Pyait Kyaw nevertheless remembers the initially meal he had when he arrived in the United States at 7 several years previous as a Burmese refugee: A Japanese beef and rice bowl named gyudon.
Kyaw is going to serve the exact same dish at his new Asian fusion cafe — identified as Nanabi Cafe. The cafe opened its doors Monday, April 11, at 106 Bleecker St. in Utica.
Consolation Asian foodstuff with a modern day twist
Kyaw said he needs to give one thing unique from the traditional Asian places to eat wherever you sit down and hold out for your food stuff, he claimed. It will have consolation Japanese, Korean and Asian fusion foods with a “modern day twist” encouraged by well-liked dishes put together with Asian avenue meals.
The menu consists of generally takeout bento bins, which are classic Japanese boxed foods. These have a main dish, an appetizer and aspect dishes. Individuals can select rice bowls, Korean buns, takoyaki or octopus dumplings, miso soup, aji fry or fried fish, sweet potato fries and fried rice among others. The cafe also has diverse sauces created in-home.
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Nanabi Cafe also brings the preferred boba tea or bubble tea with chewy tapioca balls. These come in dairy and nondairy kinds.
Taking a possibility
Kyaw grew up in New York Town and Utica, where by he attended Thomas R. Proctor Large College. Not able to come across contemporary Asian food items in Central New York, Kyaw mentioned he wishes to deliver a contemporary cafe with a metropolis vibe to Utica.
“Utica is developing with the hospital, the university now, I see a good deal of men and women, young children,” Kyaw reported. “I want to give them one thing exciting and trendy, you know, a thing for individuals to stop by.”
Kyaw never prepared to devote his existence to foodstuff, but it all adjusted at the time he begun having treatment of his father and working at neighborhood restaurants this kind of as Lotus Yard and Dragon Cafe in Utica. Which is in which his passion for foods grew, inquiring concerns and training at home, he said.
Kyaw also labored at a friend’s restaurant in Syracuse and right until not too long ago, as a sushi chef at Sushi Sushi cafe at Turning Stone, a work he stop to go after his dream of opening his individual cafe.
“I just saw the likely, I noticed the possibility and, you know, I am likely to take it,” Kyaw explained. “I’m going to use my time to invest and even if I fall short, I am going to know that probably I am going to have a prospect of accomplishment.”
A enthusiasm for Japanese society
Nanabi, which means seven tails in Japanese, is the identify of the cafe, which symbolizes the 7 associates involved in the company.
In reality, Japanese and Asian cultures are current not only in the restaurant but also in his everyday living. Kyaw traveled to Japan, Thailand, Burma and explored the countries’ food items and culture to grow as a chef, he stated.
“If you want to be a chef, you have to travel, you have to take in and get out of your ease and comfort zone,” Kyaw stated. “That is the change between a prepare dinner and a chef, a cook follows regulations and a chef generates.”
A refugee himself, Kyaw stated he acknowledges the struggles they deal with. That is why, he explained, he wishes to give back again to the local community and provide employment chances for refugees and local individuals.
“Utica is built from refugees … this entire area is designed on it,” Kyaw explained. “Which is why we have to try for the greatest.”
Maria M. Silva handles foodstuff, drink and culture in the Mohawk Valley for the Observer-Dispatch. E mail her at mariamsilva@gannett.com
This posting originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Nanabi Cafe on Bleecker Road delivers bento boxes, boba tea in Utica