Cacoila egg rolls, chourico rangoon: This is Fall River's new Chinese restaurant.

FALL RIVER — Amid a sea of Chinese eateries scattered throughout the city, Mr. Chen aims to stand out from the rest.

Not just in name, though owner Dominic Chen proudly puts his own stamp on his restaurant. But with creative Asian fusion options, unique decor and a personal connection with customers.

Its uniqueness is apparent the moment you walk into the 210 Rhode Island Ave. restaurant, which opened its doors July 19.

A roughly 5-foot Lego Mario — the star of an impressive Chen family Lego collection on display inside the store — welcomes patrons who are greeted with a plentiful selection of tried and true Chinese favorites, as well as traditional dishes with some Portuguese flair.

And foodies from Fall River and beyond — many who've been eagerly anticipating his opening for months, following Mr. Chen's progress on its Facebook page — have come out in droves to get a taste.

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Since recently opening to a crowd of hungry locals, who at times formed a line that extended out the door during its debut, Dominic Chen said he's been pumping out orders non-stop.

"It's like New Year's Eve every day," said 36-year-old Chen, a New Jersey native who now resides with his family in Berkley. "Everyone's just eating Chinese food the past two weeks."

While he admits it was a challenging first week due to being short staffed and still working out the kinks of his new business — which included contending with no air conditioning amid sizzling temperatures, a problem that has since been remedied — Chen said the positive feedback and support he's received from the community has been encouraging.

"I wouldn't be where I am right now if it weren't for them," said Chen.

And each week gets smoother than the last, he noted.

"I'm a daily problem solver" said Chen, who has spent long days at the restaurant getting its wheels turning.

"I'm a father of two, it's like having a third child," he added.

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Chen was the former manager of China Sails in Fall River, which is run by his family members, before deciding to venture out on his own about a year and a half ago.

He "took a gamble," started leasing the empty South End space adjacent to Alpha Dental in February of 2021 and spent the next year building it from the ground up.

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Customer service is what sets Mr. Chen's apart from other Chinese restaurants in the area, he said.

"Everyone knows who I am... they know how I act, they know how I treat customers and they follow me for a reason," Chen said.

That and, of course, its menu, which Chen has crafted with his SouthCoast customer base in mind.

An infusion of Portuguese flavors

Chen's unique Chinese-Portuguese fusion offerings, which include cacoila (marinated pork) and chourico, have proven quite popular.

For traditional Asian dishes with a European twist, try Mr. Chen's cacoila egg roll, cacoila fried wonton or wonton soup, chourico fried rice and lo mein or the chourico rangoon —  dubbed the "Domtastic."

"Ideas came from the customer, but I took it in and basically went balls to the wall with it," said Chen, who shops at Michael's Provision in Fall River for his Portuguese meats.

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Mr. Chen’s wide selection of bubble tea — a cold, frothy drink made with a tea base shaken with flavors, sweeteners and/or milk with tapioca pearls at the base — is also a big draw. Bubble tea has existed for years but is new to many in the area, Chen said.

"If there's a trend in the food industry I'm always trying to bring in some new stuff," said Chen, who's looking at adding shaved ice to the menu in the future.

Other popular Mr. Chen items include apps like crab rangoons, boneless spare ribs, beef teriyaki skewers and dumplings. Also try their Chef's Specials, such as the popular Coconut Shrimp or Coconut Chicken, Black Pepper Beef, Marco Polo's — shrimp and beef in lobster sauce over a bed of roast pork lo mein — Mussels with Black Bean Sauce and Seafood Fantasia with Garlic Sauce.

Mr. Chen's is currently takeout and delivery only, and offers a waiting area with seating. There are booths set up to eventually accommodate roughly 12 people for dine-in, which he aims to open up as soon as he gets the OK from the city.

Mr. Chen's quirky atmosphere

While most come for the food, Chen hopes people stay for the fun, quirky atmosphere.

Inside the restaurant, Chen adds a bit of flair and personal touch with his decor.

Chen's wife, Emily, who helps run the show behind the scenes at the restaurant, is also somewhat of a master Lego builder in her off time. The family decided to take their numerous Lego creations from home and share it with others.

"I said why not display them as an attraction?" said Chen, who has an 11-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.

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In an effort to stay up to date and increase efficiency at Mr. Chen, they've ditched traditional paper menus. Instead, he's installed a new point of sale ordering system, where customers use an iPad kiosk to place and pay for orders, in addition to a big screen displaying a digital menu, hoping this shift takes some of the load off their front-end employees.

"I don't do any of the old school mailing out of menus... I have no (paper) menus in my store," he said.

Customers are also strongly encouraged to visit their website and order online. "This way it speeds up the process," Chen said, saving his staff time by not having to take phone orders amid the rush.

While the workload can get overwhelming, Chen said, he's excited to welcome old friends and make new friends and customers.

"It's very satisfying, I'm very appreciative," he said. "Order volume has been unbelievable. ... It's a good problem to have."

Mr. Chen is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. They are closed on Tuesdays.

To get a peek at their menu, visit https://www.mrchenfallriver.com/ or visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Mrchenfallriver.

Though he’s taking things "one day at a time" for now, settling in and streamlining operations at his new Fall River home, Chen said his goal down the road is to open a second location.

"Maybe the next one will be Mrs. Chen," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Mr. Chen Chinese restaurant opens in Fall River