurice "Bud" and Murt
Sherbow on their 66th anniversary ... To
Nathan and Ethel Fine on their 54th anni-
versary ... To Jerry and Marge Robbins
on their 60th anniversary ... TO David
and Sheri Jaffa on their 40th anniversary
... To Newton and Selma Freedman on
their 66th anniversary ... To Howard and
Debbie Rabotnick on their 25th anniver-
sary ... (Corrections ... To Howard and
Susan Levin on their 45th anniversary
... To Robert and Shelly Landaw on their
16th anniversary). H
Danny's e-mail address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net .
201 S Old Woodward Avenue • Birmingham MI 48009
248.594.7300 • vvww.forterestaurantcom
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July 2 • 2009
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