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Monkey King is the main superhero from the most popular Chinese novel 西遊記 “Journey to the West” written by Wu Cheng’en in the late sixteenth century. Monkey King is based on a story of a famous Chinese monk, Xuanzang, spending over a decade walking to India, the birthplace of Buddhism, to retrieve the Buddhist Holy Book to translate into Chinese. The story took place during the Tang Dynasty, where a monkey was born from a stone and gained supernatural power though Taoist practices. Being extremely intelligent, he learned all the major tricks and kung fu from an immortal Taoist master. His powers gave him the capabilities to clone himself into 72 different objects. He can freeze things, control wind and fire, and can even survived under the deep ocean. Monkey King likes to show off his magical powers to no limit, which caused so much chaos in Heaven that Buddha imprisoned him for eternity.  

Monkey King was later released from his imprisonment on the condition that he protects Xuanzang on the dangerous journey to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures in order to end suffering to all human race. During their 30,000 miles journey to Buddha’s Western Paradise in India, they’ve encountered demons and monsters at every corner. The mischievous Monkey King was able to defeat all his enemies by playing tricks on them. In return for completing the dangerous mission, Monkey King received forgiveness for his bad behaviors and was granted Buddhahood for his bravery and service.

“Journey to the West” was our favorite childhood story and Monkey King is one of our most treasured superhero that we all idolized. Our parents often use Monkey King as a role model in our upbringing-his courageousness, cleverness, determination to live a righteous life, and the ability to face life’s obstacles with a sense of humor. 

Monkey King’s journey is also compared to our own family’s obstacles and their voyage to the West for freedom. Like many Chinese, during the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930’s, our great grand fathers escaped to Northern Vietnam to avoid mass murder and genocide. When the Vietnam War erupted during the 1970s, our family escaped the war by enduring a long and perilous journey on a makeshift boat through South China Sea to Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong, our family was living in refugee camps provided by the then British government colonizing Hong Kong at that time. After a few years, our family were offered asylum by the American government-first landed in Utah and Texas. In early 1980s, our family decided to make beautiful Bay Area our only home; there is no place in the world quite like the Bay Area.

Monkey King Pub & Grub is a family owned restaurant established in 2012 in Alameda Island right in the heart of Bay Area. In 2016, we opened a counter service sister location, Monkey King at the Brewery, next door to Alameda Island Brewing Co. In 2020, we had a once in a lifetime opportunity to open our 3rd Bay Area location in beautiful and diverse Oakland. We are committed to serve you with a wide array of exciting Asian fusion cuisine using the most traditional Chinese metal wok cooking techniques. We use only the finest and freshest ingredients that our local markets have to offer. Each of our restaurants has their own unique dishes using our family’s recipes that you cannot find anywhere else. We hope you can feel our diverse background and upbringing through our foods, drinks, and casual environment.  

Thank you for giving us a chance to serve you. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be creative in our kitchen. We hope to see you again soon!

Cheers, Salud, 干杯, 건배, Tagay, Cin cin,  Một hai ba, yo, Gesondheid 

Monkey King Restaurants