HOUSTON: A second "Yao Restaurant and Bar," named after Chinese NBA star Yao Ming, opened Wednesday in downtown Houston, Texas.
Five years after the first Yao restaurant was opened in West Houston, the new addition brings Yao closer to Toyota Center where NBA Rockets play.
It also offers a new place for downtown professionals and business people to have lunch and dinner while talking business, said Michael Bai, general manager of the new restaurant.
A glass display cabinet facing the entrance showcases items from sneakers to a basketball. A large poster of Yao on the cabinet reads: "From China to the NBA, from hero to underdog, a phenomenal journey of Yao Ming."
Food served at the restaurant combines Chinese and Western flavors, said Bai. On the menu are also drinks with Rockets characteristics: Long Shot Ice Tea, Slam Dunk Sling and the Reach-in Lychee Martini. A soup invented by Yao's mother is also served at the restaurant, according to Bai.
Yao and his parents showed up at Wednesday night's grand opening of the restaurant, which was packed with local guests and VIPs. Yao's pregnant wife Ye Li was not present. Yao did not give any comments on the restaurant's opening.
The new restaurant has a total investment of $1.50 million, and Yao family did not contribute money but only lends the name "Yao" to the restaurant, according to sources close to Yao.
Yao, a seven-time NBA All-Star player, has not played since breaking the bone in his left foot during the Rockets' second-round playoff series against Los Angeles Lakers last May. Sidelined by his foot injury, Yao spent more time in China recently and became owner of his former Chinese team, the Shanghai Sharks.