Episode 19: The Sushi Prodigy

Sushi is often a high culinary art form and its popularity continues to grow. Since the countries first sushi roll was served in Little Tokyo Los Angeles in the 1960s, is has grown into a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Interest in the cuisine is fueled by creative chefs, who push boundaries and take painstaking steps to ensure the best customer experience.

One example is Billy Ngo, founder, chef and partner of Kru Restaurant in Sacramento, whose innovation and emphasis on quality has garnered loyal customers and rave reviews. As Leilani Marie Labong from SacTown Magazine put it, Billy “has fine-tuned an unofficial M.O. to bring as-yet-uncharted experiences to his hometown.”

Billy’s ascendance as one of the region’s top chefs is remarkable, considering his journey.

“We were very lucky to have the life that I had and the opportunities I had growing up here with my parents coming over here,” he remarked. “My parents are Chinese, but they're from Vietnam. Born in Vietnam. They had to flee because of the Vietnam War. And my mom was pregnant with me when they got on the boat, escaped, landed in a refugee camp in Hong Kong, and that's where I was born.”

Billy arrived in Sacramento as a baby, and he admits his early work career was more focused on earning money for stereo equipment than being a top chef. As a teen, he spent many laborious weekends preparing shrimp for later use. Other jobs included busing tables and washing dishes.

However, over time, Billy’s interest in sushi grew. This spark was fueled by his work with high achieving chefs, including Taka Watanabe, Taro Arai and Randall Selland.

Through this experience, he saw changes in how sushi was being presented. From a rigid, predictable menu came food with a flair, and a chance for every chef to roll something amazing and unique.

He founded Kru Restaurant in 2005, putting optimism over a firm foundation of success. As he put it, “it was all done with band-aids and pennies.” Fortunately, Kru has grown, as more people became enchanted with Billy’s groundbreaking cuisine.

Billy cited using great ingredients as a key, and that includes the foundation of sushi – rice.  In fact, California rice is used in virtually every roll of sushi made in America. Billy gets his rice from grower Michael Bosworth in Yuba County, and said he’s impressed with the sophistication of farming; the scale and hi-tech nature that one must see to fully appreciate.

He has carried forth this approach of sourcing local ingredients, and forging relationships with the farmers and ranchers that grew them.

“We're so lucky to be in this region in Sacramento with so many things being grown here locally,” he said. “Knowing where it's coming from and having the relationship with the grower or the rancher or the farmer. Any questions you have, it's easy.”

Billy said his current priorities are to keep Kru and his other businesses, including the employees, going as reasonably as possible during the COVID-19 restrictions, although he can’t wait for a better day.

“This is so different,” he commented. “I’m very thankful that we're still able to offer food to-go. But part of the magic and why I fell in love with this industry, is seeing the faces, hearing the sound, hearing the laughs of the dining room and the clang of pans in the kitchen, you miss all that. And I can't wait for that and I think hopefully soon we'll have that energy again, inside the building.”

Episode Transcript

Jim Morris: The first sushi served in America was in the 1960s in little Tokyo, Los Angeles. From its humble beginnings here, it is now a powerhouse generating billions of dollars a year. The Sacramento Valley provides virtually all of America's sushi rice, and this region has some outstanding sushi. Ian Scharg and his family are regular customers at Kru Restau