THIS boy's (working) LIFE

When I was ten, my parents opened one of the first Thai restaurants in New Jersey. I started working in the kitchen before my voice broke. To us, the place was so much more than just a business. But as I grew into adulthood, what would my parents’ American dream mean for me?

- KEVIN SINTUMUANG

I REMEMBER THE NIGHT MY DAD SLEPT IN OUR FAMILY’S restaurant. Broken glass was scattered across the floor of the storefront that I had swept hours earlier. The cash register was overturned. Nothing was in it but pennies. Some food was taken. It could have been worse.

That night, he came back with a foldable reclining beach chair—one of those things meant for sunbathing—and lay there, half-awake, with a gun inside a fanny pack. The next day, he boarded up the door with plywood. But he continued to sleep there, occasionally sitting in the restaurant’s Ford Econoline van when he was restless, tuning in to the smooth-jazz station on the radio, CD 101.9.

My sister and I didn’t understand. Was he waiting for the thieves to return? Did he just want some alone time with Kenny G? Where did he get a gun?

We never got a real explanation because, you know, dads.

What was clear to me, even at the time: He was going to protect this place like it was his own home. In many ways, it was, and not just for him but for all of us—especially for me.

CHAPTER ONE

In Which I Volunteer for Galley Service

From the time I was old enough to beat Super Mario Bros. 2, I shadowed my dad and hung around the restaurant every chance I got. It was like theater to be on the sidelines of a working kitchen. Long before the Food Network romanticized cooks and kitchens, I knew there was something special here. Listening to the hiss of noodles as they hit the surface of a fiery wok, followed by the gentle clank clank clank of a metal spoon incorporating the ingredients of a pad thai; breathing in the smell of curries simmering on the stove; watching cleavers chop through an order of gai yang, grilled chicken marinated in lemongrass, fish sauce, coriander, and ginger. This was my favorite dish as a kid, and I loved to sneak tastes of it.