Shrewsbury Business

The Emerald Garden
Chinese Restaurant and Sushi Bar

  Allan and Alice Kok

The Emerald Garden Chinese Restaurant and Sushi Bar, located in the Shrewsbury Common Shopping Center, holds two distinct honors. The Emerald Garden is believed to be the first Chinese Christian restaurant in Southern York County and also site of the area's first sushi bar.

Owner's Allen and Alice Kok were born and raised in Malaysia. Allen completed a program in design engineering at the Western Australia Institute of Technology in Perth in 1973. He and Alice migrated to the United States in 1981. Allen and Alice were living in Fairfax, Virginia in 1982 when their identical twin daughters, Audrey and Andrea, were born.

Allen worked for several different design engineering firms up until the time he and Alice opened the Emerald Garden Chinese Restaurant and Sushi Bar on December 15, 1997. The Emerald Garden has a host of delectable Chinese and sushi meals, as your publisher knows all too well.

Sushi was originally a way of preserving carp. The fish was cured between a sandwich of vinegared rice and was eaten without the rice. It has now evolved into nigirizushi, a slice of fish over a pad of vinegared rice. Today, sushi in a generic sense is the Japanese raw fish entree. Sashimi is decoratively sliced raw fish. Sushi and sashimi together shape the image of Japanese cuisine.

Peter Lin, Sushi Chef at the Emerald Garden, served his sushi apprenticeship at some of the finest sushi bars in Manhattan, New York. As Allen explains it, the sushi grade of any particular fish, such as salmon or tuna, is the highest grade of fish. When you eat sushi at the Emerald Garden, you can rest assured that you are getting the freshest and highest grade of fish prepared by the most skillful Sushi Chef in the area.

For those adventurous eaters who are a little reluctant to start with raw fish immediately, Allen suggests that you start with the cooked sushi and ease your way into a diet of raw fish. When asked about the health benefits of raw fish, Allen responded, "Have you ever seen a sick polar bear?" Hmmm ..... well, it is a documented fact that some of the oldest inhabitants of this good earth are the residents of Japanese fishing villages who subsist on a diet of raw fish.

It's no wonder that the Emerald Garden Chinese Restaurant and Sushi Bar has been a tremendous success. Anyone who has taken a little time to get to know Allen and Alice knows that their commitment to the community extends far beyond their business.

Your publisher would be remiss if he didn't point out that Allen and Alice were the first to agree to advertise in this publication. Before we had published our first article, armed only with a concept and high expectations, Allen and Alice were eager to support us. During our travels in the community, we have spoken to a number of business people who have benefitted from the support of Allen and Alice Kok.

At the very core of their successful approach to business, and life in general, is their strong devotion to their Christian beliefs. For countless reasons beyond the scope of this article and the excellent Chinese and Japanese cuisine they make available to their customers, the Emerald Garden Chinese Restaurant and Sushi Bar deserves your support. Call (717) 227-2288 to order carry-out or to cater your next wedding, party, or business function.

 

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