A starving student university residence was a great place for Winson (Wyongwei) Feng to test his favourite Chinese dishes growing up.
Once Feng won over the university crowd, he came up with the idea to open his own restaurant in the downtown core on Elm Street.
“I have always loved food and serving others. But here in Sudbury, there was only Canadian- and American-style Chinese food that is sweetened and not very authentic, so I saw a niche,” he said.
Peko Peko (pronounced ‘peck-OH’) is located on Elm Street, near the Elgin Street intersection. ‘Peko’ is actually the Japanese word for ‘hungry’.
Formerly the location of a coffee shop, the restaurant opened in the new year and while Winson has the help of a few shareholders, he said taking a leap into running his own restaurant at the age of 21 has been stressful.
Feng moved to Sudbury from Vancouver about four years ago to attend Laurentian University and study Sports Administration while working at Sudbury’s 7-Star Dumpling House locations.
He has taken a pause on his program until summer semester to take time to focus on Peko Peko.
“I am a very picky eater. I won’t serve food unless I like it. So there is nothing on this menu that I won’t endorse,” he said.
Something new to Sudburians is the hot pot experience, which has been around for 1,000 years in China. Customers enjoy a simmering pot of bone broth soup over a portable stove unit.
The pot consists of raw meats and vegetables that are cooked and enjoyed by friends and family.
“I often ate hot pot food as a child as it is very common there. If you visit authentic Chinese restaurants in Toronto, you will come across hot pot meals, too,” he said.
The soup broth options are pork bone, beef, spicy soup or tomato soup. The Korean soup base is a fan favourite, Feng said. The traditional wonton soup is also worth ordering.
The contents of the hot pot are fish balls, beef and lamb rolls, cabbage, enoki, fried tofu, crab sticks and your choice of noodles.
Other customer favourites besides the hot pot are the Taiwanese Barbecue Sausage and Minced Pork on Rice and the Curry Chicken Cutlet on Rice.
Winston said he brings in very expensive cuts of pork from Toronto for his dishes and everything is homemade.
He said his mom started to teach him to cook around age 7, but he also learned a lot from the Internet.
His parents still live in Guangzhou, near Hong Kong. While he loves to visit, he considers Canada his home country now and hopes he can stay here after his student visa expires.
In addition to meal items, Peko Peko offers an array of desserts like the sticky Peko Sesame Bowl, the Peko Mango Rice Balls and a wide array of handmade bubble teas to quench your thirst.
Peko Peko is open everyday and can be found downtown at 73 Elm Street.
The restaurant is open everyday but 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekends.
The menu can be found on the Facebook page Peko Peko Sudbury.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s eat! is made possible by our Communty Leaders Program.
