My father did not talk much and he rarely talked about his past. About 20 years ago, I decided I was going to “interview” him and write down his story so that my kids will know something about their ancestry.

What I got out of it was that his life was such a journey of hope and optimism. He was a poor farm kid with no formal education. As he became an adolescent, he decided to follow his uncle to work for his store in Macau. A few years later, he found work at a restaurant and learned to cook and eventually became a renowned chef. Not knowing a drop of English, he later accepted an invitation to work in London. Then a few years after he returned to Hong Kong, a restaurant in Chicago sponsored him to move there and he brought the whole family to the U.S.; and that wasn’t the end, he moved from Chicago to New York when it was the nastiest city in the country, and after a couple years, he moved again to Salt Lake City when no one except ski bums and Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) have even heard of it.

He did all that during a time when there was little information about travel and migration except from word-of-mouth to tell him what he was getting himself into. I am very thankful that he was such an adventurous soul, and we’re all beneficiaries of that. He opened four restaurants here during the 80s and 90s - Ho Ho Gourmet, The Pearl, Golden Wok and Golden Phoenix. Whenever I talk to anyone who lived here during those years, they are very likely to have been to one of his restaurants.

He cared a lot about his craft. He would rather cook something he’s proud of than to make more money. He would always try to persuade his customers to order real Chinese food instead of sweet and sour pork, egg drop soup and egg rolls

My father worked a lot during his life, and that’s how he got his nickname - Uncle Ox, because he worked like an ox. (In China, the ox is the workhorse on the farms.) The only time in my life when I got to see him much was when I had to help out with the family business and worked at one of his restaurants, and it was there where I saw what he is really good at. He was such a maestro in the kitchen. He had more than a hundred items in his menu, and he can cook any one of them at the drop of a hat, in any proportion. I wish my kids had a chance to see that.

Even though he worked so much, my father seemed content and happy. I’ve never seen my father get angry, and I have never heard him yell. I think he was very well liked in the community. Whenever we go out for dim sums during the weekend, he would be recognized again and again. I think it’s one reason why he didn’t like going to Chinese restaurants.

I know his life is not a rags to riches story, but I thought he did damn well. He gave us the chance to get an education and the chance to reach our full potential - all the things that he didn’t have.

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