A native of Hong Kong with Vietnamese and Chinese
ancestry Billy Ngo immigrated to America with
his family in the 1980s. From starting as a busboy at
the age of 16, by the time Billy turned 24 he found
himself the owner of a successful Sacramento restaurant
and at 28 opened his second. His establishments garner
praise from not only the locals but also chefs and other
culinary personnel that frequent them.
Here is his
story:
What drew you to the industry
and why become a
Chef?
At first it was just a job.
In 1997 when I was 16 I got a job as a bus boy at what
was once Fuji Restaurant on Broadway in Sacramento. There were
three sushi chefs and two of them hated each other, and
one day the one that was capable of working with the
other two walked. The owner asked me if I wanted to
learn sushi, so I was like ‘yeah sure.’
So I began prepping
-deveining and blanching shrimp, preparing sushi rice,
washing pots etc. It was about a year before I was
actually on the line making maki and nigiri. Again, it
was just a job.
Then at 19 the opportunity
came for me to work a Mikuni’s and I jumped at it. I
thought I knew sushi at this point but what I saw at
Mikuni just blew me away. Where as Fuji was super
traditional, Mikuni’s was like no holds barred. Other
than top quality fish and rice the sky was the limit
with what Taro was doing over there- different sauces,
fish and rice on the outside of the roll, just whatever
you could come up with. I started to get excited! I saw
potential and now I was thinking about making this a
career choice and not just a job.
Then I went to work for Taka
Watanabe at TAKA’S for 3 years and he gave me free reign
as to the sushi and sashimi I did. He was very open to
new things once he trusted my skills. My enthusiasm was
piqued because he was so open to my ideas. We did
California style sushi
there- California style is
with all the various sauces and free form rolls and then
there is the traditional Japanese style.
In 2003 I decided to go to
culinary school because I wanted to own my own place and
at this point all I knew was sushi. I enrolled at the
CCA in San
Francisco and learned classical
cuisine. While I worked at TAKA’S, Randall Selland of
the Kitchen used to come in and eat and I eventually ate
there and was blown away- it was my first experience
dining at that level, and low and behold I was able to
do my externship
there.
Right after that I opened KRU with one of
Taka’s partners. Imagine, a year after culinary school
and I have my own restaurant. At first I thought it was
going to be easy- how wrong I was! Now it’s not just go
in and cook, I had to think about the wine list,
scheduling of employees, fixing the plumbing, etc…woah!
It was really stressful at first but then you just get
through it and learn. Once I started trusting my staff
things got better and a few years into it we really hit
our stride. We just opened our second restaurant Red
Lotus this year. It’s a different concept not really
Chinese, it’s actually my take on Chinese dim sum- using
Chinese ingredients and techniques to create my own
style of small plate cuisine. Actually KRU is the same
way, really a meld of everything I’ve been exposed to
and then I bring it together with a Japanese flair, but
it’s definitely not traditional Japanese cuisine- both
restaurants are different aspects of my cuisine. I
eventually want to do an upscale sushi place with only a
few tables and just have the best fish, rice and sake in
a very traditional way, NO SAKE
BOMBS!
Culinary
highlights:
I used to try and do cool
stuff with mediocre product but working at the Kitchen
was defining because there I learned that you needed
to work with the best possible ingredients
Opening KRU
When my peers and chefs I
look up to frequent my restaurant.
How would you define your
style? Asian ingredients melded with
classical western cooking techniques and Japanese
inspired presentation with my own flair added to
it.
What do you like most/least
about the industry?
MOST: I think setting my own
schedule is nice for me on a personal level. Also, the
satisfaction of having a crew that believes in my
philosophy and can execute
it.
LEAST: I just love working in
the kitchen so much, cooking creating, but as the boss
you have to be worried about everything else too.
What chefs influenced you the
most?
Randall Selland
Masaharu
Morimoto- I just love his style and followed him since
the original Iron Chef days
Taka Watanabe
If you could keep only 3
culinary books, what would they
be?
Morimoto’s book
The French Laundry
Cookbook
On Food &
Cooking
Favorite kitchen
gadget:
Immersion
blender
Culinary trends that bug you/
trends you like:
LIKE:
Farm to table cooking using the best ingredients
possible.
BUGS: Nothing bugs me right
now
An ingredient that you’re
attached to:
Rice
Most memorable dining
experience:
I love Morimoto’s and finally
met Morimoto at his restaurant in NYC.
Favorite ‘elbows on the table
hole in the wall’:
Pho’ King
noodle shop on Stockton Blvd in South Sacramento
A food item you hate to admit
to liking:
An excess of mayonnaise on
everything!
Three things in fridge right
now:
Beer, fake cheese (Kraft
American singles), Hot
Pockets
Secret junk food indulgence:
The AM/PM Red Hot Bomb
Burrito- I microwave it then throw it into the deep
fryer!
“It is important
to me that my purveyors give me excellent customer
service. From suggestions of items for my menu to
knowledge of the product itself and letting me know what
is available. I get all this from Preferred and their
philosophy of sustainability tops it all off for
me.”
-Billy Ngo,
Chef/Owner, KRU & Red Lotus, Sacramento,CA
(left to
right: Tataki of Wagyu Beef with Hot
Oil, Noodle Bowl with Duck Egg and Seared
Magret ) __________________________________________________________________________
Chef
Billy Ngo is one of Northern California's newest cutting
edge chefs with a passion and an educated take on
cuisine that is uniquely his own. He also seeks out the
finest ingredients to work with. We are honored that he
chooses Preferred as a source for his meat
needs.
