A new Chinese cuisine restaurant called JOC Asian Bistro recently opened at The Lex Apartments.

The restaurant opened before Thanksgiving, on Nov. 21 and it is open for lunch and dinner. Its menu has a variety of lunch specials. The lunch special menu includes dishes such as kung pao chicken, General Tso’s chicken and many vegetable options as well. 

The restaurant is family owned and operated by the Cheng family. The family owned another restaurant in Lexington on Clays Mill Road called Cheng’s for 16 years before selling it two years ago. 

“We wanted a change in environment and have newer equipment to work with,” Janice Cheng, who works at the new restaurant, said. 

A lot of the menu items are from the original menu at Cheng’s, but there are new items that have been added to the Hong Kong specials. These dishes are more Cantonese based and food that might be found in Hong Kong. 

The chef and owner of the restaurant is Wu Cheng, and he was trained in Hong Kong and worked as a chef in five-star hotels. He has also cooked for several celebrities such as Jackie Chan.  

The name is pronounced J-O-C and stands for “J to C.” The “J” stands for the Chinese word “ju”, meaning “to gather” and the “C” stands for “Cheng,” so the name of the restaurant means “gather to Cheng’s.” 

Its menu also includes dumplings, different soups and salads, and the Hong Kong and lunch specials. It has several different dishes for beef, chicken and shrimp, as well as many vegetable dishes. Lo mein and pad Thai dishes are also available. 

“We want to have a steady business and because the old restaurant had older equipment it wasn’t as flexible and efficient, so we think that after this redesign things will be more efficient,” Cheng said. 

JOC Asian Bistro is located at 561 S Broadway.