Forty five-year-old Ramayon Keishing has been living in Chennai for 18 years now. He realised there are many from the North East who have made the city their home. But it is difficult for them to find a place that serves authentic home-cooked food.
He then decided to start a restaurant to cater to the needs of the community. “I’m originally from Manipur and was associated with a famous South Korean brand, where I was part of the kitchen. On interacting with people there, I knew that the city needed a place that offers quality food at an affordable price that would appeal to the taste buds of this section,” says Ramayon Keishing.
He then quit his job to open North East Kitchen in Egmore in July this year. It was a challenge indeed. “To leave a stable job and venture into the food business wasn’t easy. We cater to a niche crowd and most of the ingredients have to be genuine. Thankfully, not only people from the North East but others too come here to enjoy our food. We have regular expat customers too,” he says.
To make the dish true to its style, he gets some of the ingredients from Manipur, which includes bamboo shoots and Ngari. “Ngari is fish that is fermented for three to four years. We make a side-dish called Eromba using it and it is extremely popular. Pork with bamboo shoots is our speciality and we also serve chicken with bamboo shoots. Another popular pork dish we serve is Okki,” he says.
