Mrs Khan restaurant closes in Menlo Park, reopens as Dragon General

Mrs Khan, the only Uyghur restaurant on the Peninsula, closed quietly last month in downtown Menlo Park, according to Palo Alto Online. The restaurant was founded by sisters Almira and Kalbi Tursungjan in 2022 and was known for dishes like laghman and polo.

Kalbi Tursungjan said the closure was due to difficulty finding a chef skilled in authentic Uyghur cuisine. Almira had already left the business, citing the stress and fatigue of working at the restaurant, which left Kalbi managing alone.

Following the closure, Kalbi reopened the restaurant under a new name, Dragon General. The new concept features a menu with Peking duck and Dongbei specialties, with chef Minjun Li joining the team.

This change marks a shift from the original Uyghur focus to broader Chinese regional dishes, reflecting the challenges of maintaining authentic Uyghur cooking in the area.