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Interview with Tyler Adams (Bok Choy)
Interviewer: Pradnya Chavan; Gaurav Singh
Date of Interview: 5-16-2022
Tyler Adams is American born and is the Dining Director at Chartwells company that serves food at the CSUMB campus.
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Interview with Helen (Jim’s Chinese Restaurant)
Interviewer: Lucas Bugarin; Jasmine Venegas
Date of Interview: 5-7-2022
Helen is a first generation Chinese immigrant who originated in Guangzhou China. Helen is one of the main owners of Jim’s Chinese restaurant in Seaside, CA along with her husband. Helen specializes in cooking authentic Chinese food based on her cultural background and has continuously worked in the food industry for over 20 years. She begun working on restaurants in San Francisco, CA but eventually opened up her own restaurant in Seaside and has kept a steady amount of loyal clientele ever since.
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Interview with Young Choi (Zum Sushi)
Interviewer: Matthew Lopez; Azusa Sei
Date of Interview: 4-29-2022
The owner of Zum Sushi, Young Choi, runs this place with his brother. He used to live in San Jose, but he and his brother decided to open a sushi restaurant in Pacific Grove. The reason why he decided to open a sushi restaurant is because sushi is loved by many people. He has wanted to be a chef since he was a high school student.
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Interview with Patricia Hong (Hong's Market)
Interviewer: Eriel Jeneviv Zuniga; Kerstin Istafanous
Date of Interview: 4-27-2022
Patricia Hong is the daughter of the owners of Hong’s Market, located on 302 Carmel Ave in Marina, CA. Established in 1970, Hong’s Market was initially called Su’s Market and was the first Asian grocery store in Marina. It was owned by her aunt until 1979, when it was purchased by her parents who renamed the store to Hong’s Market.
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Interview with Ryan Lama (East Village Café)
Interviewer: Rolland Caulkins; Kelvin Chow
Date of Interview: 5-14-2022
Rolland and Kelvin sit down with Ryan Lama, the new owner of East Village Café. They discuss the history of the café and the remnants of the old print-house that resides within. Ryan shares his stories of what it takes to bring the ‘real east’ to the Monterey community, and the compromises he makes to retain Nepalese authenticity. The trio discusses cultural fusion done right through the context of oat-chai, a new hit from the East Village team. A smattering more is discussed, but for that, you’ll have to listen.
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Interview with Kim Miyoung (New Korea)
Interviewer: Charlene Roberts; Sara Vernetti
Date of Interview: 4-26-2022
Kim Miyoung is the owner of New Korea Restaurant in Marina, CA. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she immigrated to the U.S. twenty years ago. She has only recently become the owner of New Korea Restaurant about three months ago.
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Interview with Kristen Ridout (Toro Sushi)
Interviewer: Sarah Nolan; Nick Bouillerce
Date of Interview: 5-16-2022
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Interview with Jasper Salazar (Edwin's Kaona)
Interviewer: Chris Webb; Kristoffer Abungan
Date of Interview: 5-10-2022
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Interview with Alan Suzuki (Crystal Fish)
Interviewer: Kayla Fon; Cambria Novelly
Date of Interview: 5-9-2022
Alan is an immigrant from Japan, He was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. Alan’s professions have consisted of construction, waiter, and now sushi chef. Alan works in the Crystal Fish Sushi restaurant, a restaurant originally started and run by a classmate of his who was also a sushi chef who invited Alan to come work as a sushi chef in his restaurant. He and his classmate both attended university in San Francisco. In addition to this Alan also attended a university while in Japan.
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Interview with The Tran and Yen Tran (Saigon Noodles)
Interviewer: Alyssa Powell
Date of Interview: 5-10-2022
The Tran is the owner of a Vietnamese restaurant in Salinas, California, called Saigon Noodles, located just a short distance away from the Northridge Mall. The Tran was born in Vietnam near the capital of Saigon, now called Ho Chi Min City, and later immigrated to the United States as a young adult. Growing up, The always ate Vietnamese food, and his favorite food was Vietnamese noodle soup, also called pho. About five years ago, in 2018, The opened Saigon Noodles with his brother and his wife, Yen Tran, who continues to help him at the restaurant. They named their restaurant Saigon Noodles due to his love of pho and the fact that Saigon is a well-known name connected to Vietnam and his upbringing. It took a couple of years for the business to build up customers, but over time their restaurant has become successful and is a favorite eatery among the local Salinas population.
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Interview with Ms. Chan (Ho Wah Restaurant)
Interviewer: Judi Davis-Deacon; Mimi Ghosh
Date of Interview: 4-8-2021
Ms. Chan is a first-generation Chinese American born and raised in Hong Kong, China. Ms. Chan and her husband immigrated to America with dreams of owning a restaurant. They are now residents and business owners in Marina, California. Ms. Chan came to America and worked in many different types of restaurants, but found employment in Chinese restaurants to be a comfortable place to work as she was fluent in the Mandarin language and was learning to speak English. This experience brought Ms. Chan to the realization that she wanted to get a higher quality of Chinese cuisine to the Marina community. Ms. Chan now owns and operates a small Chinese eatery called Ho Wahs. She rents a small space in an older strip mall in Marina, California, creating local specials. Ho Wah's, known as the Hidden Gem, was described as a dream come true by Ms. Chan and a place she always wanted. She prides herself on creating family recipes handed down from both her and her husband's ancestors. A fusion of generational recipes, Ms. Chan only uses fresh ingredients to prepare her dishes, never canned products or MSG. Since opening Ho Wah's, Ms. Chan and her husband have strived to use the highest quality of fresh ingredients in her food preparation. Ms. Chan is an active member and contributor to the Marina community, helping those in need with her traditional family recipes that create Ho Wah's unique Chinese cuisine.
