Today we’d like to introduce you to Edmened Mo.
Edmened, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I immigrated in the 80’s from Canton, China with my parents. My father was a doctor and my mother was a teacher. They wanted a better education and opportunities for me and my sister. They moved to Toronto where my father practiced Eastern medicine and I began working in restaurants at the age of 14. I started out bussing tables but also began to learn from prominent chefs in the Toronto and Vancouver area. I started my first restaurant in 1995 in Toronto and have opened seven restaurants in total. Two of the restaurants are in Houston – Regal Seafood and E-Tao located in the Galleria.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As an independent business owner, there was competition from national chain restaurants. We had to offer the best of the best to our customers to grow our business. In the Toronto area, I had been established for 25 years and had a reputation of offering a white tablecloth dining experience. At the time of opening Regal Seafood, there were very few fine dining Asian restaurants in the Southwest. Diners were not familiar with authentic Cantonese cuisine and our style that emphasized presentation. Customers knew Asian dishes with heavy sauces and were not accustomed to our contemporary way of cooking with the freshest ingredients (especially seafood) with light sauces to bring out the flavor. But as our customer became more interested in China, they became more familiar with Hong Kong style fusion cuisine. The popularity of an elevated Asian dining experience grew and we began to grow our menu with more authentic dishes. When coming to Houston, I opened my first restaurant starting from scratch. I hired and trained all new people including the entire cooking staff and front of house. When I opened my second restaurant, I brought my head chef from Toronto, which allowed me to spend more time with all aspects of the restaurant.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Regal Seafood – what should we know?
We are known for our fresh seafood and fine dining experience. Our signature and most popular dish is live King Crab. The King Crab is sourced from the deep Arctic waters of Norway to offer the freshest and highest quality possible that few others can boast.
We offer an authentic Hong Kong Cantonese Fusion style that is a unique combination of Eastern and Western influences. Our dishes are created with the freshest of ingredients. Unlike many restaurants that mostly fry the seafood and drench it in a heavy sauce, our sauces are light and bring out the flavor of the ingredients. We prepare the King Crab in multiple ways that is meant for sharing. The dishes include steamed crab with bean noodle in a wine sauce, crab sautéed with salted egg yolk, an entrée with Maggi sauce as well as crab roe fried rice and crab soup. Other menu favorites includes, traditional Beijing Duck that is prepared to a delicate and golden brown crisp. It is served and sliced tableside by an expert carver. We specialize in making a variety of delectable hand made dim sum. We also offer a large selection of Chinese wines.
A highlight of my professional career was to receive the Immigrant Success Award in 2003 from the Toronto Business Chamber sponsored by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At the time, I had opened four restaurants and was credited for elevating and advancing Asian cuisine.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
This has been a lifetime of passion. There are thousands of recipes that we have prepared and perfected over the years and over one hundred styles that we utilize in our kitchen. We continue to strive in making the dining experience a unique one that represents our philosophy of combining the freshest ingredients with age old traditions and eclectic cooking styles. We focus on outstanding ingredients combined with special Chinese cooking skills that enhances the genuine flavor and never too heavy of a sauce or seasonings.
Our wish is for you to taste the food: Taste life. The more you savor the food, the more enchanted you will be.
Pricing:
- Dinner Special – Monday through Friday – $23.99 for 2 people includes soup of the day, 2 entrees (with a choice from 50 entrees)
Contact Info:
- Address: 12350 Southwest Freeway, Stafford, Texas 77477
- Phone: 281-494-8888
- Email: ‘edmundmo@hotmail.com’
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/regalseafood/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/regal-seafood-house-stafford
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