{"id":267576,"date":"2026-04-14T17:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/267576\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T17:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:06:11","slug":"two-years-later-smoke-queen-is-still-rewriting-the-rules-of-barbecue-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/267576\/","title":{"rendered":"Two years later, Smoke Queen is still rewriting the rules of barbecue \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years after opening Smoke Queen Barbecue\u2019s first brick-and-mortar location<\/a> in Garden Grove, Winnie Yee, one of the country\u2019s few female pitmasters, still sometimes catches herself looking around the restaurant in disbelief.<\/p>\n

On weekends, which are almost always busy, she glances at the line, the packed tables and customers who know her by name and feel the same rush she did on opening day in March 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just get teary-eyed,\u201d said Yee. \u201cI walk in and see all these people here, and it just hits me how far this has come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hungry? Sign up for The Eat Index, our weekly food newsletter, and find out where to eat and get the latest restaurant happenings in Orange County. Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For Yee, the two-year mark is more than a business anniversary. It\u2019s a milestone that still feels improbable for someone who started smoking brisket in flip-flops in her backyard during the pandemic, mostly as a distraction from financial and global stressors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never imagined that the very first brisket I put in the smoker, in my backyard, in the middle of the night would manifest into something like this,\u201d she said, looking around the patio at her lauded restaurant. \u201cIt became something much more than just barbecue.\u201d<\/p>\n

This journey has also been a personal one, too.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A variety of smoked meat, including pork belly, ribs and char siu, alongside tallow fries and mapo chili at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Pandana<\/p>\n

Pandana pudding, coconut rice and panang curry at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Workers<\/p>\n

Workers prepare food in the kitchen at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"Customers<\/p>\n

Customers wait in line inside at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

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1 of 4<\/p>\n

A variety of smoked meat, including pork belly, ribs and char siu, alongside tallow fries and mapo chili at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

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Yee immigrated from Malaysia in 1987, landing first in Garden Grove with family before eventually settling elsewhere in Orange County. At the time, she was only 6, spoke no English and spent her early years trying to blend in by disappearing in the background.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Winnie Yee-Lakhani\u2019s Smoke Queen Barbecue makes its brick-and-mortar debut<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up wanting to fit in,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel like I belonged in this country until my forties. I grew up feeling like I looked different, like I had to hide the parts of who I was, even the food my mom packed for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

That history makes Smoke Queen\u2019s success \u2014 and its Garden Grove location, a stone\u2019s throw from Little Saigon \u2014 feel less like a coincidence than a return.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like a homecoming,\u201d said Yee. That sense of arrival can be found all over the menu.<\/p>\n

Yee\u2019s food still draws from the Central Texas playbook \u2014 i.e., ribs and smoked meats done with patience and precision. But she has continued to push the menu beyond straightforward barbecue. A newly added wagyu tri-tip, smoked low and slow before being chilled, then seared to order, has reshaped how she thinks about texture. The Mapo chili is a must. And the panang curry studded with tender chunks of brisket (also available with smoked pulled pork or a la Pit Madam with brisket, pulled pork, pork belly and sausage) remains one of the best dishes across Orange County.<\/p>\n

Even dessert carries Yee\u2019s imprint, like the pandan banana pudding made with hand-extracted pandan leaf in lieu of vanilla, which lends the dish both its pastel green hue and ever-so-slightly grassy, nutty notes.<\/p>\n

\"Gchi<\/p>\n

Gchi Tran opens the door to a smoker at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The inside of a smoker at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The outside patio at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The \u201cChinese-American Barbecue\u201d book by Winnie Yee-Lakhani is seen at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The exterior of Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 5<\/p>\n

Gchi Tran opens the door to a smoker at Smoke Queen Barbecue, Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Garden Grove, Calif. (Photo by William Liang, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n

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But the pork belly char siu remains the clearest expression of her approach. Chinese in flavor, Central Texas in technique. \u201cThe cause is 100% Chinese,\u201d said Yee. \u201cBut the cooking method is American, low and slow. That\u2019s who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audience at Smoke Queen<\/a> reflects that duality. A recent visit showed a diverse gaggle of diners, many of them young and sporting Dodgers blue on game day, as well as older Garden Grove residents who clearly know where to find good food. Yee said one of her biggest surprises has been how deeply the food resonates with older Asian immigrants, including customers who remind of her own parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey come in and think, \u2018This doesn\u2019t look familiar,\u2019 but then they taste it and say, \u2018Oh, this tastes like home,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Running a brick-and-mortar, however, has brought a different kind of education to Yee. A pop-up could be paused, but a conventional eatery demands more rigorous consistency. \u201cIf our employees can\u2019t show up, you\u2019ve got to show up,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd if the brisket is not in the smoker, you\u2019ve got to make sure it is.\u201d (For the curious, Smoke Queen\u2019s smokers can be spotted smack dab in front of the restaurant.)<\/p>\n

Her biggest challenge now is a good one: keeping up. Smoke Queen could use more space, she said. She also praised her staff, saying, \u201cI could pick a handful of them who would step into the fire for me, which is freaking amazing.\u201d It\u2019s a refreshing antidote in an industry often defined by craven chefs and ego-jacked bosses.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also little things that most customers might miss, but Yee doesn\u2019t, like setting out spa water rather than plain iced water for customers waiting in line \u2014 \u201cIf we care about our water, what are customers going to think about our food?\u201d she said \u2014 and the tucked-away hand washing sink, located on the patio, allows for immediate cleansing of barbecue detritus.<\/p>\n

An upcoming brunch series is slated to start in May. Yee, who also has a cookbook forthcoming christened \u201cChinese-American Barbecue\u201d with a forward by Jet Tila and a slate of food partnerships (Lee Kum Kee and the Dodgers, to name two), said the deeper reward has been building something visible for people who rarely saw themselves reflected in the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a small, petite Asian woman can infiltrate the American barbecue industry and have a seat at the table,\u201d she said, \u201cthe sky\u2019s the limit for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find it: 12941 Ninth St., Garden Grove<\/p>\n

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