BELLEVUE, Neb. (KMTV) — This weekend kicked off the Lunar Chinese New Year. This week's Cheap Eats takes us to one of the most popular Chinese restaurants in the Metro.
Golden Bowl has been voted Bellevue's best Chinese restaurant every year since it opened. As 3 News Now Anchor Serese Cole reports, while it's not unusual for a restaurant to have a secret sauce, the key to this restaurant's success isn't the sauce — it's the man who makes it.
For eight years, Golden Bowl has been serving authentic Asian food in Bellevue.
In that time, there have been two constants for customers — one is owner John Stevens.
"They say, 'this is really good' and give me a strange look. I understood it — me not being Asian — I get it," Stevens smiled.
"What makes your food so good?" asked Serese.
"Michael," said Stevens.
The second constant is co-owner and chef, Michael Liu, the heart of the place.
He's been cooking up Asian cuisine for 40 years.
"I was going to his restaurant when I was really little before I even met him and loved the food, and then I met his son and was like, 'oh, we're going to be friends'," Stevens laughed.
Liu is the original owner of House of Hunan on 132nd and Center.
"We actually have a lot of loyal House of Hunan customers that come from West Omaha," Stevens shared.
He also owned Hunan Express, which later became Three Happiness and China Buffet.
The list of places he's run goes on and on.
"He's had a lot of people that own restaurants now that worked under him. He trained them," Stevens added.
Liu is more than happy to show off what he does best — beginning with his Peanut Butter Chicken. From garlic and green onions, the sauce is loaded with ingredients. Once he adds the chicken, it's stirred up, tossed up, then plated up.
His Black Pepper Beef comes with bell peppers, onions and mushrooms.
There are more than 90 dishes on the menu. Liu created every single recipe.
And he's fast.
The General Tso's Chicken is another popular choice. The veggies come with a little kick.
"So how good is this chicken?" asked Serese.
"Excellent, a customer favorite. My favorite, too," said Liu.
The surprise on the menu is his wings. You have two options — regular or spicy chicken.
Each order comes with six jumbo-sized pieces.
"What makes your wings so good?" asked Serese.
"We marinate (them) and use a cooking wine. We use a sake," said Liu.
The chicken gets its flavor and spice from the dry chili peppers.
Turns out Stevens and Liu make quite the combination.
And at 70 years young, Liu has no plans to stop.
"I like cooking, I like working, keep moving," he said with a smile.
Golden Bowl is at 511 Fort Crook Road. It's open Tuesday through Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 9 p.m. and they deliver.
Here are the prices of the dishes in this story:
Spicy Chicken Wings: $9.45
General Tso's Chicken: $10.25 / $13.00
Peanut Butter Chicken: $10.25 / $13.00
Black Pepper Beef: $11.00 / $14.25
The entrées come with fried rice and two crab rangoon. You can get a single or family order. To see the full menu go to goldenbowl.us.
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