Albert Wong loved to cook and eat American food, though he worked at several Chinese restaurants in the Denver area.
Wong, who became an expert in American as well as Chinese food, died Oct. 6 at St. Joseph Hospital. He was 85.
Wong also came to be known for his excellent spaghetti at the Campus Lounge in south Denver in the 1960s and 1970s.
He always joked that the secret in the sauce was sake wine, said his daughter Shirley Hayes of Denver. Broncos players often dropped in after home games, she said.
“He cooked fabulous American food like Swiss steak, beef stew and meatloaf,” said his son Sandy Wong of Denver.
Albert Wong loved fried chicken, bratwurst and chicken fried steak.
He and his father had subsisted on cheese sandwiches during the long ship ride to America, and “he never liked to eat cheese again,” said his daughter Susie Wong Downs of Denver.
He also made pastries, Sandy Wong said, adding that his dad made a 40-layer cake for a former Denver mayor’s 40th anniversary.
Albert Wong worked “70- to 80-hour weeks for 40 or 50 years,” Sandy Wong said.
When he had time, Albert Wong loved to play tennis, go to the dog track and watch football and baseball. He had been a boxer and a singer in his youth.
He was a quiet man with a quiet sense of humor. He got his children to sweep the floor in the restaurant and mow the lawn at home by throwing coins on the floor and lawn, Shirley Hayes said.
“But we would have done (the work) anyway, because he told us to,” she said.
Suet Hing “Albert” Wong was born Feb. 21, 1921, in Canton, China, his family believes. The month, day and year were never known for sure, so the family celebrated his birthday twice each year, once in February and again in April, Susie Wong Downs said.
Family members said they didn’t know why or when he adopted the name Albert.
He came to the U.S. with his father when he was a preteen and first lived in San Francisco. He served in the U.S. Army, earning the Purple Heart and Bronze Medal. He had a severe back injury and recuperated for several months, Susie Wong Downs said.
After the war, he returned to China and married Hung Yu Yee. The couple married again in the U.S. on Aug. 17, 1947. The bride-to-be had been presented with six men from whom to choose, and she chose Albert Wong, their children said.
She later changed her first name to Katie.
Albert Wong owned the Song Hay Restaurant in east Denver and cooked at the Flynn Cafe in Brighton and the New China Cafe at East Colfax Avenue and Clarkson Street.
In addition to his wife, son and daughters, Wong is survived by four other sons: Stanley Wong of Albany, N.Y., Steven Wong of Albuquerque, Spencer Wong of Denver and Scott Wong of Highlands Ranch; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at vculver@denverpost.com or 303-954-1223.
