Dennis Wan, owner of DW Investment Realty in San Jose, who manages the property, said the long lapse in reopening was due in part to insurance paperwork delays on both the property and former restaurant owner's ends.

"You're dealing with two companies, so there's an issue of who pays for what," Wan said. "Also, insurance claims usually take about six months to a year." He added that it also took some time to find someone to take over the business after former owner Lai Fong Tung decided to concentrate on her new eatery, Nature Wok, on Leigh Avenue near Southwest Expressway.

While the remodeling was completed late last year, it was in only January that he found an interested buyer, Wan said.

For Yan, a high-tech engineer-turned restaurateur, owning a Chinese restaurant has been a lifelong dream. He got his first taste of the food business while working as waiter in Taiwan to support himself through college. When he came to the United States in 1979 for his master's degree in science at the University of South Carolina, he worked part-time for two years at another Chinese restaurant. The experiences fired his love for the cuisine.

"I learned a lot about working with the owners, the chefs and interacting with customers and I enjoyed it," Yan said.

He moved to San Jose in 1981 and worked in various high-tech companies as an engineer. In 1987, he left the high-tech industry to start his own import and export business in computers, but he never lost his dream to own restaurant. When Yan learned that the restaurant was for sale in January, he jumped at the opportunity.

"Willow Glen is a prestigious area in San Jose," said Yan, a Fremont resident. "A restaurant in this area has great potential for growth."

Since the restaurant's reopening, Yan, the father of two sons, 20 and 18, has been clocking in 12-hour days to perfect his recipe for success. He also persuaded his good friend of 15 years, Steve Sai, who has more than a decade of experience creating Chinese gourmet dishes, to be head chef.

The duo worked together to create sauces for such specialty dishes as kung pao three fairy tales, a shrimp, beef and scallop dish drenched in Szechuan kung pao sauce and yeng yang chicken, a combination of tangerine and honey-roasted walnut chicken. Yan makes it a point to taste every dish on the menu.

"Finding the right recipe is like building a new product; you have to make sure it works," he said.

In line with the restaurant's name, Yan has recreated the feel of a garden paradise with lush green carpeting, olive-green chairs and pots of Chinese "fortune" bamboo plants and flowers, placed prominently throughout the 45-seat space.

"According to Chinese history, the emperor's garden was a restful retreat for the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing dynasty," Yan said. "I want my customers to feel like they are dining in the midst of a beautiful garden."

As his two chefs cook up a storm in the kitchen, Yan circulates in the restaurant, making sure every customer walks away with the best experience.

"I like to get customers' opinions about the restaurant and the food," he said. "Good communication is important so they will come back."

Yan's hard work has translated into lunchtime and dinnertime crowds. Some of the most popular dishes, such as prawns with walnut honey at $11.95 a plate and yeng yang chicken at $10.95, are winning over palates. Besides the house specialties, the restaurant offers a selection of dishes ranging from beef, chicken, pork, seafood, egg foo yung to vegetarian ones at reasonable prices.

"In the first two weeks, there were some nights I couldn't sleep well," he said. "But I'm very confident now because I devoted a lot of time and effort into the business."

Yan has even recruited his family's help. His wife, an accountant at a high-tech firm, helps him out with accounts and gives tips on the restaurant decor and building strong customer relationships. Son Bradley, 20, a business major at UC-Riverside, doubles as a marketing manager and cashier at the restaurant during his summer holidays.

Yan is also exploring ways of diversifying the business, such as conducting Chinese cooking classes or bottling the restaurant's specialty sauces for sale. For now, he wants to focus on getting to know the Willow Glen residents and building a larger customer base.

"Business turned out better than what I expected, but we can always be busier," Yan said. "I like being busy."

Emperor's Garden, is located at 1181 Lincoln Ave. For more information, call 408.280.7738.