Dine and Dish: Jimy Wen's Chinese Restaurant

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Jimy Wen's light show is entertaining and delicious.

He plates family favorites inside his northeast Fresno kitchen.

Jimy opened his first eatery in 1995.

"A friend came to my family to eat with us and said you should open a restaurant. That's how it started," he says.

It is a family affair.

Jimy's daughter Hana helps prepare dishes.

His wife Karen makes the wontons and cooks in the kitchen.

When the wontons float, they're ready to be served in a fully loaded bowl.

In the dish - there's bok choy, there's broccoli, there's pork, there's shrimp, and of course, the wontons.

The best-selling dish here is Jimy's lightly floured orange chicken.

"It become famous among all the young kids here. Even city college, Fresno State say it's the best orange chicken in town," says Jimy.

And there's a reason why Jimy calls his place an Asian restaurant.

"Because I'm from Taiwan. Karen is from Malaysia so we mix Thai food, Malaysian food," he explains.

He draws from different cultures but diners love the end result.

"It's the best Chinese food in the Valley and I like Chinese food," says customer Greg Jennings.

The sizzling plate is a showstopper because of the sound and the smell.

Jimy moved his restaurant from Madera to Fresno in 2008. Many customers still make the drive here from Madera.

Jimy's passion to cook is obvious and he enjoying hearing when diners love what he has to offer.

"Oh it makes me happy all day, because they'll tell Karen - 'Tell the chef this is the best dish I ever had'," he says.

Jimy calls it healthy cooking because he uses lots of fresh vegetables -and never frozen.