ABOUT US
In 1969, Chi Hsing opened the doors to the first Eastern Paradise Restaurant (東仙閣) in Seoul, South Korea. It began with his passion to share the timeless, quality food from his childhood. Born from the love and care of generations of women in his family, the menu was carefully developed to highlight classic, traditional dishes made from only the most authentic and fresh ingredients available. Now, for over 35 years, the Northern Chinese Cuisine menu so popular around the world has been graciously serving the Honolulu, HI community. Chi Hsing's two sons continue the family legacy, now generations deep. The focus remains on a comfortable, family environment, with high standards of both quality and service.
PROFILES
Chi Hsing Lee
Born into a Chinese family living in South Korea, he has always appreciated the blending and adaption of different cultures – a concept he finds perfectly illustrated within the islands of Hawaii. Food was always the best way for him to share his culture and family history with those around him. Thru hard work and dedication, he was fortunate enough to have opened the doors to his dream - Eastern Paradise Restaurant back in 1978. Chi Hsing continues to be extremely passionate about the family restaurant. Still very active, although over 80 years old, you can find him there every single day. This includes Mondays, the one day a week the restaurant is closed to the public, he is there tirelessly cleaning and prepping.
Born into a Chinese family living in South Korea, he has always appreciated the blending and adaption of different cultures – a concept he finds perfectly illustrated within the islands of Hawaii. Food was always the best way for him to share his culture and family history with those around him. Thru hard work and dedication, he was fortunate enough to have opened the doors to his dream - Eastern Paradise Restaurant back in 1978. Chi Hsing continues to be extremely passionate about the family restaurant. Still very active, although over 80 years old, you can find him there every single day. This includes Mondays, the one day a week the restaurant is closed to the public, he is there tirelessly cleaning and prepping.
Steve Lee
A friendly familiar face to many of our regular customers, Steve manages the dining room of Eastern Paradise Restaurant. With an extensive background in both business and customer service, Steve is responsible for the business side of the operations. His impressive language skills help when serving our diverse customer base. Steve is fluent in four languages – English, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
A friendly familiar face to many of our regular customers, Steve manages the dining room of Eastern Paradise Restaurant. With an extensive background in both business and customer service, Steve is responsible for the business side of the operations. His impressive language skills help when serving our diverse customer base. Steve is fluent in four languages – English, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Chih-Kuo Lee
Studying under the tutelage of his father, Chih-Kuo has mastered the art of Northern Chinese cuisine – balancing the perfect mixture of tastes in each dish. With a natural talent for cooking, Chih-Kuo has perfected many of the traditional dishes and added many new items to the menu over the years. He has a diligent focus on quality ingredients. In fact, you will find him daily at local produce and meat markets personally hand-picking only the best fresh vegetables and cuts for the day.
Studying under the tutelage of his father, Chih-Kuo has mastered the art of Northern Chinese cuisine – balancing the perfect mixture of tastes in each dish. With a natural talent for cooking, Chih-Kuo has perfected many of the traditional dishes and added many new items to the menu over the years. He has a diligent focus on quality ingredients. In fact, you will find him daily at local produce and meat markets personally hand-picking only the best fresh vegetables and cuts for the day.
THE FULL STORY
This is a story of generations of a family of strong-willed Chinese immigrants who rose from heartbreaking and devastating loss of home and country to find their true calling in the hospitality and aloha spirit of the Hawaiian Islands. It is a story about a family who not only survived, but also successfully re-established their new lives in a foreign country and in doing so found within themselves a lifelong commitment to culture and a true passion for tradition.
In 1969, as South Korea began to flourish after the Korean War, Chi Hsing opened the doors to the first Eastern Paradise Restaurant (東仙閣) in the heart of Seoul. It all began with his vision to share the timeless, quality food from his childhood with the people of his community. Chinese by decent, Chi Hsing and his family was forced to flee their homeland due to war. Along with thousands of others, they found sanctuary in South Korea. Growing up there, Chi Hsing learned and adapted to intermix his Chinese culture with that of the Korean people. His one hope was to share the home-style recipes of his family with his newfound countrymen. Using recipes embedded deep within the generations of Lee women, Chi Hsing celebrated his history by introducing authentic Northern Chinese cuisine within his neighborhood.
