photograph by jon w. sparks
Back row, L to R: Laura Pao, Alex Pao, and Michelle Pao Levine (Alex’s sister). Front row, L to R: Charleen and Eddie Pao.
The signature item at Mosa Asian Bistro is suan la tang — hot and sour soup.
It also was a popular meal in the Pao household in Taipei, Taiwan, when the restaurant’s owner, Eddie Pao, was growing up. His mother, the late Ying-Chu Pao, made it for the family at home.
His mother taught him to make the soup 43 years ago when he opened his first restaurant in Memphis, Formosa (a former name for Taiwan). His initial attempts weren’t successful. Eddie remembers his mother telling him, “My recipe is different.”
They worked together so he could create a soup that would feed more people — diners at a restaurant, instead of a small family gathering. “We tried together every day,” he says. “A month later, Mama said, ‘That’s very good. You’ve got my recipe.’”
“She was happy with how he was able to adjust all the ingredients, so that when he made it in volume it still tasted the same,” says his daughter, Michelle Pao Levine.
“I really know how to use sugar, vinegar, and black pepper,” Eddie says, “because my mama taught me. That’s very important. And hot pepper.”
“I think it’s the true balance of hot and sour,” says Eddie’s son, Alex Pao. “I’m personally biased, but it’s an overwhelming sensation. You get the spice and then you get the sour aftertaste.”
His cooking is similar to his movie-making, according to his daughter, Michelle Pao Levine. “It’s an everlasting memory and impression he wants to make on people,” she says. “Like when you watch a film.”
The entire Pao household works at the restaurant. Eddie’s wife, Charleen, makes cupcakes, though she has paused that work because of the pandemic.
The restaurant business was not in Eddie’s original career plan. Years ago, he was a motion picture director in Taiwan. “I shot 12 years of movies,” he says. “Ten years as assistant director, two by myself.”
But he grew tired of having to make the same type of films. “I didn’t want to spend all my life doing love stories or kung fu movies.” Wanting a change, he recalls, “Something pushed me to the United States.”
After moving to Memphis in 1977, Eddie opened his first restaurant so he could provide for his family.
His cooking is similar to his movie-making, according to his daughter. “It’s an everlasting memory and impression he wants to make on people,” Michelle says. “Like when you watch a film.”
That particularly applies to Eddie’s hot and sour soup. “When you take a sip of it now versus 20 years ago,” she says, “it gives you that sense of familiarity, memories, and associations.”
Mosa Asian Bistro is located at 850 S. White Station Road, 901-683-3889.
