Sandy Mynt is a chef from Yangon, Myanmar. She grew up mostly in the kitchen with her Ahmay, Grandma and Grand Aunties, learning traditional Burmese cooking techniques. She takes pride on staying loyal to the curries, somusas, coconut noodle soups, and the signature Mote Hin Gar fish soup recipes passed down by her family.
With the help of her family, especially her dad, Sandy built both a restaurant and a floral shop in Yangon. The restaurant was situated in a hotel and catered to tourists from around the world. After moving to Portland in 2005, Sandy continued to operate her businesses in Myanmar. But in 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, killing more than 138,000 people and causing tremendous damage to the country. The disaster forced Sandy to close her businesses.
In Portland, Sandy started selling her food again as a vendor at events, farmers markets, and festivals and slowly started to build her catering business. Again, her family was key in helping get her food business going, often supporting her financially. She also sought help from organizations like the City of Portland and Portland Mercado for support as her business grew.
Along with funding and the COVID pandemic, the learning curve of health department requirements, permitting, and other governmental structures have been huge challenges on her path to have her own brick and mortar restaurant in Portland. Sandy waited to open her restaurant until the pandemic slowed down, saying, “It wasn’t a time to be greedy, my community needed help.”
These days, Sandy is loving her life in Portland, which she says has very similar weather to her native Yangon. She is busy opening her restaurant and staying involved in the community, teaching cooking, and passing along what she has learned about opening a business.
