Dining Out at Golden Mango

Written and Photographed by Natalie K. Pollock 

Staff Writer

Mandy Zhuo and her two younger brothers opened the Golden Mango restaurant just four months ago in Farmington at 2 Spring Lane. Their family’s Asian fusion restaurant in Southington opened in 2015 and has received several awards and accolades from customers over the years, including best sushi. 

Mandy Zhuo came to the United States from China in 1998, when she was just 19 years old. She was the first one from her family to make the journey across continents to join her uncle, who had settled in the U.S. several years before and had been involved in the restaurant industry in Stamford serving Thai and Japanese food for more than 35 years.

“My husband and I were neighbors in China and grew up together. So I am married to my neighbor. I have known him my whole life. He is working in the sushi bar in Southington for 10 years. It is a three-family business. There are two sisters-in-law and several nieces. My middle and younger brothers are now here in the Golden Mango. It was my idea to open a second restaurant,” said Mandy Zhuo.

Mandy has been joined by her two younger brothers in her new business: middle brother Ivan (at left) works as the cook and chef in the kitchen, and Joe, her youngest brother, is the sushi chef. 

Her emphasis is on the quality of her food, and she asks each of her customers whether they enjoyed their meal. Zhuo believes that because she cares a great deal about her food and the quality of her service, she can successfully compete with the many Asian restaurants in the area she has identified in her market, namely Avon, Bristol and Burlington communities.

Instead of Americanized versions of Asian food like General Tsao’s chicken and egg foo young, she is offering more discerning customers her version of orange chicken and a variety of dishes from the Chinese, Thai and Japanese traditions that have won her compliments.

“Almost 50 per cent of our dishes are cooked and the other half is sushi, marked by a star on the menu for those who do not want to eat raw fish or for pregnant women. We make each dish to order and not in a whole bucket at once like some do. It may be slower, but each order is fresh,” Zhuo said.

She and her husband have two sons. When they were younger, all the children were dropped off by bus at the families’ Southington restaurant, so they all grew up in the business. Her older son is now in his second year at Stony Brook University studying to become a doctor, and her younger one is pursuing civil engineering at the University of Connecticut. 

“We wanted to encourage our children that they have more choices than just restaurant business,” she said.

Just like Sweet Mango in Southington, Golden Mango is open every day of the year except on Thanksgiving. For the first 12 years at Sweet Mango, they were open 365 days every year. 

At first Mandy Zhuo and her husband rented a home with her uncle. When they moved to Southington it was difficult for their children to adjust to the change, but in their second year there they were able to buy a house of their own. 

“We taught our children not to be afraid of changes. That with each step life can be better and better,” she said. VL

The popular crab rangoon appetizer

The owner’s favorite is the Chilean sea bass roll with cucumber and miso eel sauce.