photos courtesy of Brandon Soo Hoo
Brandon Soo Hoo is a young and talented rising actor and multi-hyphenate powerhouse.
He is the lead of Paramount+’s animated film The Tiger’s Apprentice starring alongside a celebrity-studded voice cast including Michelle Yeoh, Sandra Oh, Lucy Liu, Henry Golding, Sherry Cola, Leah Lewis, and Bowen Yang. The 7 time Young Artist Award winner and nominee also stars in the 3D animated series Mech Cadets.
Outside of his work in television and film, Brandon is a master martial artist. He has trained in several forms of Kung Fu including Wing Chu, Wushu & Southern Fist. Brandon is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has trained in Muay Thai and Karate. He is also skilled in weaponry such as nunchaku, bo staff, and the sword.
The LA native is of Chinese descent and fluent in Mandarin. Brandon has traveled across Asia and it is his personal mission to help have more projects produced and shot in East Asia, as well as to help aspiring Asian actors have more success in the US.
Brandon also feels that food is part of his identity.
He grew up around food as his grandmother and mother were chefs and his grandfather owned Hop Louie, the popular Cantonese restaurant in LA’s Chinatown. He knew his family through food and remembers his grandmother, who passed away when he was young, by what she ate and his grandfather by what he drank.
Being from an Asian household, emotions were never communicated verbally. His family learned to speak with the heart through the food they ate. “I love you” was in the form of his favorite tomato beef and steamed pork ribs. “I’m sorry” after a bad argument took the form of a remorseful offering of sliced oranges.
Food is also how he embraces his culture. At one point his friends had called him the “white kid” of his group. “White kid” also took on many variations. He distinctly remembers being called “Banana” and “Twinky” due to being “yellow” on the outside to conceal a “white” interior. But it was “guai lo” a semi-derogatory Cantonese term for “white ghost” that stung the most. It felt like he was being shunned by his own community.
This fired up his determination to own his identity, which he did through food by learning how to cook and how food is inherently intertwined with his family’s culture.
Food has always been the through-line in his life. Brandon travels to eat, he chooses places to live based on the restaurants, and he is the go-to guy in his circle of friends for anyone in need of food recommendations. With his grandpa as an inspiration growing up, he had always wanted to own a restaurant. Trying and failing to open a restaurant at the age of 18, Brandon finally got the opportunity to re-enter the restaurant space with the opening of Staxs Burger in Cambodia. His relationship with food has brought him deeper into his culture and into himself.
The following conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
What was your best childhood food memory?
Too many to choose from! Dim sum with my grandparents at Sea Harbor in Monterey Park, New Years tang yuan (dumpling soup) at my cousins’ house, wet burritos with my dad in East LA… and I remember being particularly excited about slurpees from 7/11 whenever I did well in school.
Describe growing up in a family of restaurateurs. What are some of your favorite memories of Hop Louie?
On my dad’s side, what stood out to me most about my grandparents was their industriousness. Most of my memories of them consisted of them standing behind the cash register of our restaurant or filing away receipts after a long dinner shift. They were the embodiment of hard work and sacrifice, and I definitely inherited my work ethic and entrepreneurship from them.
Hop Louie served its chicken salad and soup garnished with little crispy noodles, which were kept in a carton. I have fond memories of sneaking into the kitchen to scoop a bowl of them whenever I visited.
At what point did you think that you wanted to open a restaurant?
Hop Louie was a landmark in Chinatown, and to me it represented the Soo Hoo’s legacy in the neighborhood. I was devastated when I heard my family was selling the restaurant, and I held onto a dream of one day reopening the spot myself. This was my first time considering running my own food business.
Who taught you how to cook?
Growing up, watching my mom cook gave me the foundation for most of my culinary skills. From her, I learned how to properly stock a Chinese pantry, basic ingredient prep, as well as a decent array of canto recipes. I know it’s cliche, but I wish I had paid more attention in the kitchen when I was younger, to preserve as many family recipes as possible.
What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?
Skin-on chicken thighs, mainly because they’re so versatile, and they’re almost impossible to mess up. Pan searing them with a light crust and a soy garlic marinade was a life changing recipe for me.
What is your favorite comfort food?
My Chinese identity says dumplings; I can easily clear several plates in a sitting. Specifically with pork and chives, or pan fried white fish. But my Angeleno roots say tacos. Especially late night, post-club street tacos.
What is your go-to restaurant that never disappoints?
Osen Izakaya in Silverlake is a consistent banger. It’s the perfect spot for every occasion. For a quiet solo lunch, their lunch menu is a great value option. If you’re looking for a classy, unpretentious date night, Osen is the spot.
Who was your most significant culinary influence growing up?
Anthony Bourdain. This man shaped my personality and character in a lot of ways. Aside from his skills as a chef and storyteller, and his knowledge of culinary arts, it was his free spirit and love for humanity that resonated with me the most. Whether on the road, on the screen, or in the kitchen, he was an absolute gem of a human being and will forever be missed.
In what ways has your childhood shaped your relationship with food?
Growing up as a 4th gen Chinese American, at times I struggled to identify with my culture. I couldn’t speak the language, and my upbringing was a bit non-traditional, so naturally it was something I remember being a bit insecure about. I tried to compensate for this by increasing my knowledge of Chinese cuisine, and I made it a point to eat more Chinese food than any of my 1st gen peers. Eventually, this became my strongest method of connecting with my heritage, and it grew into a lifelong obsession with food.
Like many living in diaspora can understand, even if one is trying to find home, home is an elusive thing. How did you learn to embrace being a third culture kid?
Growing up in a mostly Asian neighborhood, I spent a lot of time in my childhood trying to prove my Asian-ness to my first gen peers. But language barriers and subtle cultural differences prevented me from ever truly feeling like I fit in.