Although the restaurant found great success in Seoul, as the youngest of his four children entered middle school, the promise of unparalleled opportunity in the United States for his children began to tug at his paternal instincts. It was in 1975 that Chi Hsing made the difficult decision to close his dream restaurant in Seoul and move his young family to the United States. After months alone in the United States, Chi Hsing was finally ready to send for the rest of his family. They eventually settled in Honolulu, HI, lured by the Aloha Spirit they had heard so much about. Unfortunately, unlike the stories of grandeur and accomplishment, when the Lee family arrived in the United States, reality illustrated a completely different story. It seemed they had lost everything. Although within the beauty of paradise, the family was poor in that they were without any money and physical belongings. All they had was each other, the secret recipes that Chi Hsing had treasured since his childhood, and the will to triumph.
Once a prominent self-made businessman, Chi Hsing was now reduced to a dishwasher in a local restaurant, saving each penny he earned to one day revisit his dream of restaurant ownership. With the help of his wife and his children, in 1978 he was fortunate enough to reopen the doors of Eastern Paradise. Originally, the restaurant was only half of the size as it is known today. With the same focus on quality ingredients and tried-and-true recipes, the Lee family was able to find success in the welcoming arms of the Honolulu community.
Focusing on good family style and home cooked food, made of only the freshest ingredients, the people of Hawaii supported Eastern Paradise and helped define its success. Understanding that the essence and true passion behind his restaurant could only be carried thru his own family, Chi Hsing passed down his secrets to his two sons – Steve and Chih-Kuo. Steve was entrusted to manage the business side of the business while Chih-Kuo excelled at cooking.
The restaurant is very proud and honored to have served the Honolulu community and now welcomed visitors for over 37 years. Chi Hsing, still active in the kitchen is now a robust 89 years old. He continues to marvel that his once 10-seat diner has blossomed into a burgeoning food and hospitality business. The second generation, Steve and Chih-Kuo are excited and honored to take this family legacy to the next step, continuing to share their heritage, culture, and traditions through food.
In 1969, as South Korea began to flourish after the Korean War, Chi Hsing opened the doors to the first Eastern Paradise Restaurant (東仙閣) in the heart of Seoul. It all began with his vision to share the timeless, quality food from his childhood with the people of his community. Chinese by decent, Chi Hsing and his family was forced to flee their homeland due to war. Along with thousands of others, they found sanctuary in South Korea. Growing up there, Chi Hsing learned and adapted to intermix his Chinese culture with that of the Korean people. His one hope was to share the home-style recipes of his family with his newfound countrymen. Using recipes embedded deep within the generations of Lee women, Chi Hsing celebrated his history by introducing authentic Northern Chinese cuisine within his neighborhood.
Although the restaurant found great success in Seoul, as the youngest of his four children entered middle school, the promise of unparalleled opportunity in the United States for his children began to tug at his paternal instincts. It was in 1975 that Chi Hsing made the difficult decision to close his dream restaurant in Seoul and move his young family to the United States. After months alone in the United States, Chi Hsing was finally ready to send for the rest of his family. They eventually settled in Honolulu, HI, lured by the Aloha Spirit they had heard so much about. Unfortunately, unlike the stories of grandeur and accomplishment, when the Lee family arrived in the United States, reality illustrated a completely different story. It seemed they had lost everything. Although within the beauty of paradise, the family was poor in that they were without any money and physical belongings. All they had was each other, the secret recipes that Chi Hsing had treasured since his childhood, and the will to triumph.
Once a prominent self-made businessman, Chi Hsing was now reduced to a dishwasher in a local restaurant, saving each penny he earned to one day revisit his dream of restaurant ownership. With the help of his wife and his children, in 1978 he was fortunate enough to reopen the doors of Eastern Paradise. Originally, the restaurant was only half of the size as it is known today. With the same focus on quality ingredients and tried-and-true recipes, the Lee family was able to find success in the welcoming arms of the Honolulu community.
Focusing on good family style and home cooked food, made of only the freshest ingredients, the people of Hawaii supported Eastern Paradise and helped define its success. Understanding that the essence and true passion behind his restaurant could only be carried thru his own family, Chi Hsing passed down his secrets to his two sons – Steve and Chih-Kuo. Steve was entrusted to manage the business side of the business while Chih-Kuo excelled at cooking.
The restaurant is very proud and honored to have served the Honolulu community and now welcomed visitors for over 37 years. Chi Hsing, still active in the kitchen is now a robust 89 years old. He continues to marvel that his once 10-seat diner has blossomed into a burgeoning food and hospitality business. The second generation, Steve and Chih-Kuo are excited and honored to take this family legacy to the next step, continuing to share their heritage, culture, and traditions through food.
