TRENTON

Alice Shang wanted to open her diner in her own name, but there are too many restaurants with the name Alice in the province.

So as a back up plan, she used her husband Cedric Hughes’ nickname and opened the doors to Sonny’s Diner in mid-October.

A native of Taiwan, Shang came to Montreal in 2010 and later married Hughes, thus moving to Pictou County.

Shang said she isn’t a professional cook but someone who has experience working for others in the local restaurants and has a passion for working and enjoying food.

She wanted to try operating her own business close to her Trenton home and the opportunity opened up when the former Dine and Dash closed its doors. She said she will be cooking Canadian favourites and Asian meals in hopes of meeting everyone’s tastes.

“There is a different spice with the Asian food,” she said. “We don't have chicken balls or honey garlic ribs, but we have a sweet and sour pork stir fry. Our stir fry has no soya sauce, we just use salt and pepper.”

Other Asian options include pan-fried dumplings, sushi and fried rice made with salmon, chicken or tomatoes.

Since opening her doors on Oct. 16, Shang said reviews have been positive and she has gotten good support from family and friends.

Sonny’s Diner is currently open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. She said she might open earlier on the weekends to accommodate the breakfast crowd.

“I work so hard for everybody else,” she said. “Now I want to work hard for myself.