Interview by Michelle Holler
Name: Far left Maung Maung Saw, Hein Htet Zaw Saw, Than Than Nu saw
Languages spoken : Burmese, Arakanese (Rakhine), Malayu, and a little bit of English
The name 007 is my father (Maung Maung SAW) choice for our business. The name is inspired by the restaurant that he worked in Malaysia for over 10 years. At first when he worked at 007 Chinese restaurant, it was not a successful restaurant. Later the owner and my father worked together to make the business successful. 007 Chinese restaurant is now one of the biggest restaurants in the city of Johor Baru in Malaysia.
Country of origin: Our family is originally from Myanmar (Burma) but my father had to leave our country when I was 1 years old. He worked at the 007 Chinese food in Malaysia for over 10 years. So our product (dumplings) are originally from Malaysia.
My journey to Buffalo: We have been in United States for almost 3 years. We came to the United States (Buffalo) for many reasons. One of them was we had no good education and no chance to start a business, and no life in both Malaysia and Myanmar. When we came to Buffalo, we found a way to start a business with WEDI’s help. When we first arrived to United States, my parents had to work at restaurant (dish-washer), housekeeper, and in the industries. But now our life is going to change from normal labor to a small business owner.
My store in the West Side Bazaar: Now we are going to serve our citizens of the great Buffalo with Chinese Food. Specifically, we are going to sell Dim Sum (Shu Mai, Ha Gow), Chinese Bum (Pork, Chicken, Bean, Vegetable), Lo Mai Fun (Sticky Rice with meat and vegetable), Phoenix (Braised Chicken Feet), and other delicious steamed or fried Dumplings.
Future plans: We are just starting up our business in West Side Bazaar on the West Side. Later if all the people of Buffalo accept our food, we will make our business grow all over the Buffalo area. And then if everyone loves our food we will try to sell to the whole state, then the whole United States. We want to introduce our dim sum in a similar way that sushi has been brought to all parts of the U.S. You can find sushi in various supermarkets we want the same for dim sum.
007 Chinese | West Side Bazaar | 25 Grant Street | Buffalo, NY