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Memory Corner Taiwanese restaurant has custom-made interior decorations that aim to recreate the ambience of 1980s Taiwan.

Photo courtesy David Peng

A walk down memory lane

By Samuel Cheng

Published 3:13 PDT, Mon April 11, 2022

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With a name that is both nostalgic and descriptive, Memory Corner Taiwanese restaurant has been going strong in Richmond for three generations and counting.

The word “memory” aims to bring back thoughts of Taiwanese childhood in the 1980s. And the business’s first location was on a corner, says owner Raymond Wu.

Originating in Gangshan District in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, founders Yu-Liu and Hsuang Wu originally operated a traditional Taiwanese lamb restaurant. But as a supervisor in a shipbuilding yard, Yu-Liu found his salary was insufficient to make ends meet for his family of seven.

When Yu-Liu had the chance to learn how to cook traditional lamb cuisine, he took the opportunity to study, learn, and perfect the cuisine. Eventually he refined and came up with his own special recipe that infused the ingredients of Chinese herbal medicine.

Yu-Liu later passed the restaurant down to his eldest son and daughter-in-law. After 40 years, the business is now in the hands of his grandson Raymond, who hopes to not only continue but also expand on the legacy of his grandparents.

“The name of the restaurant draws inspiration from (my) grandpa and grandma Wu, not only as an appreciation of the persistence and hard work that they endured but also as a promise and purpose to continue to promote authentic Taiwanese cuisine in Canada,” says Raymond.

While the business started out by offering mainly lamb dishes, it has since expanded its menu to include other traditional Taiwanese offerings. Everything from popular street foods to a diverse range of drinks can be found on the menu.

The restaurant’s interior design is another notable highlight, with decorations all custom-made in Taiwan. Memory Corner’s goal is to recreate the ambience of traditional Taiwanese streets in the 1980s.

Raymond credits the business’s success to its invaluable customers. Through word-of-mouth, more people can enjoy the restaurant’s food and learn more about Taiwanese cultures and traditions.

But amid the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are opting for take-out instead of dine-in. Given the restaurant’s pride in its interior decoration, Raymond feels people are missing out on the opportunity to enjoy and experience the atmosphere.

Having been open for decades, Memory Corner has also received many awards including the 2016 Chinese Restaurant Awards Diners’ Choice Award for the best Taiwanese braised pork rice and the 2017 award for best Taiwanese popcorn chicken. It was crowned the best Taiwanese Restaurant/BBT Café in 2018 and 2020.

Memory Corner’s success led Raymond to open a second restaurant, Sweet Memory, that serves traditional desserts and street-style snacks.

He takes pride in having high-quality food, furniture, and decorations—and aims to treat customers with the same quality.

“We always take all of our customers’ feedback and reviews seriously,” says Raymond. “We make note of how we can continue to improve in the future and all of our employees work as a team and are very (closely) tied with each other.”