The scoop: quick Chinese cuisine

Henry Ho and his daughter, Angie, serve customers while :

Ho’s wife, Shirley, works the cash register during lunch.

The scoop: quick Chinese cuisine

March 31, 1992

Shan Li’s Place opens at Northgate

By Chris Julka

BEACON-NEWS STAFF

Aurora

A Chinese restaurant has opened at Northgate shopping center, with hopes of enticing people on the go, people on tight budgets, and people who have never tasted Chinese food. Shan Li's Place offers dine-in and carry-out lunches and dinners for $1 "per scoop" of various dishes. A variety of Chinese dishes are available, including sweet and sour pork, egg foo young, chop suey, lo mein, sesame chicken, egg rolls, crab Rangoon, and egg drop soup. The restaurant is open seven days a week: 11:30a.m to 3:30p.m. and 5 to 9p.m. Saturday; and noon to 8p.m. Sunday.

The restaurant is named after Shirley Ho, who owns and manages the restaurant with her husband, Henry Ho. “Shan Li’ is Shirley Ho's original Chinese name. Henry Ho, 54, came to the United States from Hong Kong in 1969. He has managed and held stakes in six restaurants in Ohio, Virginia, and Illinois. In Illinois, they include Abacus in Chicago, the Charlie Ching in Westmont, and Absolute Chinese in Geneva. The restaurant’s chef is Jie Yin Xie. Henry Ho said Shan Li's emphasis is fast-food. “You don’t have to wait here." he said.

The restaurant caters to those who “don’t have time to cook because they are working mothers or husbands,” said Shirley Ho. Henry Ho said he chose the Northgate location because the “income levels range from very low to very high." The $1-per-scoop price makes the restaurant affordable for everybody, he said. People who have never tasted Chinese food may be more inclined to try it because of the low price, he said.