Family food, family fued

By DEVIN WEEKS

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — How fast can you peel an apple? Frost cookies? Make gnocchi? Separate eggs?

And how quickly can you do it on national television, while competing with your family against another family?

"Everything happened so fast," said Hyun Son, executive chef of MoMo Sushi.Wok.Grill in downtown Coeur d'Alene. "It was just one of those life-changing experiences."

Hyun, sister Grace McNiel and their older brother, Richard Son, will showcase their culinary chops when a new series, "Family Food Showdown," airs on the Food Network at 10 p.m. Monday.

"The Food Network, that’s something I’ve been watching since I’ve been a boy," Hyun said. "Seeing the incredible Iron Chefs like (Masaharu) Morimoto and some of those chefs out there, wow, you know, for them to reach out to us, I was so surprised. It’s like a dream come true."

Grace and husband Scott McNiel have co-owned and operated MoMo with Hyun since they began leasing the former Bonsai Bistro building at 101 E. Sherman Ave. from Hagadone Hospitality and opened their Pan-Asian restaurant just more than a year ago.

MoMo (which means "peaches" in Japanese) boasts fresh-made menu items including spring rolls, Thai coconut curry, teriyaki chicken, a variety of noodle dishes and wok entrees as well as a colorful array of sushi options.

MoMo received a call from a Food Network representative during a dinner rush in early December 2018, but at first Grace thought it was a prank and the call was put on hold.

"Once I realized it was really the Food Network calling, I couldn’t wait to share with my brother, Hyun," Grace shared in an excerpt on MoMo's website. "He has lived and breathed the restaurant life with such passion for so many years. I thought, 'What an unexpected affirming of his heart and dedication to his craft!'"

The siblings lived a whirlwind of interviews and video conferences with producers and did the initial filming just before Christmas. Grace said while they were filming, "the moments became very sentimental."

"Things started getting real between families," she said. "Emotions started coming out."

Food Network crews paid a visit to Coeur d'Alene and captured Hyun and Grace on their home turf, cooking up a storm for the patrons they welcome like family.

"It rocked our world," Hyun said.

Thanks to Scott's effective social media and website management, the Food Network had been following MoMo's story online. Working as a family, those who run MoMo run it like a family.

"We understand family and life,” Grace said. "Restaurant life can be all-consuming. If we don’t incorporate our family, our kids, in this, then it’s just not a sustainable life."

Cooking has been a special part of Hyun and Grace's family their entire lives. Their parents, first-generation Korean-Americans, owned a restaurant before Grace was even born. Then the siblings went on to open the first MoMo and another restaurant about 10 years ago in Colorado, where big brother Richard still runs both.

"Naturally, I think we knew that eventually we would come together and do something together,” Hyun said.

Grace said Hyun has always shined as "the restaurant guy."

"I came alongside and just fell in love with his food and I just love that my brother’s found his gift," she said. "I’m like his biggest advocate.”

When he was just 15, he impressed his entire family with an American Thanksgiving.

“I’ll never forget it,” she said. “He did the whole turkey, all of it, and it just blew us away."

Tune in Monday evening to see how the Son family fares in the "Family Food Showdown."

Info: www.momocda.com