Day 242: Royal China Restaurant, Dallas, Texas
📌APIA Every Day (242) - Royal China, one of Dallas, Texas’s longest-standing Chinese restaurants, was founded in 1974 by Buck Kao, a Taiwanese immigrant and former diplomat. Kao, who moved his family to Dallas from Taipei in 1977, was drawn to the city partly due to his fondness for the Dallas Cowboys. When Kao opened Royal China, it served Americanized Chinese dishes popular at the time, including stir-fries, lo mein, chop suey, and sweet-and-sour pork. These dishes, familiar to American diners, helped establish Royal China as a successful dining spot for both local and visiting patrons.
As the Dallas dining scene evolved, so did Royal China. Over time, the restaurant expanded its menu beyond the Americanized staples to include authentic dishes from several regions of China, such as Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunan, and Beijing-style cuisine. This diversification was in line with broader trends in American Chinese cuisine, where a growing awareness and demand for more authentic flavors began to emerge in the 1980s and 1990s. According to Buck Kao’s son, George, the restaurant's ability to adapt to these changing tastes contributed to its longevity and success in a competitive market.
Today, Royal China is managed by George Kao and his wife, April, who have maintained the family’s original restaurant while adding new elements to appeal to modern diners. One notable addition is the dumpling bar, where patrons can observe the chefs, such as Hwa-Juan Shen from Wuxi, China, make hand-pulled noodles and dumplings from scratch. These items have become some of the restaurant’s most popular offerings, with the team producing up to 1,000 dumplings on particularly busy days. This interactive element adds a distinctive touch, highlighting the restaurant’s emphasis on quality and traditional preparation methods.
Royal China has become a fixture in Dallas’s culinary landscape as the longest-running family-owned Chinese restaurant in the city. This history is part of a broader context: Chinese immigrants have influenced Texas’s dining scene since the 1870s, initially finding work in laundromats and restaurants. With nearly five decades of service, Royal China reflects both the history of Chinese American dining and the Kao family’s commitment to evolving with their community's tastes.
LEARN MORE:
Royal China: Our Story Begins with Buck Kao
D Magazine: A New Exhibit Documents the History of Dallas’ Chinese American Restaurateurs
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