King and Hui-Jou

Thank you to everyone who have taken the time out to send me emails. I hope everyone will grow comfortable enough to start adding their comments on the blog, but I appreciate your feedback in any form!

Sushi March Madness started yesterday, but I am not counting yesterday due to the wintry weather Mother Nature decided to dump on us. Today is a beautiful day so please stop by for lunch or dinner and enjoy the snowy view of the Lake.

Some of you have asked about my father, King, who is the owner and sushi chef. As I have mentioned in Yelp and Facebook, my father is the one who is ALWAYS there. If you have never been to Sushi Sono or have never gotten a chance to sit at the sushi bar, my dad's pic is attached. So here is a little history ...

Born and raised outside of Taipei, Taiwan, he is the oldest of four brothers. My grandparents forced him to start working when he was in grade school, basically to help out with bills, so that was the highest "formal" education he ever received. He started cooking and working in Japanese restaurants, apprenticing under many different Japanese chefs in Taiwan and Japan. He worked in four major Japanese restaurants - names I cannot easily translate. By the time he reached 20, he branched out to learn Chinese cooking in order to broaden his development. A couple of years later, he volunteered for the Army and found himself stationed in Japan, returning him to his culinary root. So, he stayed and worked as a chef in several Japanese restaurants. When he returned to Taiwan, he continued to travel back to Japan on a yearly basis to teach aspiring Japanese chefs.

He met my mother, Hui-Jou, when they were both in their 20s. My mother has a similar story - she also was never formally educated. However, she just didn't enjoy school and dropped out on her own to start working. She also came from a huge family - two brothers and four sisters. She was a waitress / hostess when my dad asked her out, and she actually said no 5 or 6 times, but his persistency worked. She finally said yes and they got married shortly after.

I think my mother was (and is) the one person that finally made him start dreaming big. In 1983, he decided to explore the US to see how it would work out for us. He went to Texas, Tennessee, and finally settled in Maryland. In 1985, my mother followed, leaving me under the care of my grandparents. In 1988, I followed.

They opened several restaurants before Sushi Sono - my dad as the chef and my mom as the hostess. Although he wanted to open up a Japanese restaurant as his first restaurant, he was unable to do so since he did not speak English well enough to interact with customers and Japanese cuisine was not popular at the time. So, in order to bring in the paychecks, he bought Hunan Taste, off Liberty Road in Reisterstown. Chinese cuisine was extremely popular at this time and allowed him to save money in order to properly plan and open his true dream. Another was Taste of Asia in Columbia Mall food court, which I had the privilege of working as a cashier and "cooked" on the teppanyaki griddle. They had part ownership in some other places, but nothing worth mentioning (since I don't really remember).

When he saved enough, Sushi King came next, returning him to his Japanese style of cooking. He was now able to mingle with his customers and see their reactions when they are tasting his creations. Also, he was able to practice his English. (My parents basically learned English by listening to WBAL at night, reading the dictionary - yes, I am serious, and talking to as many people as they can.) Sushi King thrived under his ownership, but the location just was not ideal - he wanted a beautiful surrounding to complement his food. So when the location opened up where Sushi Sono is at currently, my dad snagged the lease and has been there ever since.

Having very little income (everything he made my grandmother took), he never had a chance to attend a culinary school and "refine" his skills. Words cannot express how truly amazing my parents are. They are FAR from perfect, as my friends can attest to the frustrations I go through in dealing with them, but their constant push for achieving perfection strikes me in awe sometimes. However, with the many disappointments, failures, and obstacles they have experienced, I find it fascinating that they are where they are. If you ever get a chance, I would recommend going solo or in twos and sit at the sushi bar. Watch my dad work - whatever he puts on the plate is derived from him and the memories of where he has been; it is not from something he learned out of a textbook. Most of all, talk to him about what you like and dislike; he truly lives to please your palate and satisfy your appetite.

As for my mom, she is out of work indefinitely. She has been ill for awhile and is resting to hopefully get better.