Years later, living in China by myself brought things full circle for me. Experiencing life on both sides simultaneously gave me a deeper understanding of my Chinese roots, as well as more acceptance of my own distinctly American traits. With this new perspective I was finally able to embrace my identity as a Chinese American.
Was there ever a time that you found it a challenge to accept your culture because you were trying to “fit in” with the white kids?
I’ve always been proud of my culture. At a young age, I had awareness that I was somehow different from the white kids, and consequently a majority of the country, which is something I came to terms with. But mostly I embraced my heritage, and if others didn’t understand, I saw this as more of a loss for them.
How would you describe your family’s idea of hospitality?
In an Asian family, hospitality is pretty ingrained in our culture. For anyone visiting, there would always be hot food offered, or fruits readily available. A lot of my concept of hospitality came from my dad who, despite his normally serious demeanor, always displayed a surprising amount of altruism. As long as I could remember, he would often go out of his way to help others in need, or give money or food to homeless folks in the street. It was these acts of generosity that shaped my idea of hospitality at a young age.
How important was food in your daily life and what was its significance beyond just sustenance?
Food encompasses so many things to me. Food is identity, it’s community, it’s expression, and it’s a celebration of life itself. The most common greeting in Chinese is “have you eaten yet?”, which illustrates the importance of food in Asian culture. I think food is the most powerful tool for bridging cultures as well. It transcends language; two people from across the globe can find common ground in a shared meal, through the perennial act of “breaking bread.”
When you got into acting, did you ever abandon the idea of opening a restaurant?
The dream never died, it was just on a hiatus. The idea has always been appealing to me, but life circumstances and financial circumstances just didn’t allow it.
Can you draw any parallels between your acting career and your love of food? Is there a connection?
Quite a few. Acting and cooking are both such personal forms of expression. My tastes in food and films both vary widely, and I consume films and food with a similarly voracious appetite.
Also a career in acting and food are both similarly risky from a financial standpoint, so pursuing either requires a similar level of audacity too [he laughs].
Food can be such a great translator of people, place, culture and history. How do you use food to convey who you are personally, professionally and culturally?
I’ve always been an adventurous person, and I think this trait is similarly reflected in my adventurous palate. I also schedule much of my life around food. I choose where to live, and where to travel based on the surrounding restaurants. Food preferences are even a large factor in my dating preferences.
Professionally, I think opening a burger restaurant in Cambodia actually made a lot of sense. As an Asian American, it was only natural to launch an American restaurant in Asia.
What was the idea for doing a burger joint? Why in Cambodia?
Long story short, me and my best friend traveled to Cambodia for his cousin’s wedding, and as a wedding gift, we decided to bring him something that he missed the most from America: an In-N-Out Double-Double. Of course it wouldn’t survive the flight, so we had to cook one for him when we arrived. We made one for him (at least our own version of it), and it blew him away. So much so, that the next day he offered to partner with us to open a restaurant.
Having grown up in Los Angeles, eating some of the best smash burgers in the world, we knew we could deliver an incredible burger, one that Cambodia had never seen before. So we shook on it, and 7 months later, Stax Grill was born.
Any plans to open a Cantonese restaurant to carry on the family tradition?
Nothing currently in the works, but I’ve always had a dream to open my own Chinese spot in LA. Not serving strictly traditional recipes, but with flavors more authentic to my experience as a 4th Gen Chinese American. Maybe my own rendition of a classic “Hong Kong Café.”
How would you respond to the statement: “hospitality is about a sense of belonging. It’s not just about the food, but how you serve it and what conditions you create for that person to feel at ease.”
Hospitality is the essential human element of dining. It sets the tone of the meal before your first bite, and sticks with you long after you’ve left the restaurant. Good food is only half of the formula, but the art of hospitality can make a meal truly remarkable.
In your opinion, what’s the difference between fusion and third culture cooking?
Fusion food gets a bad rap, which is unfair at times. Sometimes fusion food can be a bit gimmicky, but often what we consider to be “traditional” cuisines is actually a fusion of styles from other countries.
For example, a lot of Viet(namese) food is heavily influenced by French technique, Hawaiian food is a fusion of pan-Asian influences, Hong Kong cuisine is a result of British occupation, Al pastor is Mexican translation of Shawarma, etc. In this way, fusion food is a reflection of history, diaspora, geopolitics, etc.
At the end of the day, food is just another form of expression, and sometimes experimentation is necessary in order for cuisines to evolve and grow.
In Los Angeles, there are many examples of this experimentation done beautifully, in restaurants like Pija Palace, Yangban, and the iconic Kogi truck.
Third culture cooking is the result of the children of immigrants making an effort to hold onto the authentic flavors of their ancestors, while trying to stay true to their voice. You can see this all over Los Angeles, in places like Yang’s Kitchen, Liu’s Cafe, Night Market and Song, and Lasita. As a third culture kid, this is probably the style of cooking that resonates with me the most.
Editor-in-chief Gurvinder Bhatia left a career practising law to pursue his passion for wine and food. Gurvinder is also the wine columnist for Global Television Edmonton, an international wine judge, consultant and commentator and the president of Vinomania Consulting. Gurvinder was the owner/founder of Vinomania wine boutique for over 20 years which was recognized on numerous occasions as one of the best wine stores in Canada. Gurvinder was the wine columnist for CBC Radio for 11 years and is certified by Vinitaly International in Verona Italy as one of only 16 Italian Wine Experts in the world. In 2015, Gurvinder was named by Alberta Venture Magazine as one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People. He is frequently asked to speak locally, nationally and internationally on a broad range of topics focussing on wine, food, business and community.