George H.W. Bush remembered as favorite customer, friend at Peking Gourmet Inn in Falls Church

FALLS CHURCH, Va. - In the middle of a strip mall on Route 7 in Falls Church is Chinese restaurant Peking Gourmet Inn. Inside, photos of lots of celebrities line the walls. But if you look, photos of late former President George H.W. Bush, his wife Barbara, and their children appear rather often.

The Bush family were not only regular customers, but friends to Peking Inn owner George Tsui and his family.

Tsui says George Bush was first brought to the restaurant by his son Marvin Bush, when the late former president was vice president.

They soon became repeat customers and had their own table and chairs. Bullet-proof glass was set up, per direction from the Secret Service. They formed a friendship.

Tsui came to Houston when he was called down to cater George and Barbara's 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

Their favorite dishes? As the name of the restaurant suggests, they enjoyed Peking Duck, but had their share of Szechuan Beef Proper, Jeo-Yen shrimp, and garlic sprouts.

Garlic sprouts are a Peking Inn specialty, grown at the Tsui family farm in Purcellville.

Tsui says he's saddened by the passing of his friend George Bush, who died Friday at the age of 94.

"Ninety-four is a great number to human being. But we're sad, and just like you hear any bad news of any good friend. The whole staff, we're still talking about it. We pray for the Bush family," said Tsui.

Check out some more photos of the Bushes at their favorite restaurant and watch Bob Barnard's interview with George Tsui in the player above.