New restaurant to open in downtown Utica brings ‘different Asian food’

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Pyait Kyaw still remembers the 1st food he had when he arrived in the United States at 7 many years old as a Burmese refugee: A Japanese beef and rice bowl termed gyudon.

Kyaw is heading to provide the same dish at the new Asian fusion restaurant he is opening before long at 106 Bleecker St. in Utica.

The restaurant — referred to as Nanabi Cafe — nevertheless is going through renovations, but Kyaw stated he strategies to open in April or Might.

Pyait Kyaw quit his job as a sushi chef at Turning Stone to pursue his goal of opening his own restaurant in Utica. — Pyait Kyaw stop his task as a sushi chef at Turning Stone to pursue his purpose of opening his have restaurant in Utica.

Convenience Asian foods with a modern twist

Kyaw said he wants to present a thing various from the common Asian restaurants where you sit down and wait for your foods, he explained. It will have comfort and ease Japanese, Korean and Asian fusion food with a “present day twist” impressed by well-known dishes combined with Asian avenue food items.

The menu will consist of largely takeout bento boxes, which are traditional Japanese boxed foods. These will have a major dish, an appetizer and facet dishes. Individuals can pick rice bowls, Korean buns, takoyaki or octopus dumplings, miso soup, aji fry or fried fish, sweet potato fries and fried rice between other people. The restaurant also will have distinctive sauces built in-residence.

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Nanabi Cafe will also carry the well-liked boba tea or bubble tea with chewy tapioca balls. These will come in dairy and nondairy varieties.

Bento box with chicken katsu, dumplings and sweet potato fries. — Bento box with rooster katsu, dumplings and sweet potato fries.

Taking a prospect

Kyaw grew up in New York City and Utica, in which he attended Thomas R. Proctor Substantial University. Not able to find fashionable Asian foods in Central New York, Kyaw mentioned he desires to provide a contemporary restaurant with a metropolis vibe to Utica.

“Utica is growing with the hospital, the university now, I see a large amount of folks, young ones,” Kyaw explained. “I want to give them something fun and stylish, you know, something for people to quit by.”

Kyaw in no way planned to devote his lifetime to foodstuff, but it all improved after he started getting treatment of his father and performing at local dining establishments such as Lotus Backyard and Dragon Cafe in Utica. That is where his passion for foodstuff grew, asking concerns and training at household, he claimed.

Kyaw also labored at a friend’s cafe in Syracuse and until eventually a short while ago, as a sushi chef at Sushi Sushi restaurant at Turning Stone, a position he give up to go after his desire of opening his very own restaurant.

“I just observed the likely, I observed the probability and, you know, I am heading to just take it,” Kyaw claimed. “I am likely to use my time to spend and even if I are unsuccessful, I will know that it’s possible I will have a likelihood of good results.”

A enthusiasm for Japanese culture

Nanabi, which suggests seven tails in Japanese, is the title of the restaurant, which symbolizes the seven partners concerned in the small business.

In fact, Japanese and Asian cultures are current not only in the cafe but also in his daily life. Kyaw traveled to Japan, Thailand, Burma and explored the countries’ meals and lifestyle to develop as a chef, he stated.

Pyait Kyaw and his younger sister eating gyudon on their first day in the United States. — Pyait Kyaw and his young sister eating gyudon on their first working day in the United States.

“If you want to be a chef, you have to journey, you have to consume and get out of your consolation zone,” Kyaw mentioned. “Which is the variance amongst a prepare dinner and a chef, a cook dinner follows rules and a chef produces.”

A refugee himself, Kyaw reported he recognizes the struggles they confront. That’s why, he stated, he wants to give again to the local community and offer you work prospects for refugees and regional people today.

“Utica is constructed from refugees … this entire place is designed on it,” Kyaw claimed. “That is why we have to attempt for the ideal.”

Maria M. Silva covers foods, drink and culture in the Mohawk Valley for the Observer-Dispatch. E mail her at mariamsilva@gannett.com

This write-up originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Burmese refugee opening new Nanabi Cafe on Bleecker Road in Utica