Back to the Beginning

As I am preparing my journey into cooking professionally I started to think what my first true experience with restaurant food was. It was when I was 8 or 9 living in Garland, Texas. We had just moved to Texas and only been in the States for about 5 years. There were only a couple of Vietnamese restaurants in the area and they were sub par to my mother’s cooking so we never went. What I do remember was this Chinese restaurant called Dinh Ho in Irving that served some amazing roasted pork and duck. It was amazing and that once a month trip was highly anticipated.

First Chinese BBQ

Roasted pork and duck are still some of my favorite dishes and I went to First Chinese BBQ in Garland on Jupiter and Walnut recently to see if I could capture that first kiss of restaurant food again. As I entered the restaurant I saw the tell tell sign of a good Chinese BBQ place; hanging meat. I could smell the smoky flavors of roasted duck, roasted pork, and Chinese bbq pork. It was a sight to see. A formidable cook with a wicked cleaver stood behind the display chopping the meat into bite size bits. He was amazing with speed and accuracy. I ordered a pound of the roasted pork and brought it home to my kids who love the stuff. As we ate it with pickled vegetables, rice, and soy sauce I savored not only the food but the connected memories.