Farewell to Eastern Paradise—It’s Closing After Nearly 50 Years on King Street
You have until Sunday, Dec. 29, to get your last bowl of jjajangmyeon and say goodbye.
It’s true. Eastern Paradise is closing after nearly 50 years.
I’ve been eating there all my life—arguably even before then since my mom slurped down its jjajangmyeon while pregnant with me. We had family gatherings in the Chinese restaurant at least once a year when I was growing up, filling all the seats of the biggest round table, the lazy Susan slow to spin when laden with our favorite dishes.
Photo: Andrea Lee
Now I’m 30, and my cousins, most of my mom’s sisters and even my mom have all moved off island. When they come back to visit, we go to Eastern Paradise, and it’s like we’ve gone back in time. We’re greeted by Steve Lee (no relation to me), sit at the same tables and order the same things every time.
The History of Eastern Paradise
Steve and his younger brother Chih-Kuo have managed the restaurant for decades now. They took over from their parents, who moved the family from South Korea and opened Eastern Paradise on South King Street on Oct. 1, 1977. Steve handles the front of house, while Chih-Kuo does all the cooking, and the family helps out too, including their 94-year-old father, Chi Hsing.
Chih-Kuo, left, and Steve Lee in front of the original Eastern Paradise restaurant in Seoul, South Korea, in 1974, right before the family moved to the U.S. Photo: Courtesy of Eastern Paradise
They pride themselves on their made-to-order recipes, but that means not much can be prepared in advance. It’s a lot of work for one family. And given how hard it is to hire restaurant staff nowadays, closing finally became inevitable.
Steve Lee at the Eastern Paradise counter in 1982, after the restaurant expanded, doubling to its current size. Photo: Courtesy of Eastern Paradise
“It’s kind of sad,” says Steve Lee, “but my kids are all grown up. I didn’t want them to be in the restaurant business since you don’t really have a life.” The last time he and his wife traveled together was when their children graduated from college. Now, he’s looking forward to traveling and spending more time with his grandkids.
Unfortunately, the recipes will go with them. “It’s hard to pass down,” says Steve, “because it’s all by [Chih-Kuo’s] touch. He knows how to get the right taste after cooking for over 30 years.”
In the kitchen, I see what Steve means. Chih-Kuo scoops salt and other seasonings with his ladle and handles the wok with practiced movements. On his upcoming retirement, “It’s time,” says Chih-Kuo. Since the pandemic, he’s been working more than 12 hours a day and cooking everything himself, and he’s not getting any younger.
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My Family’s Favorite Dishes
As a Chinese family from South Korea, the Lees make Chinese cuisine with Korean influences that my mom’s side of the family, also from South Korea, can’t get enough of. You might think, having eaten at Eastern Paradise for decades, that we’d have tried the whole menu. But in fact, we have ordered the same four dishes every single time: jjajangmyeon, tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), boiled dumplings and hot and sour soup. (Since it was just me eating for this story, I only ordered the first three.)
Photo: Andrea Lee
It is the family meal to me, and it is delicious. The original jjajangmyeon comes with small chunks of beef and little shrimps, soft onions and cucumber sliced thin. Mixed well, the thick and bouncy noodles soak up the dark sauce, savory with a hint of sweet. Watch out for your clothes when you slurp.
Photo: Andrea Lee
My aunty likes to order beef tangsuyuk, but Steve says the pork is better. I enjoy both. Either way, the tangsuyuk is crispy, sweet and tangy. It’s best to eat this while it’s hot and fresh since the crunchy coating gets soggy in the sauce over time. Some people in my family like to mix the tangsuyuk sauce with their jjajangmyeon.
Photo: Andrea Lee
The boiled dumplings look simple, but they’re quintessential to me: pork, chives and Chinese cabbage folded up in a wrapper thin enough to be translucent when cooked. Dip them in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar. Each dumpling is the perfect size to pop in my mouth and has a gentle, comforting taste. Steve tells me it’s their mom’s recipe that they never managed to recreate perfectly.
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Maybe one day, if any of us kids have kids of our own, we can show them this post about the restaurant our family had so many memorable meals at. The restaurant where I’d insist on having my own bowl of jjajangmyeon even when my mom disapproved, thinking it was too much for a girl to eat. Where my younger cousin Ricky once inhaled five orders of dumplings by himself when he was just a kid.
Photo: Andrea Lee
The restaurant’s last day of business is Sunday, Dec. 29. From me and my family—and countless others who left with full bellies and the last lingering tastes of your signature black bean sauce—thank you, Eastern Paradise. You will be missed and remembered fondly.
Photo: Andrea Lee
If you’re planning on having a final meal there, it’s best to call and make a reservation; slots are filling up as news of the upcoming closure spreads. Free parking is available in the back of the building (enter on South King Street) all day.
Open Tuesday through Sunday (including Christmas) 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., closed Monday, last day of business Sunday, Dec. 29, 1403 S. King St., (808) 941-5858, easternparadiserestaurant.com, @easternparadise
