Who is the Sacramento sushi chef up for a James Beard award? 5 things to know
A Sacramento sushi chef has been thrust into the spotlight after snagging a chance at one of the nation’s most prestigious culinary awards.
Buu “Billy” Ngo, chef and co-owner of contemporary Japanese restaurant Kru in East Sacramento, was named the city’s only semifinalist on Wednesday for the James Beard Award crowning California’s best chef. The other contenders in the category are scattered across the state, with the most prospects in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Think the Oscars, but for food.
“Very, very shocked,” Ngo told The Sacramento Bee this week about his nomination. “I was sleeping, then kept hearing a buzz on my phone like a text, then another one and another one, and I was like ‘what’s going on?’”
The James Beard Awards, according to the nonprofit’s website, are funneled through the James Beard Foundation and recognize extraordinary culinary talent with a commitment to race and social equity. Semifinalists in the running for this year’s restaurant and chef awards are judged across 22 categories.
Ngo is a semifinalist, meaning there’s one more round to go before a winner is crowned.
Nominees will be announced on Wednesday, April 3, and a winner will be decided on Monday, June 10, in Chicago.
If you are locked into the Sacramento food scene, Ngo’s name may sound familiar. But for people who are hearing about him for the first time, here are five things you should know.
Billy Ngo was born in a refugee camp
Born in a refugee camp in Hong Kong, according to Kru’s website, Ngo immigrated to the U.S. at 8 months old and grew up in south Sacramento.
His childhood friends were eager to leave the city when they graduated high school, but Ngo stayed put.
Billy Ngo’s culinary career didn’t start in the kitchen
Ngo worked at Fuji on Broadway in Land Park into his 20s, rising through the ranks from busboy to sushi chef. The space has now been taken over by a new Japanese restaurant with the same name and concept as the original eatery.
Ngo founded Kru in 2005 in midtown, according to a previous Sacramento Bee story, just a couple of days shy of his 24th birthday.
The restaurant eventually moved to a bigger location at 3135 Folsom Blvd. in East Sacramento, where he can still be found making omakase once a week.
Billy Ngo is opening a restaurant in honor of his mother
With the help of former Kodaiko general manager Michael Ng and chef Tyler Bond of Lemon Grass Restaurant, Ngo will open a new restaurant in honor of his late mother.
Chu Mai, a contemporary Chinese and Vietnamese fusion restaurant, is slated to open inside the ARY Place Apartments building at 1717 S St. in midtown over the summer.
The restaurant’s entrance is 1829 17th St.
“Chu Mai is inspired by Bill’s late mother and the flavors and cuisine that (first) and (second) generation Asian Americans grew up on,” the restaurant wrote on its website.
The sample menu includes oysters on the half shell with chimichurri sauce, spicy salad rolls stuffed with spicy tuna and shaved raw beef marinated in lime and herbs. Chicken wings, fried rice, whole-fried fish and dumplings are also on the menu.
Billy Ngo is a prominent Sacramento-area restaurateur
Aside from Kru, Ngo is a partner with Kodaiko Ramen & Bar and Fish Face Poke Bar in downtown Sacramento, as well as Sky River Casino in Elk Grove.
Billy Ngo rarely cooks at home
Ngo’s culinary ventures do not transfer to his home kitchen.
“I don’t (cook) at home,” the chef told The Bee in a 2019 interview, adding he eats a lot of junk food.
When Ngo does eat at home, his family is typically the ones to prepare it. Otherwise, he keeps his dishes “super simple.”
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