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Interview with Julie Chon (Chon’s Market)
Interviewer: Hannah Fulton; Jordan Hahn
Date of Interview: 5-6-2021
Julie Chon is a photographer and the granddaughter of the owner of Chon’s Market in Marina, California.
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Interview with Robert Fajilan (Daddy's City Diner)
Interviewer: Karina Baltazar; America Ventura
Date of Interview: 5-5-2021
Robert and Gina are co-owners of a breakfast spot located in Marina. They both work Together to make Daddy City Diner a family friendly place to eat a american filipino fusion meal. The restaurant focuses on a customer satisfaction rate rather than how much money they make or how popular they are. Regardless, Daddy City Diner is popular among the locals and has regulars lining up almost every morning for a hot plate and a cup of coffee. Both Robert and Gina were raised in the area locally and learned filipino cooking from their parents and family. Robert has had two other restaurants in the past and currently runs this establishment with his wife. Both of them like to show their culture of food and family through their work with Daddy City Diner.
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Interview with Masayasu Fukushima (Ocean Sushi Deli)
Interviewer: Micah Iwata; Carson Cox
Date of Interview: 5-3-2021
Masayasu Fukushima is a 1st generation Japanese American who graduated from Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan. Masayasu then traveled Europe, working as a chef in several countries before moving to America to work in the San Francisco area, before opening his own restaurant in Monterey.
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Interview with ChangSu Kim (Haya Sushi)
Interviewer: Judy Kim
Date of Interview: 5-13-2021
ChangSu Kim is the owner of Haya Sushi that immigrated to Sacramento, California from South Korea a few decades ago. He used to own a Dental lab up until (year) where he decided to sell that business and decided to open up his own sushi restaurant.
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Interview with Eric Li (Leo’s Chinese Restaurant)
Interviewer: Braden Battaglia; Beatriz Cruz
Date of Interview: 4-29-2021
Eric Li’s parents have owned a restaurant called Leo’s Chinese Restaurant for almost thirteen years. Eric frequently helps around the restaurant by taking orders. Assumes the manager role of Leo’s Chinese restaurant. Eric’s family lived in China and moved here 15 years ago. They started Leo’s Chinese Restaurant shortly after.
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Interview with George Manabe (Keoki’s Hawaiian Barbecue)
Interviewer: Chelsea Gabbard; Isabel Cabrera
Date of Interview: 4-20-2021
George Manabe is the owner and creator of Keoki’s Hawaiian BBQ in Marina, California. Being born and spending 38 years in Honolulu, Hawaii, George spent a lot of time working in the kitchen. It was there, in those 20 years of making plate lunches, where he learned to make his own authentic cuisine. However, he was not always in the restaurant business as George used to be a car salesman after his years of making plate lunches. It was his colleagues whom he cooked for that convinced him he should open his own restaurant. Now, Keoki’s is favored by many locals and praised by all who visit.
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Interview with Akemi Prochaska (Robata Grill & Sake Bar)
Interviewer: Sandra Sabath; Vincent Sercia
Date of Interview: 4-15-2021
Akemi Prochaska was the previous owner of Robata who owned and operated the restaurant for 10 years. Robata is a Japanese Grill and sushi bar in Carmel California. Akemi was born and raised in Japan. Later she moved to the United States as an adult where she started a family and eventually owned and operated Robata.
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Interview with Shayal Singh (Steve's Indian Filipino Market)
Interviewer: Harpunit Kaur; Tere Hernandez-Gallegos
Date of Interview: 4-9-2021
Shayal Singh is the daughter of the owner of Steve's Indian Filipino Market. This is her third year working at the store and she is also a nurse. Shayal Singh was born and raised in Fiji, her father came to the US before her. Her father received the store from her cousin since they could not keep up with this and another store they had.
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Interview with Robbie Tani (Yamatani)
Interviewer:
Date of Interview: 5-5-2021
Robbie Tani is a second generation Japanese American. He was born and raised in LA in 1952. He went to an all Japanese Grammar School run by Nuns and worked at his Aunts store while growing up. He graduated from Columbia State in 1976, worked at Hughes Aircraft for 5 years, and then moved to Mammoth and started a Shogun restaurant. He ran it for 35 years until opening up Yamatani in 2005.
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Interview with Mei Ling Wong, Joon Xiong, and David Xiong (Sushi Hut)
Interviewer: Elizabeth Vasquez-Sanchez; Daniel Brambila
Date of Interview: 4-30-2021
Mei-Ling Wong is a second-generation Chinese American who was born in Kunming, Yunnan in China. Mei Ling moved to this country and met her husband Joon Xiong who was born in the same region. They both have been working in the restaurant business for the past 30 years. For the last 20 years, they have been working together in different types of restaurants in the Monterey bay area. In 2018 they decide to open their own restaurant named ``Sushi Hut '' and by applying all the knowledge they have developed in the past years, they build a menu with a mixture of different traditional recipes from Japan and China culture.
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