Zen Vegetarian adding meat, changing name

Two years after opening as one of Wichita’s first meat-free restaurants, Zen Vegetarian Cuisine at 3101 N. Rock Road is changing its approach — and its name.

Starting on May 1, Zen will be known as Oh Yeah China Bistro and will add meat dishes to its menu. Owner Shu Tsao, who previously operated Chinatown out of the space before remodeling it and adopting a Chinese vegetarian menu.

Tsao bought out her partner, Alan Hsu, so her daughter will move to Wichita from Houston to help manage the restaurant. Her husband, Robert Liao, will remain in the kitchen.

There just weren’t enough customers to support the business, said Tsao, who is a vegetarian. “It’s just not big enough,” she said of the vegetarian community in Wichita. “But they said, ‘We’ll still come if you keep our favorite dishes.’”

Tsao says she will keep many of Zen’s most popular meat-free dishes on the menu but will add back more traditional, sweet-and-sour-chicken type dishes plus Korean, Thai and Vietnamese fare.

Tsao also will add beer and wine to her offerings and will deliver within a four-mile radius of the restaurant.

For more information, call the restaurant at 316-425-7700.

This story was originally published March 10, 2011 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Zen Vegetarian adding meat, changing name."