First Look: Wee's Cozy Kitchen: Acclaimed Malaysian restaurant moves to Royal Blue Grocery – Food

Wee's Cozy Kitchen opens at Royal Blue Grocery's new home on 6th & Colorado (Photo provided by Harris Qureshi)

“Honestly, I never thought I would make it this far,” said Wees Cozy, the acclaimed Malaysian restaurant that recently opened in the Royal Blue Grocery at 609 Congress Avenue. Wie von Ehlers, chef and owner of The Kitchen, admits:

Ehlers said the Asian community in Austin and at the University of Texas pushed her forward as she worked in Olive Garden and UT dorm kitchens and started her first business in the back of a Shell gas station on West Campus. I believe you did. “I really enjoyed making fried rice and fried noodles,” she says of her early days. “I thought people would want it. But we didn't have enough exposure or customers. One day, six months later, a Malaysian friend of mine said to me, 'I don't understand why people would want to eat Malaysian food.' , asked if I could cook. From then on, she was convinced that Malaysian food could provide her with a source of income. ”

Wiping away tears, Ehlers described her unlikely path to culinary notoriety, culminating in a mention from a national publication: Bon Appétit And that new york times After locals like Renee Dewi (@eats_n_noods) started coming to her defense.

Photo courtesy of Harris Qureshi

“Suddenly, someone came from somewhere, Bon Appétit During SXSW [last year]'' Ehlers recalls. “He said to me, 'Did you know that I came all the way from New York just to try your food?' At the time, I never believed it. Someone tried my food. I never thought in my heart that I was going to find out about… [The articles] It brought exposure from New York and then gradually people from Austin came.They came after the New Yorker, and I slowly [got to] I knew them and they came to take pictures with me. ”

Long lines have made it impossible for her to comfortably work from a gas station near campus. After closing her store, she found a new space downtown, where she attracted new customers, including office workers and tourists, in addition to her loyal customers. “It was good timing. [with Royal Blue] And the partnership between them and me. They helped us open in this area during SXSW,” she says. With Malaysian dishes like beef rendang (slow-cooked beef dish) and char kway teow (noodles with either beef, chicken or seafood), we swear you can taste the sweat and tears of a real Malaysian grandmother. Wie's courses will catapult her further up the national dining scene as one of the stars of Austin's new school culinary world.