Finding Balance
05/25/20
By Ethan Eang Lim
Growing up in an immigrant household, the default source of income for our family was a restaurant. I watched as my parents and siblings worked tirelessly to put food on the table for nine children. Birthdays served only as a reminder for content to fill in a form. As if five days of ‘regular’ school wasn’t sufficient, a sixth day of Chinese school was added to the schedule on Saturdays. Sundays were spent in the restaurant performing whatever was needed to be done. Our day to celebrate any holiday was on Monday as the restaurant was closed. That was our routine as a family, and one that stayed with me as an adult.
Working a traditional eight-hour day was a foreign concept to me. My early adult years were spent selling BMWs & MINIs, where putting in the necessary time to close a sale was what it took. Leaving the showroom close to midnight was a norm. It felt as if I was back in the restaurant! And attending Kendall College while working at Shawn McClain’s Spring in Wicker Park and another restaurant in Highwood, IL served as a reminder. More often than not, I attended close friends’ weddings and birthdays only in spirit. That was the structure of my schedule until a few years ago.
In the words of Eminem,
‘You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime’
Hermosa is my music. I eat, breathe, and live here. Yes, there is a cot setup in back. It was boring. The one-dimensional album sucked. I couldn’t vibe in a different beat. And I was dancing on my own. The lyrics I used to create were about this place and only this place. The songs became a snooze fest and I did not enjoy it. There was a need to open another record to mix in.
The drive to find the purpose here started sometime ago. I had to get back to the soul of it and be able to touch what nourishes it. My hands had to get dirty. I had to crumble the soil and feel the surrounding matters that nourish the seeds. And the best part, I now have a partner helping move the dirt.
We found a purpose to give back. The reward of what we create has to go back to what allows it to create. We desire less the shiny objects unless they are tools enabling us to mold our plots of land as a resource for us to nurture ourselves. Being stewards of the land was our passion.
In the middle of central Wisconsin are 100 acres of private woodland that we care for as a conservation project. We are on a mission to clear the area of invasive species so the natural habitat can thrive. Japanese barberries have become prolific. They threaten to take over the natural vegetation that wildlife animals need to survive, including the deer we hunt as a food source. We need to ensure the cycle remains balanced.
Our home is a natural life refuge for local insects, birds, and critters. We tend to the available plot of land for perennial food sources, and we find a balance.
As a restaurant owner operating and functioning as a one person show, I make necessary and immediate decisions to ensure the source of my creativity is always tended to. The effort I put into being a steward of the land is the reward for why I create food in the restaurant. I find joy in doing that and in that I am still able to do it. And I try to find balance in the process. That’s my quarantine experience.
Staff Meal
1 cup cabbage, julienned
1 small shallot, julienned
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Thai chilli pepper, diced small
1/4 seedless cucumber, sliced
1 handful Thai basil
1 tablespoon sliced scallion
Some cilantro
2 tablespoons peanut
2 tablespoon fish sauce
Juice of 2 limes
Pinch of sugar
Salt &pepper
Toss all the above ingredients into a large bowl. Taste and adjust if you desire more heat, salt, or lime juice. Top off with fried shallots or garlic. If you have leftover protein, it is a perfect time to use it here.
Ethan Eang Lim : I am an 80’ kid immigrated as a refugee from a hard working family. Dropped out of high school, bursted to California, but always found a drive. Worked in retail with the culture of now gone Marshall Field’s and sold the brands MINI & BMW. My passion for food started young through my parents’ restaurant in Chicago. Mom and Dad are my first chefs. They taught effort was required. Started to understand technique and language while attending Kendall College. Found finesse in the process while working as a line cook in Shawn McClain’s Spring in Wicker Park. But really learned to dance as a server at The Aviary, and The Office with my dearly departed friend, Jason, and at NEXT.
Ethan Eang Lim worked on this piece with Won Kim, the Quarantine Times Monday editor. Each week, Won selects a Chicagoan to share a commissioned creative response to the pandemic.