Houston Yao Restaurant

One day in the not too distant future, Yao Ming's many Shanghai fans may no longer have to travel all the way to Houston, Texas, to sample the food at a restaurant owned by the NBA star's parents.

Or maybe not.

Yu Di, managing director of the Houston Yao Restaurant, arrives in Shanghai today for talks about a possible Shanghai location for the eatery.

"We'd prefer a downtown location, like the area around the Jing'an Temple," Yu told the Oriental Morning Post. "The proposed restaurant would have a dining area and bar, just like its cousin in Houston."

But whether the deal will come together is anybody's guess at this point.

As Yu admitted, Yao's parents haven't made up their mind about investing in a restaurant back in their hometown. And if they don't participate, the restaurant wouldn't be able to boast the Yao name.

Lu Hao, Yao's agent in China, said he had heard about the plans for a Shanghai restaurant but declined to comment, saying it was a private matter involving Yao's relatives.

The Houston-based Yao Restaurant, opened to great fanfare in February 2005, is co-owned by Yao's parents and a few Chinese businessmen in the food industry, including Yu. The restaurant uses Yao's name for promotion and features many basketball elements - like decorative hoops and super-size chairs and tables.

But some visitors to the Houston restaurant, which touts wonton cooked by Yao's mother and a chance to catch a random glimpse of the Houston Rockets star, were unimpressed.

"It might be a good place for Yao Ming to have a private banquet with his NBA friends, but it is definitely not for real Chinese food buffs, especially those who are Chinese," said a Shanghai journalist who went to Houston last year and tried the "Yao's family dish."

"They labeled it 'American Chinese food.' I don't know how to describe the flavor except that it didn't taste like the delicacies we're used to."

(Shanghai Daily)