From Hmong refugee to world poker champ, this restaurateur has opened a new spot in Fresno
People who open restaurants usually have good stories to tell. It takes a certain kind of person, after all – with a huge amount of passion and stomach for risk – to open a restaurant.
And Jerry Yang, the Hmong owner of Shobu Japanese Cuisine, a newly opened Japanese restaurant in north Fresno, has quite the tale to share.
When I asked him why he wanted to open a restaurant, he told me about how he spent time in a refugee camp in Thailand as a boy, from around age 7 to age 11. There wasn’t enough food.
“I was always hungry,” he said.
He thought, “Someday, if I make it to America, I would like to own a restaurant.”
Fast forward a few years and Yang has opened a restaurant in Fresno. He’s also the 2007 winner of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas – as in, the main event, the whole shebang, $8.25 million in prize money. More on that in a moment.
Sushi and ramen
Some of you may be familiar with Yang from his restaurant in Merced, Pocket 8’s Sushi & Grill. He closed that restaurant in September, saying the commute from his Fresno-area home (technically he lives in Madera) and the long workdays were making the drive a little scary.
Shobu (a Japanese reference to an iris flower) opened in December in the former Tree of Life spot.
It specializes in sushi, ramen, teriyaki and curry.
Sushi is Yang’s real passion.
“I just love sushi,” he said. “I like the art of it, the creation. I invent a roll and make it beautiful.”
Yang recommends the “Jerry Special,” made with spicy crab and eel, with cream cheese and avocado inside and topped with spicy and teriyaki sauces.
There’s also the bulldog roll, a nod to Fresno State fans with something a little different – steak. Along with slices of New York steak, it has shrimp tempura, avocado, spicy crab and cucumber and is topped with a spicy sauce.
The restaurant has a sushi bar where you can watch sushi chefs work while you eat.
Ramen is something new for Yang. He hired a chef he met through church to train him how to make it and it’s taking off.
The tonkotsu, the traditional pork-based soup with ramen noodles, is the most popular. There’s eight kinds of ramen on the menu, along with several types of soup with udon, a thicker noodle.
There’s also something called “challenge ramen.” It’s ramen cooked in a spicy chili broth with chicken and vegetables. You get to choose your spice level, from medium, hot, very hot or crazy hot.
What’s crazy hot like?
“You don’t want to know,” Yang said. He normally gets the medium.
The menu here is huge, with all kinds of chicken, noodle and fried rice dishes, even lobster tail. Beer and cocktails are coming once the liquor license is approved.
Poker and family
So how did Yang go from that refugee camp to running a restaurant in Fresno?
Well, his story starts even before that. He was born in Laos.
You can read the long version of his story at MercedSunStar.com, or his book, “All in: From refugee camp to poker champ.”
But his childhood involves a failed escape from communist Laos that got an AK-47 pointed at his 7-year-old head.
His father served in the CIA’s guerrilla army under legendary Hmong General Vang Pao.
Later, the family crossed the Mekong River, escaping to Thailand amid flying bullets and people drowning.
After time in the Thailand refugee camp, he eventually ended up in Fresno.
He attended Hoover High School for a year before graduating from a Christian school, along with living in several other California cities. His parents still live here.
Yang is soft-spoken and laughs a lot when recounting how he got into poker.
He was working as a clinical psychologist in Temecula with a family of six kids when the poker bug bit. He was watching competitive poker on ESPN one day with his wife.
“I pointed at the TV. I said, ‘Honey, I think I can do that,’” he said. “She gave me the most disgusted look.”
He started playing the game just two years before he won the World Series of Poker.
After deciding upon a spending limit, he practiced at the local casino. One thing led to another and he won a precursor event to the World Series and then the main event.
“To this day, I’m still in shock,” he said.
He played professionally for a few years, sponsored by a poker site and traveling. He opened a restaurant in Las Vegas that has since closed.
Now, you may be wondering if someone won that much money, why bother to work? Why bother to work the long hours it takes to run a restaurant?
“I need to set a good example for my kids,” he said. “My kids are going to think, ‘If he’s not working, why should we?’”
The kids are now ages 15 to 23 and you can occasionally see them washing dishes or busing tables at the restaurant.
Details: Shobu is at 6640 N. Blackstone Ave. (559) 261-9745. Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 9:31 AM.
