"The street is pretty, our restaurant looks different from other Chinese restaurants, and it's quiet—not like those very noisy places," says Tri Hong of the lofty eatery he and his brother, chef Chris Hong, bought more than four years ago.

"Lots of Chinese like our environment," he adds, pointing out that while Hong's doesn't serve thousand-year-old eggs, it does serve popular steamed tofu on a lotus leaf, along with sizzling platters of seafood, Mongolian beef, black pepper lamb and all of the chow mein, egg foo yung and fried rice any group could desire.

There are 149 dishes listed in both Chinese and English on the new menu Chris redesigned just a month ago, plus 19 house specialties. New is an appetizer of beef or chicken chunks that diners can braise on skewers over hot coals right at the table ($6.95).

Another new item is General Tsou's chicken, named for the Chinese military leader who loved the dish that was created for him—fowl lightly battered in a spicy sweet-and-sour brown sauce ($8.95). It is also served as half of the House Special Double Delight, with the other half comprising prawns and honeyed walnuts for $16.95.

Another of the house specialties is Peking Double Delight, a pairing of duck dishes put together in two distinct ways. The first way is the traditional Peking Duck—an intricately concocted dish in which air is pumped between a duck's skin and meat. The puffed-up duck is then coated with a honey mixture and hung until the skin is dry and hard. The skin becomes golden and keenly crisp after roasting and is cut into small squares and served with thin pancakes (Peking doilies) or steamed buns. The meat is served after the skin with scallions and hoisin sauce (sweet and spicy and reddish brown). The second way is for the meat to be removed, cooked over again by stir frying in a special sauce and served with fresh lettuce leaves. There's enough for two, and dish costs $28.

"All of the sauces are prepared by Chris," notes Tri, emphasizing that the secret of their preparation is what makes the food unique. "He can control the quality and consistency with them." An interesting dessert to top it all off might be fried bananas glazed in honey with sesame seeds sprinkled on top.

Chris, 30, trained as an apprentice with a master chef who traveled from Canton, China, to work in Los Angeles. Food preparation and restaurants are a family tradition, says Tri, 34, who started in the field "first, because I like good food and second, because we can all help each other out." His brother runs the kitchen while he manages the front of the house, which can accommodate 140 diners a night during the week but can expand to 230 for a wedding banquet. A staff of four other cooks keeps the kitchen humming.

Tri and his wife, Yan Zhao, live in Saratoga with their children, 6-year-old Ingrid, named after actress Ingrid Bergman, and 4-year-old Brendon Tiger, born in the Asian Year of the Tiger.

The Hongs are offering a "reward card" to their customers; for every $15 spent, the card is stamped. Ten stamps earns a free dinner of up to $10.

Hong's Gourmet, located at 14510 Big Basin Way in Saratoga, is open for lunch Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and for dinner Monday through Thursday, 5 to 9:30 p.m., Friday 5 to 10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. For food to go, reservations or banquets, call 408.867.2554 or fax 408.867.5639.