Chinese restaurant[/caption]Carol Forsloff---Vernonia, Oregon is one of those small town areas that beckon folks weary from the workaday world, traffic, congestion and impersonal lifestyle; and it becomes a haven and home for people from everywhere, including China.
Most major cities have a Chinese restaurant and most often many of them. The Chinese restaurant in an area of a town is almost standard fare in most places. It has, in fact, becomes as American in tradition as the proverbial apple pie. But how many would expect to find one of the best in an off-site area near a town of less than 3,000 people?
The restaurant sits just on the edge of the main area of Vernonia, across a small bridge and tucked near the trees and riverbank so customers can see the natural landscape through the windows where customers can see well the beauty of the area. That natural setting, coupled with the bright colors of the restaurant interior, offer the customer a visual treat.
Sammi Su and her family of husband, children and extended family of relatives, managed to make it to the United States years ago and gradually put together a series of restaurants catering to local personnel. Sammi's family had seen the town and were impressed, deciding it as the place for good business and good living. Vernonia's welcoming spirit and friendly atmosphere made the family feel at home.
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Vernonia downtown[/caption]With the strength of community support, the New Hong Kong Restaurant continues to bring people for meals and also for meetings, entertainment or just tea and chat most hours of the day. And like some Chinese restaurants, this one offers a few Japanese offerings that include sushi pieces. Dinner plates for individuals and families range from $7.95 to $10.95, and the size of the portions are often large and filling enough so that one is never hungry that two hours later folks joke about occurs with Chinese meals.
But it is that smile, charm, of Sammi who mingles comfortably with her guests as she serves the meals that makes the restaurant special, along with a town that says welcome everywhere, including at the local Chinese restaurant, where the ambiance and taste-filled adventures make stranger and resident alike feel right at home.
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Sammi Su, owner-manager of New Hong Kong Restaurant[/caption]
