By Devin BeliveauStaff Reporter
WELLS –
East may be a relatively new local Chinese restaurant, but it has already garnered national recognition. This visually stunning Wells restaurant, which opened in June, recently received notice that it ranked among the 100 best Chinese restaurants in the US according to Chinese Restaurant News (CRN). CRN, based out of San Francisco, distributes its monthly magazine to over 43,000 restaurants, and September’s cover featured East’s proud owner Ri Teng Li standing in front of his business.
“I am very excited,” commented Li. “We are the first Chinese restaurant in Maine history to win this honor. Usually it’s only the restaurants in California and New York and places with large Chinatowns.”
CRN sends undercover diners to its subscriber restaurants to secretly evaluate the restaurant in 8 categories: décor and atmosphere, exterior, interior, cleanliness, sanitation, service, food, and server. East received a perfect score in every category, earning a 100% rating in the comprehensive 172-point undercover evaluation.
Asked about CRN’s evaluation process, Mr. Li said, “the food quality is very important, and I think they were particularly impressed with the décor.”
In addition to gracing the cover of CRN’s magazine and receiving a framed award to display in his restaurant, Mr. Li has been invited to CRN’s convention in Las Vegas, Nevada in January, where he will find out exactly which number ranking East received within the top 100 Chinese restaurants.
More information is available at CRN’s website: www.top100chineserestaurants.com.
Caption: The proud owner of East Restaurant, Ri Teng Li, standing in front of his business. (Weekly Sentinel photo)
