“Cook what you want to eat yourself,” says Jerry Lee, explaining the success of Empty Bowl Gourmet Noodle Bar — the Asian fusion noodle emporium in the Santa Barbara Public Market — and Khao Kaeng, his new venture on Coast Village Road in Montecito. “We’re enjoying it quite a bit,” he enthuses about the latter, which he opened because his business partner, Chef Nui Pannak, wanted to expand the Empty Bowl menu.
Jerry Lee is a remarkable Santa Barbara success story. Born in Taipei, he came to the United States when he was seven years old. “I knew two words in English when I first arrived,” he recalls. In Taipei, Jerry’s father was a film director and his mother was a make-up artist, but they wanted better education and opportunities for their children.
The family first settled in Carmel to work at a family restaurant called Golden Buddha. Wanting to open their own business, Jerry’s parents drove around California and found San Luis Obispo, where they opened Mandarin Gourmet. Jerry washed dishes and, at age 16, started delivering food. “I didn’t know that running and owning a restaurant was something I wanted to do,” he says.