Yen Ching offers Chinese cuisine in Ozark

Ozark's Yen Ching looks like an ordinary restaurant from the outside. But inside, owners Simon and Una Chao have meshed historic China with a modern look for a unique dining atmosphere.

The Chaos opened the new restaurant July 15 at 5301 W. Town Center Dr., near the Highway 65 and CC intersection in Ozark. They had previously branded the Yen Ching name in the Battlefield Mall, serving hungry shoppers for more than eight years.

The restaurant was a fixture in the corner of the food court since 1992, but in Dec. 2000 the Chaos were asked to leave.

"We had a good business there, but they wanted to give (the space) to a franchise Chi-nese restaurant." Una Chao said of the move. "They have a right to pick who leases (from them)."

Yen Ching has come a long way since then. The new, 3,000-square-foot space is a far cry from the small kitchen in the mall, and it has given the Chaos freedom to decorate to their liking.

Chao has used her interior design de-gree and modern taste to achieve a definitive look.

"I picked out the colors and designed it," she said, while her husband made some of the lights and other fixtures by hand. Chao said she stayed away from the old "China red" to brighten the dining room and instead used yellow and peach tones.

"I like the happy colors ... the modern look of a Chinese restaurant," she added. The restaurant also features many Chinese artifacts and decorations, in-cluding dragons, masks, bamboo, artwork and a large gong. An acid-stained, custom-designed concrete floor was installed by Stone Craft, a Springfield company that provides decorative concrete. The company worked Yen Ching's logo a Chinese mask into the flooring and also created a marble countertop for the restaurant.

"A lot of people are surprised from the outside they think it's just a casual to-go restaurant, and then they come in and say, wow.' They like it," she added.

When the couple began leasing the space in the Fremont Towne Centre, which was constructed by Howard Bailey Co. and is leased by Tom Rankin, it was a bare concrete floor. She said it took 4 1/2 months to complete the renovations.

During their six-month break before opening from December to July the couple toured several Chinese restaurants in big cities for design and menu ideas. Among the stops were Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and parts of Florida.

They returned with a few new menu items, including kung pao pasta and a dish called "Treasures from the Sea," which is stir-fried shrimp and scallops served with vegetables and a white wine sauce.

"Our menu is a little bit different than other Chinese restaurants around here," Chao said.

One specialty is her own creation, spicy cashew chicken.

"They have cashew chicken everywhere, but people kept wanting to try it spicy," Chao said. "So I made it, and it's very popular here."

She said they relocated in Ozark because of its limited market in Chinese restaurants. Chao said there are only two or three others in Ozark and Nixa that they compete with.

"There are no Chinese restaurants on this road," Chao said. "We just had a good feeling about this location."

The couple also liked the idea of the 65 Marketplace shopping center opening up across the highway, which should attract more traffic and visitors.

Thus far, visitors are coming in for lunch making it the busiest time of day and from Fremont Hills, Chao said. She added that about 30 percent of Yen Ching's business has been from residents of the nearby community, mainly in carry-out orders.

"When they (try it) one time, they keep coming back," she said.