Sellina Chia, Owner of RyoRi Kitchen

Sellina Chia – Owner RyoRi Kitchen

In this interview, Sellina Chia, owner of RyoRi Kitchen, tells about how she has adapted during the pandemic and her plans to survive the future.

What do you do and how did you get into the industry?

I’m Sellina Chia, the owner of RyoRi Kitchen. I have been working with a Japanese company for many years. I have always been impressed with Japanese culture and passionate about Japanese culinary arts and cuisine. One year ago, I met the yakitori chef, Chef Adi, at one of the famous Yakitori bars in TTDI, that was closing down. Since I loved his cooking so much and didn’t wish the good food to disappear, I proposed to the owner of The Great Beer Bar (I am one of their regular patrons) to transform the kitchen into a yakitori kitchen. The chef joined us! Ever since we have been proving that yakitori pairing with craft beer is a perfect match!

After the initial success, we were invited to operate their second kitchen at Farmer’s Bar in Subang Parade and now their third kitchen at Farmer’s Bar in Bandar Puteri, Puchong as a central kitchen for instant yakitori.

Share with us something from behind the scenes. 

The most interesting part of running RyoRi Kitchen is to make sure the consistency of the taste and texture of every skewer is achieved. Every stick of yakitori or kushiyaki is seasoned precisely and grilled to perfection. We use the highest quality of seasoning, imported from Japan and Chef’s home-made tare sauce. The skewers are then grilled on the Japanese hibachi charcoal grill.

What’s one of the most creative things you do behind the scenes?

We always try to be creative. We even created our tare sauce and seasonings with a variety of craft beer. One of our favourite seasonal dishes is Omnipollo Stout Teriyaki Chicken.

What’s something you’d like people to know about being a yakitori chef as a profession?

To be the master chef of yakitori, one needs to master the skill of cutting the chicken parts precisely. I wish to go to Japan to learn from a yakitori master the skill of preparing a full course yakitori meal with one whole chicken.

What’s Sellina Chia’s view on the food scene in KL, the impact of Covid-19 and the beginning of new normal for RyoRi Kitchen?

Now it is indeed a challenging time, and a lot of uncertainty lies ahead for us. During the MCO all the bars were closed.

Before the Instant Yakitori kick-started, I had been doing chicken, seafood, pork and vegetable deliveries to sustain the staff’s salary. The Instant Yakitori is purely the idea of maintaining the business. As far as we know, RyoRi Kitchen is the first in Malaysia to dive into the concept by using Instant BBQ Charcoal Grillers– it is fun and convenient.

Since our chefs have been on leave since the beginning of the MCO, the Instant Yakitori is prepared by myself with the help of my brother-in-law. He has years of experience as a kitchen helper at fine dining restaurants in KL and Sunway.

I learnt the yakitori cooking skill and food preparation, seasoning and grilling from our Chef Adi ever since opening RyoRi Kitchen at The Great Beer Bar. Though, I still need to work on the art of cutting.

Yakitori is only delicious to eat if it’s hot. It is meant for dining in, at a slow pace while enjoying beer or sake.

During Covid19, yakitori stalls like us were severely hit. With the new normal, we can hardly expect people to sit in the bar or yakitori counter to enjoy this comfort food and drink beer after work. Everyone is more comfortable staying at home. That’s why we hope to bring this delicious and convenient instant grill-style dining to everyone’s home.

Now RyoRi Kitchen is operating and preparing Instant Yakitori at Farmer’s Bar, Bandar Puteri, Puchong.

Although we face a lot of uncertainty, we hope we can make enough from Instant Yakitori sales to move forward to sustain our kitchens. We look forward to reopening RyoRi Kitchen at The Great Beer Bar and RyoRi Kitchen’s at Subang Parade when the CMCO is over.

Our RyoRi Kitchen Commitment is to ensure that all the food is good quality and tasty. We took time to source the high-quality instant BBQ grill as a complementary item for every set purchased.

What motivates you to continue with Instant Yakitori?

Compliments from customers that RyoRi’s Instant Yakitori is delicious and satisfying.

Final words?

I pray wholeheartedly that RyoRi Kitchen will survive through this pandemic.

Find more interviews similar to this one with Sellina Chia here. And, stay up to date with the latest food and beverage happenings in KL here.