Tucked in the corner of the Shops of Southlake on Southlake Boulevard is Howard Wang’s China Grill.

The restaurant, which has been open since July 2013, offers customers a mix of authentic and Americanized Chinese food.

“A lot of [it is] family recipes, you know, a lot of the things you might have heard of—sesame chicken, General Tso’s chicken—but we kind of create our own recipes with it,” owner Jowin Wang said.

Being in the restaurant business runs in the family for Wang. His father, the namesake of the Southlake eatery, opened Empress of China in Irving in 1982. His father also opened another location in Grapevine and then three family-owned locations of Howard Wang’s China Grill.

“I wanted to take over the business, the family business,” Wang said. “[I quit college] and then I started working full time, and I just grew into the business.”

Wang said the restaurant uses several family recipes, especially for some of his favorite dishes, such as the Wang’s Beef Tenderloin ($26). The dish includes pieces of beef tenderloin as well as red onions, mushrooms and string beans all served on a skillet.

“It’s Texas—everybody likes beef; everybody likes steak—so we try to cater to those people, too,” he said.

He said another popular item is the Wang’s Seafood Splendor ($22), which includes a fish fillet, scallops, shrimp and calamari accompanied by a variety of vegetables in a white wine sauce. Wang suggests that chicken lovers pick the glazed walnut chicken ($16), which features chicken and walnuts with mango, snow peas and red bell peppers in a sweet ginger sauce. Another dish, the Hunan beef stir fry ($14), is ideal for those looking for a vegetable-heavy meal, as Wang said it comes with broccoli, snow peas, red bell peppers, mushrooms and baby corn.

Wang, who said he enjoys wine, has a hand in selecting the wines the restaurant offers. The grill also offers a variety of handmade cocktails, microbrews, local craft beers, Asian beers and sake.

“You’ve got to have a good balance between good drinks, great atmosphere, good ambience and great food,” Wang said.

The bar is popular for date nights, Wang said. Families also often come into the Southlake location for its children’s menu, which, Wang said, the Uptown location does not have.

The restaurant can accommodate private parties in two spots: a private dining space inside or on the restaurant’s dog-friendly patio.

Howard Wang’s also offers private dining packages, including the Emperor’s Feast, which feature foods that are not generally on the menu, Wang said.

“I would say [the Emperor’s Feast offers] delicacy-type food from China, like jellyfish and stuff like that,” he said. “… It’s those little types of things that they eat in China that we try to bring in to our customers who want to have that experience, that Asian experience.”