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Winning Best Place for Asian Cooking Peking Chef, Dallas Shoping Center, staff shows off its cozy, yet elegant dining room. Pictured are: Jessica Liu, consultant, Eric Lee, owner, and master chef, Bin Xie

DALLAS — Eric Lee, owner of Peking Chef in Dallas, was gleaming with joy when he found out that his Chinese restaurant was voted Best Asian Cuisine by the community for the Times Leader’s Reader’s Choice Awards. The Malaysian immigrant turned American citizen and business owner said he couldn’t be more proud of the honors.

“I try to be a good American, not just an American. I try to be a good citizen, not just a citizen. A productive citizen. I’m proud to say over the past 36 years, I was a good citizen, made friends and created jobs and millions of dollars of the tax revenue,” Lee said.

The area business owner migrated to the United States in 1971, as a graduate student at the University of Georgia, studying international communication. An admirer of American values and its lifestyle, Lee desired citizenship in the United States — an endeavor that would naturally require a green card. At that time, one of the fastest ways for an Asian to obtain a green card was to find employment at a Chinese restaurant, Lee said. He eventually relocated to Northeastern Pennsylvania for a job managing a now defunct restaurant and made the region his home.

“I saw there was potential in the Chinese restaurant industry when there was only Ma and Pa restaurants, and none of them spoke English,” Lee said.

While working in the community, he made friends with other restaurant owners in the area who served as his teachers; eventually opening up his own restaurant on Public Square in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

Peking Chef grew in popularity, and by 1985, six establishments were open for business in the area; attracting a large local clientele.

“We have been coming here for 25 years. Every family function. Every birthday,” said Rachel Lapidus of Harvey’s Lake. Her husband, Ken, added that he remembered eating at Peking Chef after their grandson, Jamie, was born. “He’s 17 and 6’5” now. [Lee] watched him grow up,” Ken noted.

Two Peking Chef establishments remain in business: one in Dallas and another in Kingston.

“My children were born in America, but I don’t want them to follow in my footsteps,” Lee said. Son Eric Jr. is a senior computer engineer at Google and daughter Erica is studying at Harvard.

“I tell my children, and I believe this myself, that with hard work and determination, if you focus on the goal, you can be anybody,” Lee said.