HAUTE KITCHEN
Beautiful entry at Harborview Restaurant & Bar
IN CONVERSATION WITH SHARON SETO
X
BY SHARON SETO | PHOTOS BY ROBERT RICHARDS
IAN NIAN KUAI LE! HAPPY NEW YEAR! GROWING up in a traditional Chinese home, the Lunar New Year is the most important time for “family.” No matter where one lives in the world, our family members travel back home to dine together on New Year’s Eve and stay with each other to celebrate for two weeks, visiting relatives and friends. It’s about reuniting and being a whole family. As a young child, I looked forward to this holiday with excitement. Whether people visited our home or we visited others, I was given beautifully decorated red envelopes filled with lucky money. But my fondest memories were plates of auspicious food eaten during gatherings and the sense of togetherness around the table. Whether we dine during home visits or at restaurants, eating is a big part of celebrating the
16
Chinese New Year. Food binds family and friends. My parents taught me that a family who eats together stays together. Harborview Restaurant and Bar is all about family, operated by two generations working seamlessly together. It’s one of my favorite Chinese restaurants, constantly buzzing with happy, chattering diners enjoying delicious dishes, plate after plate. It gets extra busy during Chinese New Year festivities. My friend, Karen Liu, is co-owner of Harborview Restaurant and Bar. She is also director of marketing and special events. Karen works alongside her father, Kinson Wong, and brother, Frank Wong. Her love for family and their restaurant is obvious. Karen’s energy to keep operations seamless at this popular restaurant amazes me! She credits her work ethic to her immigrant parents, who instilled hard work and perseverance into Karen as a child.
