Belizean Culture Has Been Shaping Chon Saan Palace for 50 Years

Chon Saan Palace is celebrating fifty years of service to Belize. The restaurant was founded in 1974 by Armando Chang, the patriarch of the Chang family who migrated to Belize from China in 1961. He worked at Canton Restaurant for a few years before venturing into building the restaurant and brand that is known across the country. So, how has Chon Saan Palace been able to survive this long? Its current owner, Lee Mark Chang says the Belizean culture has shaped the restaurant over the years into what it is today. News Five’s Paul Lopez joined Lee Mark Chang for lunch inside the restaurant. Here is what he found out in today’s installment of Kolcha Tuesday.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

1974 may seem like a long time ago in Belize’s history. It is the first year that the country held general elections after being renamed from British Honduras the year before. It is also the year that one Chinese family opened the doors to a restaurant that is now known across the country. On July fourteenth, Chon Saan Palace celebrated its fiftieth anniversary.

 

Lee Mark Chang, Owner, Chon Saan Palace

“Hard work and determination. Make sure your kitchen serves only the freshest of food, cook to order and make sure your customers are satisfied.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lee Mark Chang, the owner of Chon Saan Palace, took over from his father, Armando Chang, who established their first location on Freetown Road. Prior to that, Armando Chang was employed at Canton Restaurant on New Road where he cooked and bussed tables. In 1991, the family established a new Chon Saan Palace location on Kelly Street. Lee Mark Chang has been at the helm of the business for the last three decades.

 

 

 

 

Lee Mark Chang

“I don’t think my parents ever envision us lasting sixty years. It is a milestone, and they are very happy that I have been able to continue their work. Starting has always been hard. It is always hard for a business and as my father explained previously, getting beers, meat, vegetables, was very hard because of scarcity back in the days.”

 

 

 

 

Today, we sat down with the former President of the Senate for lunch inside his restaurant. The table was set with eight different dishes that the restaurant serves. Chon Saan Palace’s Asian inspired menu is a fusion of the Chang family’s Chinese heritage, and the flavors Belizeans know and love. In essence, Belize’s culinary culture has shaped Chon Saan into the successful restaurant it is today.

 

 

 

 

 

Lee Mark Chang

“I believe it is the Belizean culture that has shaped Chon Saan, because we have adapted their pallet and taste the veggies, what is available in Belize. I would say, ninety-five, maybe ninety-seven percent of our meats and vegetables are locally produced. A good example is the chow mein, you don’t find chow mein anywhere in this world like the Belizean chow mein. For example, the cabbage, carrots and onion in it, it is not common, as far as I know. In the states, the chow mein is made up of bak choy and whatever meats you order. As far I can recall there is no noodles involved in chow mein in the states, as far as I know. Maybe some do have it. We also generate our own style of cooking, like for example the salt and pepper whole fish where we would fillet the entire fish, debone it and fry the entire fish and present it also.”

 

The spread, specially curated for the media, provided a culinary experience that took the pallet through five decades of cooking perfection.

 

Lee Mark Chang

“I think we have the salt and pepper fish, we have the Singapore shrimp. I made a pan-fried tenderloin steak, sweet and sour chicken Chinese style, sweet and sour, jumbo shrimp, mixed vegetables with garlic. I think there is an eight-course meal prepared for you guys today.”

 

 

 

 

Undoubtedly, as Chang admits, the dish that is most popular among his customers is the restaurant’s fried chicken. It is also one of the most affordable items on the menu. The flavor of Chon Saan’s fried chicken distinguishes itself from the rest. Believe it or not, habanero pepper is one of its main ingredients.  A recent spike in the cost of habanero has pushed the restaurant to slightly adjust its prices on certain dishes to maintain standards. Successfully navigating scarcity and inflation has kept this family in business for five decades.

 

 

 

Lee Mark Chang

“We use a lot of habaneros, a lot. We marinade a lot of our fried chicken in habanero. So we have to blend up a lot. So when habanero was three to five dollars a pound and then it went up to five, ten fifteen, and even twenty-five dollars a pound, that is hard. So we have had to raise our price by fifty cents recently so to at least be able to continue with the usage of the same ingredients, same amount, for the fried chicken.”

 

 

 

From one generation to the next, Lee Mark Chang and his son have made a five-year apprentice agreement. When those five years are over, a decision will be taken to pass the business on to a new generation. The promise is to maintain the standard of the brand into the next five decades, in spite of who is at the helm.

 

 

 

 

 

Lee Mark Chang

“We have people who come in for birthdays, anniversary, whatever celebration they are doing. A part from that we have people come in on a daily basis. That is what we work on, we work on the entire package. We don’t only target one individual customer or group of customer. It is an everyday restaurant. You can get the cheapest of food or the most expensive food. It all depends on what you want to eat or what is your budget for the day.”

 

 

 

Paul Lopez

“Are there certain values your family holds that also emanates through the way you do business?”

 

Lee Mark Chang

“Work nuh kill, hard work and determination. That has been beat into my head from a very young age, work nuh kill.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.