#IamMGH Vendors – Meet Emily Kwon

#IamMGH tells the stories of our people. To celebrate the opening of the Moez & Marissa Kassam Food Court, we’re highlighting the people behind our food and retail vendors. Meet Emily Kwon, Manager of U-Naru Sushi at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH).  

“Growing up, I often helped my parents at their restaurants, so I was constantly immersed in the food industry. This helped me gain experience with cooking and managing restaurants, which allowed me to grow a passion and appreciation for food. I now manage my own business at Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) called U-Naru Sushi, which specializes in Japanese cuisine and serves freshly made sushi, sashimi, rice dishes and more. 

I have been privileged to work at different U-Naru Sushi franchise locations around Toronto. Previously, I was a Project Manager for U-Naru Sushi at The Hospital for Sick Children, Mount Sinai Hospital and Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. After discovering MGH, I immediately fell in love with the environment and have been operating U-Naru Sushi here for five years now. 

In February, we relocated to the food court in the new Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre (Thomson Centre). This space is clean, organized and spacious for both vendors and our customers. I’ve seen it become a good place for staff and patients to socialize. I love the community feeling at MGH and seeing people come back repeatedly to U-Naru. Our customers are really important to us because we interact with them every day.  

As a specially trained chef and operator at U-Naru Sushi, I feel great pride for Japanese cuisine. I see sushi as a kind of art because it’s an artistic cuisine with many details. When we prepare sushi rolls in the morning, our customers tell us we’re artists with what we do. It’s wonderful to see what we can convey through food. These compliments are great motivation and a driving force for our work. 

Everything we serve is made fresh on-site every day. One of our most signature rolls at our location is our Salmon Roll, which is a California roll topped with fresh salmon and avocado. Our customers also love the spicy dynamite roll, which includes crab salad, shrimp tempura and spicy mayonnaise. We also offer customized sushi and gluten-free options in an effort to accommodate food allergies and intolerances.  

I encourage everyone to try our food!”