FOUNDER - JOHNNY HSU

In 1975, four years before I immigrated to the United States, I attended culinary school of different cuisine and cooking. I took an apprenticeship with some of the best chefs in Hong Kong. I came to Denver in 1979 and took a job as a line cook in the coffee shop for the Holiday Inn. Six months later, I cooked for my brother at the Little Shanghai in Evergreen, Colorado.

In 1980, I took over a failing Chinese restaurant in Littleton and partnered with my sisters to found the Jade Garden Chinese on Arapahoe Road. It took no time that the public learned to enjoy the Chinese food that I introduce to them from Hong Kong.

In 1985, I founded the Imperial Chinese Seafood Restaurant. I created a menu with some of the dishes that Denverites hadn't seen before; e.g. steamed whole fish with sauce of different kind, sesame chicken, Hunan beef and stir-fried Dungeness crab with ginger and scallion, etc. It was a hit! The Imperial was named and voted the "Best of Denver" for a consecutive 13 years. We made a great impact in the Chinese restaurant industry. We basically set the standard for the Chinese Restaurants to follow. People copied our popular dishes all the time like sesame chicken, lemon chicken. Today, sesame chicken is a single most popular dish in every Chinese restaurant in Denver.

I understand changing is inevitable. Besides creating new dishes all the time, we always find ways to improve what we have. I can proudly claim that my sesame chicken is still the best in the world. We always use the best quality of fresh meat and vegetables and keep modifying the way we prepare our food to have less oil, sodium, etc.

I believe dining is a total experience. Food, of course, has to be delicious. Service has to be impeccable and the atmosphere has to be warm and cozy. We, at the Imperial, would like to please every customer. In addition to serving the best Chinese food, our waiters and waitress can serve you with great knowledge of food and professionalism. Come in and enjoy the best!"