How a Myanmar chef went from fine dining to street food vendor following coup, coronavirus pandemic

British-trained Myanmar chef Orng Joitamoi won Restaurant of the Year in Yangon and had big plans until he lost 80 per cent of his clients after the military coup

He said turning to selling congee and sausages supports his family and staff, and while he had to give up on his dream, he’s still a chef as long as he’s cooking

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Chef Orng Joitamoi makes congee outside his restaurant which he had to close due to loss of business as a result of the military coup and coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Facebook

Published: 12:00pm, 27 Apr 2021Updated: 2:29pm, 6 Jul 2021

Three years ago, his five-star restaurant in Yangon’s Mayangone township was packed with diners every day, serving French cuisine to both expats and Myanmar locals.

But after the double whammy of the Covid-19 pandemic and February 1 coup left his business bankrupt, chef Orng Joitamoi decided to shut up shop and become a street food vendor, selling congee and sausages.

“I didn’t become a chef to cook at a fine-dining restaurant, I did because I love cooking. As long as I am cooking, I am a chef,” said the 37-year-old.

His restaurant, Orng Kitchen, fast became a fixture of Yangon’s booming food scene when he opened it in 2017, winning him Chef of the Year by the Myanmore Awards a year later and Restaurant of the Year in 2019. He later changed the name to Joitamoi by Chef Orng.

Many of the his patrons and friends, including diplomats and ambassadors, wrote to express their sadness when he was forced to close down on April 20.

It had been a long journey and rise to success for Orng, who was born into a family of farmers in Kyaikmayaw township in Mon state. In 2002, aged 19, he travelled to Yangon to further his education before using his parents’ savings to move to the UK to attend the foundation year of a language school.

He started working as a part-time kitchen porter at a restaurant near Edinburgh while still pursuing his Master’s degree in politics, but became so enamoured with it that he remained in the restaurant industry after he graduated, slowly rising through the ranks.