It's 5 p.m. on Sunday and you suddenly realize you haven't been to the grocery in a while. What will you do for dinner on a night when almost every restaurant within 40 miles is closed?
It's your great fortune that an excellent restaurant is not only nearby, but is also open. Great Fortune Chinese restaurant, conveniently located in Kilmarnock's Chesapeake Commons Shopping Center, is open seven days a week - a fact which makes many Northern Neck diners very happy indeed.
Fiona Chao and Charlie Li have operated Great Fortune for the last five years, since Fiona's father Peng Chao purchased the restaurant from his brother Mike. They say business is great.
“We are very lucky to have so many regular customers,” Fiona said. “About 90% of our patrons are regulars, and some of them come in at least two times a week,” she added.
And with good reason. Besides great food, Great Fortune provides a wonderful dining atmosphere, and the lounge is a comfortable place to meet friends for a cocktail before or after dinner.
Then there's the food, the main attraction at Great Fortune. The restaurant is famous for its Peking duck, as well as spicy glazed shrimp with honey walnuts, house special pan fried noodles, thousand birds to phoenix, and other delicacies you won't find on the menu at other Chinese restaurants.
“Many of these recipes have been in my family for years,” said Fiona, whose family came to America from the Guangdon area of China, about two hours drive from Hong Kong.
Great Fortune boasts a very extensive menu, with dozens of traditional Chinese dishes featuring poultry, beef, pork, seafood and vegetables. Appetizers range from egg rolls to fried or steamed dumplings and fantail shrimp.
In addition to serving patrons in the spacious and well-appointed dining room, Great Fortune also does a thriving take-out business, providing area families a convenient and affordable way to put a delicious meal on the table at home.
“We also serve luncheon specials each day from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., and they're very reasonably priced, from $4.50 to $6.50,” Fiona said.
Great Fortune is a great place to hold a meeting or special event. The restaurant offers banquet and meeting rooms for various-sized gatherings. For information, call Fiona or Charlie at 435-6333.
