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Ting Cai Zhou has opened and closed multiple restaurants.

Delicacies of Asia opened last month on State Street.

In the past three years, no one has opened and closed more restaurants in Madison than Ting Cai Zhou.

Ting’s most recent move was around Thanksgiving, when he closed Mr. Seafood, formerly Pho King Good, at 600 Williamson St. in the Gateway Mall, and opened Delicacies of Asia, at 506 State St., where Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza used to be.

Joanna Zhou, Ting’s daughter, said the new place features Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese food, ramen, and like Mr. Seafood, a seafood boil. “Mostly, a little bit of everything for Asian cuisine.”

Where Mr. Seafood and Pho King Good were full service, Delicacies of Asia is counter service. “It’s especially good for students,” Joanna said. “They just want to come in, eat and leave right away on State Street.”

She said a lot of students take advantage of the high-speed internet while they are there.

Ting also had Szechuan Garden on Mineral Point Road, which he opened in August 2019, but closed it a year later, combining it with Mr. Seafood. Both offered a Chinese menu and a Cajun “get your hands dirty” seafood boil.

He also opened a seafood boil restaurant, Ragin Cajun Seafood, on Madison’s Far East Side in July 2020, which remains open.

Yunfeng Pan opened Double 10 Mini Hot Pot this month on Williamson Street where Mr. Seafood used to be.

Meanwhile, Double 10 Mini Hot Pot took over the old Mr. Seafood/Pho King Good spot in the Gateway Mall on Dec. 10.

Owner Yunfeng Pan was forced out of his location at 1272 S. Park St., next to the Pick ‘n Save, when the strip mall the restaurant was in got slated for redevelopment. He had been there nearly five years.

Yunfeng Pan rushes to seat customers at his new Double 10 Mini Hot Pot on Williamson Street.

From 2012 to 2016, Yunfeng, who also goes by “Felix,” had Double 10 on University Avenue across from Whole Foods. He had to close that, too, for redevelopment.

Vincent Chang originally opened Mini Hot Pot in 2015 and ran it for a year. When Yunfeng took it over, he incorporated that name with his Double 10. He serves two menus, traditional Chinese and cook-it-yourself hot pot.

Yunfeng Pan projects the name of his restaurant on the sidewalk out front.

Yunfeng, 37, had to close his Park Street restaurant in August 2020, and while he looked for a new space and kept an eye on COVID-19, he got a license to sell insurance, which he did for a short time.

He’s made lots of renovations to the new space, including installing outlets for the hot pots at each booth.

Yunfeng said he put the word out about his new Williamson Street home on Facebook and has been busy since.

“Ninety percent of the people are coming back,” he said.

Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery, 2827 Atwood Ave., opened in 2009 by Daryl Sisson and Kathy Brooks, did well in the warmer months by turning its parking lot into an outdoor cafe. One reason to visit the restaurant for brunch is its otherworldly smoked salmon and pesto omelet with cream cheese, which is served at all times. Another reason is its generous fish fry featuring panko-crusted cod, garlic-Parmesan potatoes, oven-roasted vegetables, homemade coleslaw and housemade tartar sauce. It's also served any day, any time. Read the full review here. 

Wonderstate Coffee, 27 W. Main St., which  opened a year ago on the Capitol Square, not only has wonderful coffee, but offers an inspired menu with lots of healthy choices. The mushroom sandwich on a sweet-tasting, housemade brioche bun is a standout from a menu of standouts. Inside are sautéed oyster mushrooms, kale, baby Swiss, caramelized onions, an over-easy egg and miso aioli. Wonderstate also does well by its soups. Read the full review here. 

The Hilltop, 4173 County Road P, Cross Plains, was founded in 1938, and has been a restaurant ever since, undergoing expansions along the way. Its  6-ounce, center-cut filet mignon with sautéed mushrooms and onions was the best steak my friend and I had ever had. As an appetizer, the dynamite shrimp are ridiculously addictive. I agreed with my friend who called her meal at The Hilltop "freakishly good." Read the full review here.

Takara Sushi Station, 696 S. Whitney Way, brings unlimited sushi and other items direct to booths with a  conveyor belt system. Almost all of it was first-rate on a recent visit. Read the full review here.

The Harvey House, 644 W. Washington Ave., which opened in July, bills itself as a modern-day supper club, and its atmosphere, prices and service elevate it into the upper echelon of Madison dining. The restaurant even landed at No. 8 on Esquire magazine’s "Best New Restaurants in America, 2021." The highlight of a recent meal was the Superior walleye that had a crisp crust made with an ingenious thin layer of buttery rye bread. Read the full review here. 

