http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/communities/livingston_tangipahoa/article_7e587fc6-460e-11e7-82cf-1bde0bec3dd3.html
I still can't imagine Hammond without Trey Yuen. I have not even passed by the location since and I am not sure how I would react to the vacant spot. You see I grew up with Trey Yuen and it was a major part of my life for the past 40 years. My earliest memories are going to the China Inn location with friends in the late 70's and early 80's. I also remember my excitement when they built their new building and called it Trey Yuen. I'm not sure when they started doing their lunch menu on Monday nights, but you can't be from the Hammond area and not know about that. Both the restaurant and take-out were slammed with business every Monday. To me, Mondays were Trey Yuen night - only a true foodie would understand. :) Countless outings and take-out were done on a Monday night. I remember family game nights on Mondays where we ordered take-out from Trey Yuen. I will also never forget when they added the Wardline Road exit off of the Interstate 55. I called it the Trey Yuen exit. It gave us a straight shot to the restaurant. I could get from my house to Trey Yuen in 10 minutes.
Of course I didn't only go on Monday nights, their dinner menu was also great. I had two different friends that moved out of state and when they would come back to visit we would go to Trey Yuen. It was automatic - a tradition. We would always get the Dynasty Dinner. It included appetizers (soup and egg roll), entrée, and dessert (lotus banana). Another time a group of us foodies (you could tell we liked food) had eaten dinner there and cleaned our plates - there was not a piece of food left. When the waitress came and asked if she could box any leftovers we all started laughing because there was nothing left. I'm not even sure if the waitress knew why we were laughing, but it became one of the inside jokes that we repeated over the years.
We also had a few family events there. My mom wasn't a fan, but we talked her into it once or twice. It was also nice that one of the owners, Joe, would call me by name every time he saw me. People want to feel appreciated and remembered. He did a great job of that. I felt that we were friends even though our only interactions were at the restaurant.
Now you may be wondering what all the fuss is about, but in their heyday - they were considered to have some of the best Chinese food in the United States. It was a step above anything else that was available and that is why people fell in love with it. Part 2 will explore some of my favorite menu items.
