This new Chinese restaurant in Fresno stems from love for food and family business
In a back booth of his parents’ restaurant near the kitchen, Alan Wong as a little child would peel snow pea after snow pea after snow pea.
Or several pounds of shrimp — anything to help his mom and dad before customers arrived.
“My friends would be playing outside; I’m peeling snow peas with my little fingers and jabbing myself with the shrimp spine or tail,” Wong recalled. “Just miserable. I’d be crying the whole time.
“Yeah, those were memories burned in my brain.”
Wong laughs and appreciates those moments these days.
He opened his first restaurant in Fresno a few months back, proudly following in his parents’ footsteps.
Dragon Wok is a fast casual Chinese restaurant that opened in October and offers a variety of tasty dishes, especially its super flavorful Dragon Wok house chow mein .
Dragon Wok’s modern setup , at what once was the original Wassabi restaurant at the southeast corner of First and Herndon avenues, provides a relaxed atmosphere for those wanting to dine inside.
“I wanted to bring some of our flavors from our former locations to Fresno,” Wong said. “It’s the same items served at other Chinese restaurants. But as far as how we present things and our flavors, we’re hoping it separates us from others.”
Based off Yelp reviews, Dragon Wok has pleased many customers early on during the restaurant’s soft opening phase and earned several 5-star reviews (4.8 overall rating through 31 reviews).
“Okay, I’m Chinese/Vietnamese-American,” a Yelp reviewer posted. “I love my Chinese-American mom and pop places. I’m not an “authenticity” snob.
“That being said.... this place tickles all those feelings of growing up and eating at the mom and pop Chinese place. The portions are big, the prices are reasonable and the food is delicious.”
Part of Wong’s cooking style and way of seasoning grew from his parents.
Originally from China, Wong’s parents moved to the United States and went on to own and operate restaurants in smaller Fresno County cities dating back to the 1970s.
There was New China Cafe in Reedley, China Garden in Kingsburg and the China Garden buffet in Selma, which Wong’s parents worked at the longest while the other two places were eventually sold following a shorter period of time.
At China Garden in Selma, Wong took on a larger role with the restaurant and helped foresee various sides of the operation.
And with further education from culinary school in the Bay Area, Wong eventually felt comfortable running his own restaurant and opened China Garden Express in Reedley.
He sold that restaurant after seven years before again working at his parents’ China Garden buffet in Selma. Then that restaurant was sold in 2023 following 35 years.
“My parents actually were like, ‘Why don’t you do something else?’“ Wong said. “They knew what a grind it was and didn’t want me to do the same thing.
“But I grew up around this my whole life. I love to cook. It’s not something you should do as a career if you don’t love it. But I love it.”
Dragon Wok is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This story was originally published January 10, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "This new Chinese restaurant in Fresno stems from love for food and family business."