Dreamer by Day, Believer by Nite

WRITTEN BY GREG YANG / PHOTOGRAPHED BY NATE FONG

Step into Nyum Bai and you are immediately greeted with the vibrant and bright pastel colors of neon signs. Vintage Cambodian records line the walls, and the raucous, psychedelic sounds of 1960s Khmer rock-n-roll fill the space. The tables—set in intimate proximity to one another to accommodate the overflowing waitlist—are faintly reminiscent of the bustling eateries in Phnom Penh.

The phrase “Nyum Bai” emphatically translates to “let’s eat.” But the intent goes far beyond just food. Located in the Fruitvale district, Nyum Bai is an ode to the Golden Era of Cambodia, a dynamic and vibrant time characterized by an explosive artistic renaissance in the 1960s when Cambodian rock-n-roll reigned supreme. For chef and owner Nite Yun, it’s a symbol of how if you believe in yourself, everything else will fall into place.

“I opened Nyum Bai because I wanted to share Cambodian food, culture, and history with people,” Nite says. “And to inspire other people to do something and follow their dreams.”

Growing up in Stockton, California, Nite was constantly reminded of her Cambodian heritage.

“Everything around me was Khmer,” she says. “We ate rice with our hands, sat on the floor. Everyone in the neighborhood was Khmer. My dad would wear the sarong (a traditional Khmer garment) to the market. That’s how real it was.”

Yet, despite so much Khmer culture around her, Nite still did not know much about her family’s past, and conversations with her parents revealed little.

“I felt like I was missing a lot of pieces of the puzzle. I had this desire to learn more about my parents’ history,” she says. “I started wondering what my identity really is. I am Khmer and yet I grew up here in America. I can relate to my American friends but also my Cambodian friends. It ignited this whole thing about identifying myself as Cambodian-American and wanting to learn more about my parents’ history at the same time.”

Determined to learn more about her identity and her family’s past, Nite booked a ticket to Cambodia. In Phnom Penh, Nite slowly began to piece together her family’s history and learn about what her parents were like before they came to America. How, before the violence of civil war shook the country, they lived full, happy lives surrounded by the cultural renaissance and explosion of Khmer rock-n-roll. How, because of the war, they were forced to bury their past and start anew in a country they knew nothing about.

“The war affected them so much that they were still traumatized when they arrived in the States,” Nite says. “They were in a constant state of shock, twenty-four-seven. Growing up, I just remember my parents being tense all the time.”

As the years passed, Nite found herself visiting Cambodia more and more. With each trip, Nite learned just how integral her people, food, and family were to her identity. Then, one day at a noodle stall in Phnom Penh, she had an epiphany.

Halfway through her bowl of Kuy Teav Phnom Penh, a rich and aromatic pork noodle soup swimming with fragrant herbs, crispy garlic, and lime, she realized something. It was a feeling that had been boiling inside of herself for years—the type of feeling that starts out as a mere curiosity only to manifest itself at the right time and at the right place. That day, at that noodle stall, it came to Nite. She needed to start Nyum Bai.

“The epiphany was so strong, so intense, and so real,” Nite says. “I knew that what I wanted to do was something that I had to do regardless of all the challenges, the mistakes, and whatever else that came along with it.

That feeling alone made me believe that I was on the right path. It’s what kept me going. I didn’t know what this would become. It was just something that I had to do. I gave myself no ifs or buts. No choices. No options. When I came back from Cambodia, I just went for it.” Despite having no experience running a restaurant, Nite recreated her mother’s recipes from scratch, put together a menu, and set out to introduce Cambodian food to the Bay Area.

Through a series of pop ups at Mission Pie, Golden Gate Donuts, and Temescal Brewing, and a food counter in the Emeryville Public Market, Nyum Bai built a community following. For many in the Bay Area, Nyum Bai was their first introduction to Cambodian food.

“Because chasing after your dreams is a dream in itself,” Nite says, “you have to work hard, believe in yourself. Nyum Bai is not about me. It’s bigger.”

In 2017, Nite opened Nyum Bai’s first brick and mortar in Fruitvale Village.

Since opening Nyum Bai, Nite has been invited to cook at events across the nation and has been recognized by the likes of the New York Times, Time Magazine, and the James Beard Foundation.

Nite is grateful. When asked about the recognition, she says, “It’s crazy but people do recognize me and it’s so weird because I’m like the most introverted person you’ll ever meet. I did not expect it to get to this level at all. Not to say that it’s bad. I don’t take anything for granted. But I’m still getting used to it.”

The most important recognition Nite received, however, has not been from a critic or publication. She recalls the most recent memory of her father, a quiet, soft-spoken man that oftentimes kept to himself, visiting Nyum Bai. While her father had often taken the two-hour long drive from Stockton to Oakland to frequent her restaurant, this time was different: he ordered two bowls of Nite’s Kuy Teav Phnom Penh instead of his usual one. After finishing his meal, he instructed Nite’s mom to, “Make sure to tell Nite that the food’s really good. I’m really proud of her.”

It was the last time Nite would see her father before he passed.

Nite tears up when she recalls the moment, one that she says is the sweetest memory she has of Nyum Bai. For Nite, opening Nyum Bai started out as a personal quest to explore and represent her Cambodian culture. It was a curiosity of identity and how something like food could play such a strong role in connecting her, not only to her culture, but also to her family. And through years of hard work, Nyum Bai has become a place where others, including Nite’s relatives, can celebrate and experience the beauty of Cambodia.

Nite always envisioned Nyum Bai to be about more than just food. And now, it seems, what started as a dream has been imagined into a palpable fruition.

“Because chasing after your dreams is a dream in itself,” Nite says, “you have to work hard, believe in yourself. Nyum Bai is not about me. It’s bigger.”

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Nite Yun and Anthony Teav are the owners of Nyum Bai, located at 3340 E 12th Street in Fruitvale Village. They are open Wednesday through Sunday. nyumbai.com / IG: @nyumbai

Published November 2019