Raised in a Chinese Restaurant

My parents bought "Peking Palace" in 1987, when I was 2 years old.

Everyday after school, my brother and I would come to the restaurant and do our homework and stay till closing. Sometimes we would help work, and most of the time we went outside to run around.

I started working at a fairly young age, I washed dishes, and peeled snow peas and string beans, just easy things that earned me a whopping $5.00 a day. I saved my money every week to buy a new barbie doll. And ever since then, I just kept working because it was fun for me to work, even day it still is.

My fondest memories of my childhood included running around downtown Napa. Going to KB Toystore, and hanging out with the "Asia Cafe Girls" and the boys from "Rio Poco" and "P.J.'s Cafe" We would tell scary stories while sitting in front of the ghost bar (Fagiani's Bar) and one night while sitting there the phone in the bar began to ring! Creeeepy!

There were some downfalls of being raised in a chinese restaurant. I witnessed crazy customers at a young age, I was always late to school because I wouldn't go to sleep till past 10:00P.M, and....thats pretty much it. These were the best times of my life. I got to eat delicious chinese food everyday and hang out with my brother.

Across the street from Peking Palace is the Veterans Park.
There would always be a bunch of skaters that would hangout there all day and they would come in all the time to use our restroom but then we stopped letting them use our restroom because they didn't buy anything. One day these two skater boys came in and stole this red bucket that we made into a "Wishing Well". The bucket was filled with water, so when they were running away with the bucket the water was leaving a trail....so we followed them to the rock waterfall or where the clock tower used to be. They ended up giving us our bucket back but without the money in it of course.

One morning,  I don't remember exactly when this happened but we were walking up to the restaurant and saw that our glass front doors have been shattered....We've been ROBBED!....but...guess what was stolen? That infamous red bucket wishing well. Hmm...?

Although I remember a lot of things,  I think I had the best childhood ever because for some crazy reason I remember so much of my childhood but I can barely remember high school. I could tell you tons of stories that happened on the 1000 block of 2nd and Main Street. 

Many customers have watched me grow up.
They still remember my brother and I running around outside late at night hanging outside of Peking Palace. Our most loyal customers have followed us all the way to St. Helena.

My parents purchased "Golden Harvest" in 1995 and sold Peking Palace in 1999.
 I began working as a full time waitress in 1999 at Golden Harvest.
We bought back Peking Palace in 2009.

Good Times