Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Chung.
Chris was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but spent his formative years in Macao, a former Portuguese colony with eastern and western influences. At the age of 8, his parents took him to Hotel Lisbon and Casino and they dined at Joël Robuchon’s restaurant. An unforgettable bite of Robuchon’s ultra-rich potatoes that night changed his life.
Chung was immediately hooked to haute cuisine and knew what he wanted to do in life.
He returned to Hawaii for school and spent all of his breaks working in various restaurants on the island. Chung was determined to learn the business of running a restaurant and worked his way up from a server to a head chef.
In 2004, Chung met Ken Oringer and started working at Oringer’s flagship Clio. After proving his expertise in Japanese cuisine, Oringer put Chung in charge of the menu and daily operations of Uni, Oringer’s Back Bay sashimi bar. There, Chung prepared innovative Japanese sashimi dishes and earned a 2009 StarChefs.com Rising Stars Award.
After six years at Uni, Chung and his partner Christian Touche, left the Back Bay to open Aka Bistro in Lincoln, Massachusetts. The restaurant featured both a sushi bar where Chung showcased 600 of his own creative recipes and a French bistro. The partners ended their venture in 2016.
In 2017, Chung is in process of opening Momi Nonmi, a Japanese modern izakaya featuring gluten-free dishes in Inman Square, Cambridge.
Has it been a smooth road?
Momi Nonmi is a Japanese modern izakaya featuring gluten free dishes, light and healthy. One of the biggest challenges is to provide healthier choice yet flavorful food to customers.
Hiring new team members is a challenge, both front of the house & back of the house.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Momi, “pearl” in Hawaiian, name of owner’s dog.
Nonmi, inspired by the word nonbei (飲兵衛). The first part of the word non (飲ん) is derived from nomu (飲む), which means “to drink” in Japanese. Bei or Beh (兵衛) actually means soldier and it’s also a suffix to make verbs or nouns “personify”. Hence, nonbei is someone who enjoys drinking. Nonmi is the Momi version of nonbei.
I am the chef/partner of Momi Nonmi. I am Specialize in innovative sashimi. We are proud of our concept. We are Gluten free focus Japanese Izakaya.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Definitely a good place. Cambridge is a very supportive city to small businesses.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1128 Cambridge street
- Website: mominonmi.com
- Phone: 6179457328
- Email: info@mominonmi.com
- Instagram: momi_nonmi
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Momi-Nonmi-1472913612802275/?ref=bookmarks
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/momi-nonmi-cambridge
Image Credit:
Hien Nguyen
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