Chinese restaurants in Tijuana, a Mexican-U.S. border city, have been trying to rebuild their reputation with better service and trust from loyal local customers, after a scandal where workers at one establishment were caught killing and cooking dogs earlier this month.
"What happened was an individual act and is not a normal one within the Chinese community, comprising of some 8,000 people in Tijuana," said Zheng Chihao, president of the Association for the Friendly Promotion China-Mexico, who is also running a Chinese restaurant in the city.
In the form of a letter, the Chinese community in Northwestern Mexico's Tijuana stated that what happened does not represent the overall image of the rest of the Chinese restaurants, Zheng told Xinhua.
Although the establishment discovered serving dog meat had no official operating permissions and was an exception, over 200 legally-operating Chinese restaurants have been affected.
However, Zheng is still optimistic about Chinese restaurants in Tijuana, and believes that they will win customers back by further improving service.
The Chinese restaurant industry in Tijuana has recently applied to the Mexican health authorities and the National Chamber for the Restaurant Industry and Seasoned Foods (Canirac) for certificates properly registering restaurants in terms of health and food hygiene.
Zheng hopes that this new certification will generate "more trust and security" among their customers in terms of quality, service, hygiene, health and civil protection.
His faith in the revival of Chinese restaurants in the city also comes from the trust of loyal, local customers.
Nora Najera, who describes herself as a lover of Chinese food, is a customer of the China King Buffet restaurant in Tijuana, owned by Zheng.
"Its food is delicious, fresh and with a lot of variety. It offers an excellent quality of seafood and meats," Najera told Xinhua.
China King Buffet, located in a shopping center, is famous for its bar where customers can help themselves to a variety of fresh food. Najera has been frequenting this restaurant once or twice every fortnight for two years.
To some local residents, Chinese food has become a part of their daily life.
Restaurant-goer Miguel Castorena said that dining on Chinese cuisine had become a tradition for him and that he visits the Royal Palace, one of the first Chinese restaurants in the city, at least twice a week.
The Royal Palace located in the Agua Caliente Boulevard has been known as the most emblematic of its kind according to many local customers.
"I have been coming since I was a boy, since many many years ago! I really like to frequent this place because apart from it being a clean establishment, the staff also treat you well and the food is of a very high quality," Castorena said.
The long thriving Chinese restaurants have also created a source of employment, generating 2,000 jobs, mostly for local Mexicans.
Sergio Sanchez Insulza is originally from Tijuana and has worked in the Royal Palace for 20 years. He began as a waiter and now is the captain of all the waiting staff.
Rafael Perez Reyes, one of the local providers for Chinese restaurants, told Xinhua that he started to work with Chinese establishments at the beginning of the 1960s. Some of his first Chinese clients still exist and he continues working with them.
After the dog-meat scandal in the restaurant without any official permissions, many Chinese catering companies, along with their employees and local providers in Tijuana, have been affected economically, but they are still confident about the revival.
"The truth is that we have never had any doubt that the Royal Palace only offers good food. It is Tijuana's most emblematic restaurant," said Castorena, adding that Mongolian Beef and Chung King were amongst his favorite dishes served at the establishment.
Liang Quan Nuan, owner of the Royal Palace, told Xinhua that he has been working for 22 years, day after day, to maintain the restaurant's prestige together with 35 staff.
As one of the most well-known Chinese restaurants in the city, the secret to its success is maintaining a high-quality and trustworthy service, Liang said.
