Stepping into Jeng Chi, the Taiwanese restaurant located inside Richardson’s Chinatown, was a sad-but-happy moment for me this weekend. It’s great that Jeng Chi is doing so well that it can expand and buy out an old furniture store next door, but the new place has lost a smidgen of its traditional Taiwanese charm. I guess that’s what happens when everything becomes more glossy and modern-looking.
The bakery/cafe area has been expanded, with added tables and chairs. The owner no longer needs to man the cashier station now that he has more employees. One of them told me, as he pointed to the new dining area, “This is what a million dollars looks like.”
The banquet hall isn’t finished yet, but when it is, Jeng Chi will be able to hold 300 people. Wow.
