Last year, when the New York Times unveiled its list of the 50 best restaurants in America, among them was “Wee’s Cozy Kitchen”, a Malaysian-owned business serving authentic Malaysian cuisine.
Following the NY Times feature, the humble eatery, tucked away at the back of a petrol station in Austin, Texas, was swarmed by customers, all eager to taste the food served by owner and chef Wee Fong Ehlers, 61.
Wee moved to the US in 1999. “I never thought I would become famous,” she told FMT Lifestyle, with a laugh. “I can’t believe how far I’ve come”.
In fact, life was rather dreary. She worked for 11 years in a number of university canteens, cleaning tables and chopping onions for four of those years before being assigned to cooking duties like making omelettes and fixing salads.
“Then one day, my co-worker asked me if I would like to make extra cash. We partnered up together and rented out a small kiosk at the gas station near the University of Texas,” she said.
They named it “Wee’s Cozy Kitchen”. And although this same eatery is now celebrated across the US for its Malaysian cuisine, Wee’s initial menu was miles away, featuring hotdogs and burgers.
“I thought I could survive with this type of food, but business was bad at the start,” she added. “After six months, it had drained my savings.”
In fact, things got so bad, Wee was working two jobs and sleeping less than six hours a day until a fellow Malaysian unknowingly changed everything for her.
“My friend said she was craving Malaysian food and asked me to make char kuey teow,” Wee recalled.
This sparked an idea – why not serve Malaysian food? And that’s precisely what she did.
Things took a turn for the better when a local food blogger helped popularise the eatery after spotting a post about Wee’s food on Instagram.
With more customers, Wee was confident enough to expand her menu, serving nasi lemak, satay, seafood laksa, and the signature beef rendang.
Having grown up in the small town of Kuala Pilah in Negeri Sembilan, Wee has fond memories of the local delicacies she used to enjoy.
“I loved my curry laksa and char kuey teow, having roti canai every morning, just like any other Malaysian,” she said, adding that authenticity of flavours was key to her eatery’s success.
“An elderly Indonesian lady told me that my satay tastes just like the ones back home,” Wee shared.
“Growing up in Malaysia, I had a Malay neighbour whose kids I would play with. Their mother would make delicious rendang, and today my version follows her tastes.”
Although business picked up considerably with the introduction of the new menu, getting featured in Bon Appetit Magazine gave it that extra push in the right direction.
This exposure attracted more customers and additional media coverage, eventually leading to that grand feature in the New York Times.
Wee recalled her surprise upon discovering the article on Sept 18, 2023, listing her eatery as among the 20 best places to eat in America.
“My phone was buzzing like crazy. Everyone I knew, including friends and family back home, were texting to congratulate me. And within one day, my Instagram went from 400 to 1,200 followers!” she said excitedly.
This surge in popularity led to even more customers at her eatery, prompting her to consider expanding her business to a larger venue with a bigger kitchen.
And on March 4, Wee officially opened her spanking new “Wee’s Cozy Kitchen” at 609 Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas.
Today, while happy to leave the tough times behind, Wee continues to share her love of Malaysian cuisine far from home, staying close to her roots.
Follow Wee’s Cozy Kitchen on Instagram and check out their website.
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