Philip Xie (pronounced shay) came to the United States from China about a decade ago and got a job waiting tables at the then-new Dragon Cafe in La Vista. He opened the new Express location in Omaha with Dragon Cafe co-owner Johnny Shi in August.
Though it lacks the liquor license, formal dining service and children’s menu of the La Vista location, the Express eatery features most of the same menu items. And a former Dragon Cafe chef — Xie’s godfather, Guo Liang Zheng — is head chef of the new location.
The restaurant delivers to central Omaha — the area bounded by Interstate 80, and 42nd, Maple and 108th Streets — for $1.75 to $2 with a minimum order of $7.99. A new online ordering system launched Tuesday.
In January, Chinese Restaurant News included the Dragon Cafe in La Vista in its annual roundup of the Top 100 “healthy menu” Chinese restaurants in America. Both Dragon Cafe locations offer diet-friendly bamboo-steamed dishes.
Fresh from a trip to see family in Shanghai, Xie said this week that he hopes eventually to add a small section of traditional Chinese dishes to the Express menu.
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