The Secret Ingredient Behind an Asian Restaurant’s Success

When customers rave about the flavor and authenticity of the fried rice, chicken stir-fry, beef teriyaki, and other Asian specialties...

When customers rave about the flavor and authenticity of the fried rice, chicken stir-fry, beef teriyaki, and other Asian specialties at the Bytes Café of Bank of America, Charlotte, N.C., Restaurant Associates executive chef Benjamin Cadmus is quick to credit a pair of former Chinese-restaurant operators who were the masterminds behind the “action cooking” station there. The duo, manning gas-fired woks and an automatic rice cooker, produce more than 20 percent of café’s 900-1,000 lunches.

Little does the clientele know, however, that the Chinese chefs, who have their own recipes and Asian-food purveyor connections, exclusively use U.S.-grown long grain rice. They serve the rice plainly steamed or stir-fried with savory additions such as minced glazed pork or teriyaki beef and assorted vegetables and scrambled egg. They also make a meat-free version studded with morsels of peas, carrots and mushrooms.

“You won’t find better Chinese food anywhere,” says Cadmus. “It’s like eating at a first-rate Chinese restaurant that prepares everything before your eyes.”