Photograph by George Sakkestad
Carol Wei serves a platter of General's Chicken at the Pot Sticker restaurant.
Pot Sticker serves namesake
as well as other Chinese food
By Suzanne Cristallo
The Romans made ravioli famous. The Chinese universalized the pot sticker. Both of the morsels are revered for their savory stuffing and chewy texture, and both have become familiar to people from opposite ends of the cultural-spectrum--one being reminiscent of the other. In a way, that's how East meets West.
At the Pot Sticker of Saratoga, Hector Chen promotes the tidbit in his family-style restaurant and his other Pot Sticker in Cupertino, with chef Vincent Wei. Meanwhile, Chen and wife Sandy have become big fans of Italian pasta, which they are learning more about while cooking their family meals. "I may even try incorporating pasta into the restaurant menu," he says with a smile.
Pot stickers are the first item on Chen's menu. A filling of cabbage, minced pork, ginger, scallions and spices is sealed in folded dough with the press of a fork, then pan-fried until lightly browned. Wontons--those crispy cousins of the pot sticker, steamed dumplings stuffed with meat or vegetables, and green onion pancakes are among a dozen other appetizers the restaurant offers.
Wei prepares traditionally Chinese fare including some 60 items of soup, vegetables and tofu, poultry, seafood and beef. "We get the best quality asparagus, green beans and shiitake mushrooms fresh each day from Imahara Produce," notes Chen, who says he is experimenting more and more with fresh ingredients on the menu.
The small restaurant on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road near Prospect seats 45 customers. "Ninety percent of our lunch trade is Caucasian during the week," Chen says, "but on weekends, our trade is 50 percent Asian." He attributes the surge in Asian trade to the special Taiwanese menu he offers then. "Our customers come from all over," he says. "They've even found out about us by word-of-mouth from out of state."
Wei, 32, and Chen, 45, are natives of Taiwan. Chen came to the United States eight years ago to study law in a graduate program at the University of Pennsylvania. His bachelor's degree from a university in Taiwan was in pre-law.
"But I found my English was not good enough [to continue studies here], so I quit," he says. He subsequently learned English by reading newspapers, listening to the radio and through his work. It was through working in restaurants during school that he also learned where his true interests lay.
Chen's wife Sandy came here a year ahead of Chen, who was then her fiancé, to study on scholarship for a master's degree at San Jose State University. In 1991, they returned as a couple to settle with their children in San Jose. Two years later, Chen and Wei hooked up as partners in the Cupertino branch of Pot Sticker, and in October of last year, opened the Saratoga restaurant. Sandy chose work as a loan processor for a mortgage company. "She won't work with me," Chen says with a grin. "She says it's to keep a better relationship."
Restaurant life is a good one. "I get good responses from customers; I've made friends here," says Chen, who remembers easily his customers' names and menu preferences.
Pot Sticker of Saratoga, 12172 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road., Saratoga. Open for lunch Mon.-Thurs., 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., dinner 4:30-9:30 p.m. Fri., Sat. and Sun., 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. 253-2232.
Saratoga, California Since 1975
