Cindy Soon has been working in a restaurant since she arrived from China back in the 1980s. Her brother was already in the United States and he told her to get into the restaurant business if she wanted to always have a job.

For the past six years, she's been working at House of Chan in Smyrna, one of the most popular and noted Chinese restaurants in the area.

She's seen copies of Zagat Survey and other publications that name House of Chan as one of the best Chinese restaurants in the country. Soon said one of the differences she sees at the restaurant is evident in some of her favorite dishes —- General Tso's chicken, Kulu Chicken, Black Pepper Shrimp —- that fresh ingredients and not a lot of breading make a difference.

She doesn't cook much at home because, as a manager, she's at the restaurant every day of the week, serving the food she loves to eat —- and talk about.

> Different Chinese dishes have their own sauce. What's the key to a good sauce? What do you have to have to make it happen? Ginger and garlic are very important. Or sesame oil. It takes off the smell of the meat. You can tell the difference if you cook without the sesame. For Americans, it's olive oil. For Chinese, it's sesame oil.

> In the United States, certain foods are eaten during specific meals, like grits and eggs for breakfast in the South. What's a common Chinese breakfast? In China, it's different than in America. Here they drink coffee or have special bread or foods. In China, we eat rice and noodle soup for breakfast if we want. We still eat whatever we would want any other time of the day. Sooner or later it goes to your stomach, right? Some people have just this for appetizers, this for soups and this for main courses during a meal. What's the point? It goes to your stomach, right? Five plus five is still 10, no matter what time of day. If you're hungry, you just grab what you want.

> What's an ingredient that you think you must have for authentic Chinese food? Shallots and garlic. You fry them until they're golden brown to give you the flavor. They make whatever you're making taste better.

> I've noticed that very few Chinese people are overweight. What's your take on that? We never gain weight. The secret is to eat more vegetables and use vegetable oil. Never use butter or cheese. Another is tea. The first thing customers are served at our restaurant is a pot of hot tea. Eat your meal, then have your hot tea to cut the grease. It doesn't matter what kind of tea. Chinese people drink tea with every meal. From morning to night. Never serve soda. Soda has too much sugar.

> As someone who enjoys different types of food, do you have a favorite? Because I'm from Malaysia, my favorite is curry. Curry powder and coconut, too. You can put it on different types of meat. It's spicy, too. Has a kick to it. I like it because I grew up young eating it. My mom used to feed us curry when we were very young.

IF YOU GO

House of Chan, 2469 Cobb Parkway, Smyrna. 770-955-9444.

Hours: Noon-10 p.m. Sundays; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 5-10:30 p.m. Fridays; 5-11 p.m. Saturdays.

www.geocities.com/houseofchancobb/.