Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Tunbaw. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Chef Chris Tunbaw opened Mandalay Kitchen in early November 2023 but his interest in cooking started years before that. He was born in Myanmar and his passion started when seeing his mother and grandmother cook for the family as a young boy.
Food was a pinnacle of Chef Chris Tunbaw’s childhood. His family raised livestock and would sell it as a way of bringing income to the family. His mother would cook any leftover parts for the family to eat. When he was 5, he fled with his family to Thailand and lived in the refugee camp where he continued to love cooking. His mother used all of the money that she saved up to send him to a Thai school in Kanchanaburi, Thailand. There, he developed a close relationship with all the Thai aunties in his neighborhood and they taught him how to cook Essan food (a region in Thailand).
When he was 10, his family immigrated to the US and lived under a church for 6 months before moving to the Frogtown area in Saint Paul, MN. He became friends with a diverse group and they all loved to explore the food scene on University Avenue.
Throughout the years, he yearned to open a restaurant that would highlight his experience navigating the food scene in Burma and Thailand as well as his ethnic food, Karen (Knyaw). When the opportunity came, he excitedly decided to open a restaurant called Mandalay Kitchen.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The challenges are probably what a lot of business owners face – trying to raise capital, finding resources/employees, and raising awareness of the restaurant.
Over this past summer to raise money for the restaurant, Chef Chris traveled around the Midwest to various soccer tournaments with a sugar cane juicer and sold sugar cane to raise money for the restaurant.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Mandalay Kitchen is a Karen (Knyaw – ethnic group in Myanmar), Burmese, and Thai restaurant in Saint Paul. It weaves Chef Chris’ experiences of growing up in Burma and Thailand and highlights the food of these cultures. Mandalay Kitchen offers a variety of traditional foods from tea leaf salad to mohinga to curries and much more.
We want Mandalay Kitchen to be a place that welcomes people from all walks of life and introduces them to this cuisine and culture. Upstairs in the restaurant, there is a market/gift shop named after a region in which Chef Chris was inspired because of activists he’s met in the area (Brigade 5 Giftshop). This gift shop highlights artists, clothing designers, and jewelry makers from the community and he hopes to turn Brigade 5 Market into a space that will highlight young entrepreneurs in the community and incorporate traditional food items as well.
The inspiration behind Mandalay Kitchen is Chef Chris’ grandma Daphne Tunbaw who was a pioneer for education and women’s rights in Kaw Thoo Lei, Burma, and was known for her kindness to everyone, compassion towards her students, and her fearless drive to ensure everyone has the opportunity to pursue an education. Angelina Jolie visited the refugee camp where Chris and his grandma lived and Jolie asked Daphne what she needed. Her response was “I need sarongs so all of my teachers can dress well and be respected by their students.
I also want the students to have soccer balls and other items to play with”. 2 months later, she received a package full of sarongs and soccer balls from Jolie. Daphne was a fearless woman who touched the lives of many. There is a mural outside the restaurant that depicts Daphne in the center and is a reflection of women in Myanmar and Thailand and the important role they play in developing the next generation of leaders.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting?
There will be bumps in the road but if you believe in your vision you will find a way to succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mandalaykitchenstp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandalay_kitchen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mandalaykitchen1
