Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Wenna (left) and Hua-pin Chang offer eggplant in garlic sauce as one of many fresh, but fast, menu items.

Shangri-La serves fresh food for hurried people

By Suzanne Cristallo

In 1976, Hua-pin and Wenna Chang with two young children and other family members left their home in Taiwan, where Hua-pin had served many years in the Taiwanese army, to travel to South San Francisco.

An "auntie" who had come to the United States 30 years before had an established restaurant there, and jobs were waiting for them.

For three years, they worked for their auntie and then, with help from Wenna's father, they branched out on their own by opening a restaurant they called the New Peking in Cupertino.

The new restaurant was a proper dining room, with family members helping to serve the seated customers and cook in the kitchen. Over the years, the Changs noticed how customers grew more hurried and life in general accelerated.

A year or so ago, when the Changs attended a Chinese social event, Hua-pin was surprised to see a friend from his army days in Taiwan. The men brought together their families, and their association has resulted in the partnership of the Changs, both 46, with Mimi Chu, 38, the daughter of Hua-pin's army buddy, in a Los Gatos restaurant they have named Shangri-La.

Shangri-La, with its staff of 18 bustling in the open kitchen, is designed to serve all fresh food to go, five minutes after the order. It is the Changs' and Chu's solution for a hurried world.

While Hua-pin serves as the lead chef, Wenna Chang and Mimi Chu relieve each other at the counter for family and children's after-school obligations during the 10 hours they are open every day, and for the one day off a week each one takes.

Meanwhile, the Cupertino restaurant is being managed by Wenna Chang's sister.

Should a customer prefer a slower pace and a moment to enjoy a sunny day or balmy evening, a large glass atrium spans the seating area of the restaurant, allowing filtered sunlight in. Just outside is a garden area for customers who might prefer an umbrella over their chicken in plum sauce or sizzling rice prawns.

Prices range from $4.50 to $12.95 for over 100 dishes served on the spot or packed nicely in a box. The chicken salad with Hua-pin's secret sauce is a house specialty and a bestseller.

Shangri-La Chinese Food To Go, 798-13 Blossom Hill Road, in the King's Court Shopping Center, Los Gatos. Open daily: lunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., dinner, 4-9 p.m. 358-6520.