Chef Ken Wan grew up behind the counter of a Chinese restaurant in a Boston suburb.

He watched his parents serve General Tso’s chicken and beef and broccoli to the masses who came through the doors of New China Garden in West Roxbury, Mass. Wan understands the appeal of those dishes to American eaters. But it is not the food he ate at home when his mom, who is from Hong Kong, cooked for their family of six.

“When they’re cooking for us at home they’re not cooking that stuff,” Wan said. “They’re not cooking for the American pallet.”

So when hungry diners walk through the doors of Wan’s MAKfam restaurant, 39 W. First Ave in Denver’s Baker neighborhood, they shouldn’t expect to order a big plate of General Tso’s chicken or Kung Pao beef. Instead, the menu offers dishes that might seem familiar but which actually blend a taste of the real Hong Kong with American influences and the personality that Wan and Doris Yuen, his wife and MAKfam co-owner, bring to the table.

“One of the things we tell guests is we use tradition-inspired food,” Wan said. “I try to take something familiar and try to elevate it or showcase it in a way that they’re familiar with but they taste something different,” Wan said.

Take Wan’s wonton soup. He traded old-school chicken broth with a couple of frozen dumplings floating in it for a creamy broth with scallions and ginger. His house-made wontons have chicken and shrimp inside. “Wonton soup is ubiquitous to anyone who’s ever been to an American Chinese restaurant,” Wan said. “We elevated it and made it nicer. It doesn’t have to be that afterthought dish that everyone ordered.”

In Denver, a new generation of Asian Americans are following their parents’ footsteps into the food scene. While they embrace their parents’ work ethic and value traditional ingredients from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and elsewhere, they’re rewriting their menus in ways that show off their own experiences. The result has been lines at their doors, rave reviews and national recognition.

In early September, MAKfam joined some of the best restaurants in Denver on the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list — a designation given to restaurants that the guide’s reviewers believe provide delicious food at a reasonable price. Penelope Wong, chef at Yuan Wonton in Denver, was honored in January as a James Beard Award finalist for best chef in the mountain region. Banh & Butter Bakery’s owner has competed on the Food Network and scooped up local accolades, while Pho King Rapidos has made a name for itself on the festival circuit.

The foundation of a menu

For Wong, a ginger soy sauce has become the hallmark of her cooking. And she learned it from her dad, who immigrated from Thailand, when she stood shoulder to shoulder with him in her parents’ Denver restaurant, Chinatown, when she started cooking as a teenager. Wong’s mother died in 1991, and her father ran the restaurant for three more years before closing it.