Rolled in cheetos, elote, ramen: Sushi chef bringing Korean corn dogs to Madera
After crafting sushi for 14 years, a chef is bringing the family-oriented atmosphere of her parents’ old Fresno restaurant to Madera – with a more simple, yet trendy, twist.
Jilliane Hatsavongsa is aiming for the Kanojo soft opening at 1930 Howard Road, Suite L, in Madera to take place next month. The restaurant will serve teriyaki bowls and noodles, comfort food like katsu curry, and Japanese “croffles,” a sort of waffle made with croissant dough.
There will also be “something different,” inspired by Hatsavongsa’s trips to Asian food events in Southern California, such as the 626 Night Market: Korean corn dogs.
The original is similar to an American corn dog, but with a panko coating. At Kanojo, customers will be able to find their Korean corn dogs with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos rolled into their coatings. There will be Mexican elote-style corn dogs and ones with ramen crunches, among other choices.
“It’s a craving,” Hatsavongsa said. “A go-to munchie snack.”
Hence the slogan on the sign out front of the currently-under-construction restaurant: “Madera’s new go to munchie spot.”
While Hatsavongsa’s roots are in her parents’ old west side Fresno sushi restaurant – the type of place where customers became friends with the staff – she’s been working in Madera the past few years. Apart from offering Madera a style of food she said is trending but still relatively unknown to the general public, Hatsavongsa chose the town because of what it offers to her in return.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Madera? Why Madera? Why didn’t you open a shop in Fresno?’” she said. “I wanted something local, sweet, intimate.”
‘Our restaurant west of the 99’
Hatsavongsa has been working alongside her father, Bo Liane, since she was old enough to. Her father is well-known by people who have eaten sushi in Fresno for years, Hatsavongsa said.
Bo, an immigrant from Laos, began learning how to cook Japanese food – sushi and teppanyaki – in Fresno in the early ‘90s.
“In the old days, there were only two Japanese restaurants in Fresno,” said Bo’s wife, Cindy Hatsavongsa, also originally from Laos. “One of the big ones he was with, they employed guys from Japan that didn’t speak any English.”
Bo learned from them, communicating mostly with hand gestures – even when he upset them with rice or slicing that didn’t meet their standards, he remembered with a laugh.
“A lot of Fresno people followed my dad from each location when he would get a new job,” Hatsavongsa said. It’s not uncommon for customers to follow their preferred sushi chef from restaurant to restaurant, she said.
Bo and Cindy eventually opened Oishii Japanese Cuisine on Ashlan Avenue just west of the 99 Freeway in 2007. Hatsavongsa began serving and washing dishes there when she was a teenager and making sushi by age 18. Her sushi career started when her father asked her to make a California roll “just how you do it for yourself” during a Friday dinner rush.
“That was our restaurant that was west of the 99,” said Nadine Carter, a customer who used to live on the west side of Fresno.
To Carter, Oishii was the type of place where you got to know your chef, and where the staff got to know your grandchildren.
“It was like walking into your own kitchen,” she said.
That’s the intimacy Hatsavongsa said she hopes to bring to her new spot in Madera.
Carter now lives in Idaho, but has kept in touch with the Hatsavongsa and her parents throughout the years, always going back for their food when visiting her grandchildren in the Central Valley. Like people followed Bo, some will follow Hatsavongsa to her own restaurant.
“All of my customers became like family,” she said, noting their social media comments’ excitement for the new restaurant. “My dad showed me that: When you own a business, it’s not just about your food. You have to love your customers.”
Kanojo means ‘she, her, sweetheart’ in Japanese
Hatsavongsa is not shy about calling herself a “daddy’s girl,” but life with her father has meant a lot of hard work. Their American story, like for many families with immigrant parents, came with a lot of sacrifices, they agreed.
The family’s three daughters often went to work with their father, waiting for his shifts to end while sitting in restaurant chairs.
“Watching him is like watching a soldier, to me,” Hatsavongsa said. “He worked hard.”
In the context of being the daughter of immigrants, work was also hard for her, she added.
“I wanted to help my daughters understand why we work so hard, and I wanted them to learn with me,” Bo said.
The family expanded its Fresno restaurant with a Madera location, Oishii Express, in 2019. The Fresno restaurant closed in 2021, and they also sold their Madera location. Bo had had a heart attack, and the family agreed it was time for a break. Crafting sushi also wasn’t the same without her father, Hatsavongsa said.
Things will be much more simple at Kanojo, where the parents will experience a comeback to the restaurant scene through their daughter. Kanojo is an appropriate name for their daughter’s restaurant because “it’s her’s,” Cindy said.
To Hatsavongsa, the name represents the power of women.
“My dad has all girls,” she said. “Being a girl is something strong.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2023 at 7:49 AM.
