photography by Kathy Tran
Jia means “home,” but it also means, “best.” That’s the food and service Jia Modern Chinese strives for.
“I really pray it’s a home to the best food in Dallas,” general manager and sushi chef Fawn Zhao says.
Zhao and head chef Yongtai Chiang have 70 years of combined restaurant experience. Chiang started at 16 in a Taiwan kitchen 50 years ago.
“Everybody knows him,” Zhao says. “He’s a very popular guy. His food is very fancy, American-style Chinese food.”
The restaurant serves a mixture of Chinese and Japanese culture with the addition of a new sushi bar.
Fawn hosts sushi classes where customers pay the cost of food. They can take their new-found sushi knowledge home to create Americanized sushi with teriyaki and fish.
One of the most noticeable characteristics of the restaurant is the elegant, upstairs patio where customers can wet their whistle on hot summer days with drinks like the HongKong mule. This Chinese take on the Moscow mule is served with vodka, shochu, cucumber juice, smoked ginger ale, lime and ginger.
The Old Pal features rye whiskey, 10-year rice wine, Aperol and vermouth.
Customers can pair these drinks with chef specialties like the Dragon and Phoenix, a combination of General Tso’s chicken and shrimp with snow peas.
The Mongolian beef is served with green and white onions with a crispy rice noodle. Another popular item is a shrimp dish with peas, mushrooms and water chestnuts in a creamy lobster sauce.
For vegetarian options, the Chinese Garden feast stands out with yams, black mushrooms, snow peas, celery and lotus root.
Jia Modern Chinese, 8411 Preston Road, No. 132 Monday through Sunday, 4-9 p.m. Jiamodernchinese.com.
