Beloved Fung’s Kitchen is damaged by fire
Restaurateur Hoi Fung, owner of Fung’s Kitchen, spent Monday salvaging what he could from his kitchen — which was not a lot — after a small electrical fire overnight.
Fung busily directed employees to load coolers packed with dead lobsters and other seafood — some of which once swam in the Sharpstown restaurant lobby’s memorable fish tanks — onto a truck. Its destination? The dump.
Too stinky, Fung said.
A police officer spied smoke rising from the Houston institution at 7320 Southwest Freeway, known for Hong Kong-inspired cuisine and dim sum carts, around midnight. The fire, which was soon extinguished, left the eatery soaked, without power and reeking of acrid smoke.
The Fung family was unsure if their restaurant could reopen in time for the busy Chinese New Year, about three weeks away.
“That will be a miracle,” said Fung’s son and catering manager, Gilbert Fung.
The fire, whose cause remains under investigation, started behind the restaurant and spread to a dry storage area. The kitchen was intact, the family said. Firefighters described the damage as extensive.
Fung’s daughter, Dory, said firefighters punched a hole in the ceiling to help tackle the flames. The siblings stayed at the site of the fire through 5 a.m. and returned, exhausted, with their parents.
“With COVID happening, this is just another thing,” she said.
The restaurant’s past resiliency suggests Fung would find a way to continue business as usual. Fung closed his doors for two months as the coronavirus spread throughout Houston, then reopened for togo orders and then restricted indoor dining.
The only other unexpected closure that Fung’s children could recall happened amid Hurricane Ike in 2008 when the air-conditioning unit broke. Fung had it fixed in time for a wedding reception.
“This is how my dad feels about not losing a single customer,” Fung’s son said. The restaurant, he continued, is his father’s legacy.
Fung, a native of China, opened the restaurant in 1990 with 3,000 square feet. He learned to cook from his father — also a chef — after moving to Hong Kong. Fung has expanded the eatery to 25,000 square feet over the past three decades, with a lavish entrance that passing motorists can see from Interstate 59.
In the ’90s, Fung boasted that his restaurant offered 400 dishes.