Last week, local eatery Koong’s officially closed after over four decades of serving the Milpitas community.
Henry Koong opened the Chinese restaurant back in the 1980s. After he decided to retire, Koong sold the restaurant to Ming Ju Yu in 2000. Yu had been working as a server for Koong’s at the time, and had been looking for an opportunity to have her own place.
So she and a business partner became the new owners, and they decided to keep the same menu – but not without adding some of their own flavor…
“We continued using all their ingredients and recipes,” she said. “But we also added our own specialties over the years, like szechuan noodle soup, black bean noodles, and a seafood salad.”
During the two and a half decades that Yu owned the restaurant, there were a couple of memorable challenges. In 2019, there was a kitchen fire, and they had to shut Koong’s down for 6 months. Then, of course, Covid started, and they had to adjust to serving takeout.
“I’m just so appreciative of everyone who came to support my business – especially during Covid time,” said Yu.
Yu plans to retire from the restaurant business and will take some time to relax. Beyond that, she isn’t sure what her next move will be.
When asked what she will miss most about running Koong’s, Yu didn’t hesitate to tell The Beat that it was the customers:
“I have long-time customers who have been coming continuously over the years,” said Yu. “And they’ve become like family. It wasn’t just eat, pay, and go. We would always talk; they became friends. They will be the thing I miss the most after I leave.”