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Zwe Ka Bin, 328 South Street, is a family-owned Burmese restaurant and tea store, operated by Hajayrar Be, the daughter of the restaurant's founder. Be's family came to Utica as refugees 11 years ago, and brought both culinary and craft skills: the kitchen's centerpiece is a traditional, hand-built Burmese oven, which produces Zwe Ka Bin's delicious breakfast flatbreads. All the food is certified halal, and vegetarian options are also available.
Zwe Ka Bin serves a largely Burmese community, and gives back to the community as well: Be sources the majority of their ingredients from Burmese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian grocers in Utica, like Nguyen Phat on Bleecker Street. Despite its unassuming appearance, Zwe Ka Bin is a veritable community hub: entire families sat along the front window, relaxed and joking with each other in their native language. Community groups came in and hung fliers for Burmese political meetings and community events in the restaurant.
When we visited, we realized we couldn’t read the Burmese menu, but the hostess excitedly told us her favorite dishes and came out from behind the counter to point to the picture of each item, as well as to describe the items off-menu that they had cooking in the back. We both ended up getting the house’s daily noodle soup, most similar in taste to the basil and fish flavors of Vietnamese pho. The hostess who brought us out our food made sure we knew how to properly eat the food, stirring the bowl and putting our toppings on after mixing. Be's favorite dish is mohinga, a soup of coconut, fish and rice noodles, seasoned with ginger and lemongrass. It's their most popular dish, and goes great with Zwe Ka Bin's housemade jasmine tea, brewed fresh each day: refreshing and smooth, with a milky consistency reminiscent of chai.
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