DeSoto County's Hunan restaurants were recently selected as one of the top 100 Chinese restaurants in the country for 2007 by the Chinese Restaurant News. Owner Matt Kan received the award at a ceremony on Nov. 11 in New York City.

One of DeSoto County's most popular restaurants has been proclaimed as one of the best 100 Chinese restaurants across the country.

Matt Kan, owner of both Hunan locations, one in Olive Branch and one in Southaven (and another in Oxford), accepted the surprise honor in a ceremony held in New York City on Nov.11.

Kan said he represented one of the more than 400 restaurant owners invited to the ceremony, organized and sponsored by the Chinese Restaurant News. The national magazine, published in Chinese, will highlight Hunan in an upcoming issue.Kan, an Olive Branch resident, said when Hunan was named by presenters, he was so excited the chair he was sitting in flipped over from
his leap of joy.

"I jumped up and down," he said.

In the mid-1990s, Kan was a chef in China when he decided to follow his uncle and emigrate to America, and specifically DeSoto County. Kan's goal from the beginning was to start up a Chinese restaurant.

"This was my idea: I knew that Americans like to eat Chinese food, and I would have to work hard," he said.

He said it took attending vocational classes off and on for several years before he could proficiently speak English. Meanwhile, he worked long workdays establishing his restaurant.

"In 20 years, this is the biggest thing that's happened to me -- it's really a big award, though not quite hitting the lottery," he said with a laugh.

More than 43,000 Chinese restaurants were discreetly visited by the organization's food critics,who then evaluated before choosing their top 100 selections. Kan noted that Hunan is the only Chinese restaurant in the entire state of Mississippi to be included on the list.

Kan plans to soon vacation back home to China, where he will celebrate the honor with family and peers from culinary school.
"Being a chef, people like to eat what I cook and that makes me happy most of all," Kan said.

"I'm very appreciative of the customers' support, I couldn't do much without them."