Oliva, 751 High Point Road, which  opened in 2008 at High Point and Old Sauk roads, is as good as ever. Chef/owner Mehmet Dayi goes heavy on the tomato sauce with fantastic results, making it hard to choose between his Mediterranean and Italian fare. It just depends on what you're in the mood for. Service in the large dining room is excellent, even on busy nights when the staff is stretched thin. Read the full review here. 

Villa Tap, 2302 Packers Ave., has such a popular fish fry that owner Chris "Chico" Warren shuts down his grill on Fridays, and adds an extra fryer for the Icelandic cod, walleye, lake perch, bluegill and jumbo shrimp. The cod dinner features three thick pieces of fish, hand-cut by Warren, that are lightly and flavorfully breaded, with no greasiness. Read the full review here.

Kettle Black Kitchen, 1835 Monroe St., is an intimate, charming restaurant that opened in August in a spot that formerly housed Joon, Burgrito and Double S BBQ. Don't miss chef/owner Brian Hamilton's French onion soup, shrimp and grits cakes with bacon, and sour orange pie. Read full review here.

Marigold Kitchen, 118 S. Pinckney St., reopened in July after it was closed for 16 months due to the pandemic. With its smart, cheery, urban feel and signature breakfast potatoes, the cafe has been a Madison favorite for 20 years, and its recent change in ownership has been seamless. New owners Kristy Blossom Heine and Clark Heine, who took over the business from John Gadau and Phillip Hurley, had lots of experience as Marigold employees. Read full review here.

The International Catering Collective bus, 709 Atlas Ave., is parked in front of Gaylord Catering, offering some of the best, thickest clam chowder on Fridays. It's loaded with potatoes, carrots and tender clams. While some clam chowders derive most of their flavor from cream, this one had much more going on. The Friday haddock is also first-rate. Read the full review here.

D'Vino, 116 King St.,  which means "of wine," is just the type of rustic Italian restaurant and wine bar King Street needed. Chef Dino Maniaci and Jason Hoke   opened the restaurant in March of 2020. The tortellini con pesto with puffy cheese tortellini, an exceptional pesto cream sauce, and roasted tomatoes and asparagus cannot be beat. Read the full review here.

The Marquette Hotel Cafe, 414 S. Baldwin St., offers one of the most reasonably priced breakfasts in town with excellent coffee and amazing pastries, through a self-ordering system.  The omelets, breakfast sandwiches and fruit cups prepared by former Manna Café kitchen manager, Chris Stephens, are all must-haves. Read the full review here.

Hone, 708 1/4 E. Johnson St.,  in the former Forequarter space, was the most interesting new restaurant I got takeout from during the pandemic. Mike Parks, Hone's owner, discovered many of the restaurant's eclectic offerings during his nearly eight years in the United States Air Force. Don't overlook the orange scallops, five perfectly seared specimens in a winning curry yogurt sauce. Read the full review here.

Ancora Cafe + Bakery, 611 Sherman Ave., which opened in February in Maple Bluff, makes the loss of Manna Cafe easier to accept. The sundried and tomato & goat cheese scones are worth a visit on their own. Also enticing is the cafe’s egg & cheese sandwich on a tender brioche roll with pesto aioli, and its breakfast burrito with scrambled egg, sausage, cheddar, pico de gallo and salsa roja. Read the full review here. 

Louisianne's Etc., 7464 Hubbard Ave., Middleton, has loyal customers that kept it going through the pandemic by getting carryout every week. The restaurant has stayed consistent over its 29 years because it has had the same head chef, Kevin Ostrand. He does great things with catfish and jambalaya. Vegetarians will be happy to discover the fettuccine with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and black olives sautéed with mushrooms in garlic butter and finished with sherry cream. Read the full review here. 

Read more restaurant news at: go.madison.com/restaurants

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Wisconsin State Journal feature writer Samara Kalk Derby writes about the arts and brings you the latest news on the Madison area's eclectic restaurant scene. She can be reached at skalk@madison.com or 608-252-6439.

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Southern Wisconsin will see highs well above freezing for Christmas Eve and Christmas, according to forecasters, while freezing rain Thursday morning caused icy roads and led to a huge pile-up on I-94 in western Wisconsin.

Ting Cai Zhou has opened and closed multiple restaurants.

Delicacies of Asia opened last month on State Street.

Yunfeng Pan opened Double 10 Mini Hot Pot this month on Williamson Street where Mr. Seafood used to be.

Yunfeng Pan rushes to seat customers at his new Double 10 Mini Hot Pot on Williamson Street.

Yunfeng Pan projects the name of his restaurant on the sidewalk out front.

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