May 12, 2020
There were a few months between high school and university where I worked two different restaurant jobs. The eighteen-year-old me was very excited to “make my own money” and feel all grown-up. You know how teenagers can be.
“You know what, I still remember the first time I saw you at our interview. I was like, she’s so young I can’t even buy her a beer!”
Meet Powell. He was the owner of Our Place Cafe, and one of the first people that ever hired me for a paid job. For the record, I stayed with Our Place for many seasons, until after I was old enough to legally join him and the team for an occasional beer after a busy shift.
“My name is Powell. Powell Sung. It’s May 12th and I’m calling Sarah from Taiwan today. I haven’t seen this girl in a long time. She’s like my little sister. She was the best employee at the first restaurant in my life.”
Hah, he likes to flatter and exaggerate, but yes – I very fondly recall my time at Our Place. It was a renovated heritage house in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, somewhat tucked away on Manitoba Street. It was one of those hidden-away gems. We honestly served the best comfort food in town.
Sadly for you, Our Place Cafe no longer exists. Five years ago, Powell and his family moved to Taiwan, where both he and his wife originally come from. I called him to catch up and see what he’s been up to.
Moving back to Taiwan
“I lived in Canada for twenty years before we moved back here. So for me and my family, it was like we were new to this country. A lot of things have changed here, and most of my old friends no longer live in the same area.
The first year was about looking for a job and finding a school for the kids. I worked at restaurants as a chef while I searched for a new business opportunity. And two and a half years ago, I opened my own restaurant in Taipei. My restaurant is in an office area, so we are open for lunch. But most of the restaurant’s revenue comes from dinner. I do private, fine-dining style dinners. You can bring your own wine if you like. Some people bring very expensive wine. I don’t charge corkage fees, but my only rule is that it doesn’t matter what kind of wine you bring, I’ll drink one glass of it!
But I can tell you it’s not easy, especially with this virus. I haven’t made much money yet, but I’ve made lots of good friends here and met some pretty cool people.”
Talking to people is what I love
Having known Powell as my boss at Our Place and as the guy who makes just the perfect burgers, I had kind of just assumed that he always wanted to be a chef or a restaurateur. I realize I had never actually asked him if this was true.
“I came to Canada when I was sixteen. And I went to an ESL class first. There was so much vocabulary to learn, and I wasn’t getting good marks at school. And books, and that kind of stuff, weren’t what I was good at. So I decided to do something that was skills-based.
But I didn’t want a job where it’s you and your machine, or you and your product. But at a restaurant, I make many good friends, and I love seeing people enjoy my food. For me, talking to people is what I love. So I decided to go into the Food & Beverage business.”
Powell is a textbook extrovert and cares about his customers. When regular customers come back time and again, Powell knows that they visit not just for the food, but to come and see him.
“I say that the only thing that’s free at my restaurant is my jokes. Making sure that people have fun is very important to me. For me, a restaurant is a tool to make friends.”
“Do you remember what our restaurant was called?” Powell asks. Sure I do.
“I wanted it to be the third place in the customers’ lives, after their home and their work. Our Place, where you can always come by and grab a coffee or some food. It was a small restaurant, and only the people who worked in the area came. So after two or three months, it was easy to remember who liked their food extra spicy, who didn’t like onions, who always had a salad, and who hated chicken soup.”
Started from the bottom…
“My first job was washing the dishes at an all-you-can-eat restaurant when I was seventeen. You can imagine how many dishes we had to clean. All-you-can-eat restaurants always have good business. And I told myself, damn, I don’t want to be the kid washing the dishes. I want to be a chef, and tell people to do the dishes. When you’re the chef, people respect you, and some people even buy you a glass of wine and say, thank you, chef! And I think God listened to me that moment.
But if you hate somebody, tell them to open a restaurant! Managing people, cooking the food, and cleaning the kitchen, I don’t know why I still do it but I do! It’s not an easy job.
Many times, I want to give up. But then, something always happens. In these moments there always are people that make you feel that I still have hope. That I can still do this. Life is always like that.”
And just like that, yet again, Powell finds strength to carry on.
It’s all about family
For Powell, the reason for returning to Taiwan primarily had to do with family.
“After my grandpa passed away, I thought, damn, maybe this is the moment I moved back to Taiwan. At least I would get to see my parents often, and see my grandma. And I wanted my kids to know about my family. If you haven’t seen your great-grandma, when she passes away you’ll have no feelings. It’s like you didn’t even know her. I didn’t want that with my kids. I wanted my kids to know where they come from, where their parents come from.”
The Vancouver lifestyle
The plan is for Powell and his family to move back to Canada in the next few years. He wants his three sons to experience both Taiwan and Canada, and prepare them for a future, wherever they choose to live once they grow up. Powell has a number of friends back in Vancouver who are eager to start a restaurant business with him.
“Vancouver is where I’ve had some of my best moments in life,” says Powell. From high school, to getting married, to launching his first business, many of his life’s milestones took place in Vancouver. All three of his sons were born in Canada.
“In the morning, you enjoy a good coffee, have a good brunch. I’d take a bath, and I’d talk to my wife and maybe we’d go to Kitsilano Beach and take a walk. And we’d go to the supermarket to buy some good food. And I’m cooking tonight! I call up some of my good friends, and have a barbecue in my garden. I’ll be like, hey, Sarah, we’re making some steak tonight. And you’ll bring two bottles of wine. That’s what I love about life in Vancouver.”
Midair Kitchen
But for now, Powell gets ready for another day at his restaurant in Taipei. With the Coronavirus pandemic, Powell says he is lucky that his restaurant is still open. Many businesses have been hit hard. His three kids are in school, as schools in Taiwan have remained open.
If you live in Taipei, I’ve been told that his restaurant is called Midair Kitchen. Check it out, I bet you’ll love it.
