Good fortune, however, came four months later, when the restaurant realized a positive cash flow. Located just a couple of miles away from foreign consulates, Fortune Cookie has attracted regular diners, expats and Chinese locals.

"We regard our food as authentic American Chinese food that appeals to American palates," Lam says. The secret behind the authenticity is the ingredients and recipes from Lam's family business back home.

Lam is a third-generation restaurateur who grew up in his parents' restaurant in New Jersey. His grandfather arrived in New York in the 1960s and started the family's first restaurant in Brooklyn.

The chef at Fortune Cookie has been trained by chefs in New York. The restaurant's pantry could be on either side of the world, stocked with items including Skippy peanut butter, Mott's apple sauce and Philadelphia cream cheese.

Americans love the food at Fortune Cookie, saying it brings them back home.

"It's amazing. The same fold-pack with a steel handle with a red pagoda on it, the same good service, and most importantly, the same taste," says Albert Lynn from New York. Lynn has been living in Beijing for six years and the dinner at Fortune Cookie during a February trip to Shanghai was his first meal of "Chinese food" in China.

Lynn's fortune reads: "You'll have an adventure that surprises you."