Meet Hawk Tea

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hawk Tea.

Hi Hawk, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Sophia and I moved to NorCal from SoCal shortly before we got married to get away from home. We both did the corporate life and didn’t feel satisfied and have always talked about doing something on our own.

We stumbled upon a vacant restaurant after an “argument” that basically changed the whole course of our lives essentially. haha.

We both felt like we were young enough and without children at the time, that we took the opportunity to take the leap. We both cashed in our chips and went head first.

I always knew I wanted to do something that represented my culture, but never had a ‘voice.’ I grew up ethnic Chinese (Teo-Chiu), culturally Cambodia, raised American… I grew up working for the family restaurant, the same restaurant I was trying to get away from. I didn’t appreciate it at the time – as all teens, but it shaped my love for food and flavors.

We Lived in SF and after so many return visits to SoCal, we missed all the food I grew up eating, Every trip down was a trip to collect ingredients or recipes to make in SF.

Once we opened the restaurant, I always had a strong feeling that the Cambodian culture was not well represented in the culinary world. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of people doing great things with Cambodian food, I just personally felt that we need MORE representation.

I remembered always loving my dad’s fried chicken wings, and my mom’s fried chicken recipe from my youth. I wanted to introduce traditional Cambodian flavors but in a different vessels. I felt like Shlap Muan, named after the word for “wing of chicken” in Khmer, was the best way to do it.

With Shlap Muan Wings, I modified their (parents) base recipe and came up with my own technique to create what I think is and should be – crispy wings, that’s juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside and ‘dry’ to the touch.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth as a rock garden with 10ft boulders, sudden drop-offs, random trees in rainy conditions. lol,

We knew NOTHING about running a restaurant. I knew I loved food, I knew we were adaptable. BUT we did not know how hard it was going to be. The fear and anxiety of doing anything new is stiffening. Opening a new restaurant, new concept, new flavor and having to introduce/teach people in the middle of San Francisco’s Financial District was maddening.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are a “first of its kind” restaurant focusing on serving what I call Cambodian Chicken Wings. I take flavors from my, Chinese-Cambodian-American youth, flavors that I love, and I reinterpret it in HOW I like to eat it. Not traditional by any means, but the flavors are representative of the culture that I grew up with.

We are at Smorgasburg LA every sunday.

What were you like growing up?
I was (probably still am) socially awkward. Made friends quick, always talked to the new kid, never afraid of approaching people, BUT never held many friends. Bullied when I was young, never had confidence growing up. I have and had a handful of friends I was close to.

Like any immigrant kid in America, I tried my best to assimilate to the culture. Growing up in SoCal, that meant a melting pot of cultures from around the world. Which to me, curated my love for flavors and food from literally everywhere.

I grew up interested in many things. I would get hyper-obsessed with a “thing,” do that for a period of time, lose interest and move on to the next thing I was obsessed with.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shlap-muan.com
• Instagram: @shlapmuan
• Facebook: @shlapmuan
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/shlap-muan-wings-long-beach