After a three-month closure, chef-owner Nite Yun of James Beard Award-nominated restaurant Nyum Bai reopened the beloved Cambodian restaurant today for curbside take-out and delivery.
Yun has remade the Fruitvale restaurant’s menu with a grab-and-go ethos in mind. Look for new snacks, noodle dishes, salads and rice plates, like Twa Ko, or fermented Khmer-style beef sausage with toasted rice and herbs; Nom Krouk, coconut- and scallion-filled dumpling cakes with sweet lime dressing; and Ban Chao Salad, a coconut-turmeric crepe with seasonal veggies, fresh herbs, bean sprouts and sweet lime dressing with choice of protein.
There are a total of nine savory dishes — don’t worry, the Dry Rub Fried Chicken with citrus salt and Kampot peppercorn remains — and Nothing is over $18. Ordering is via the website and delivery is only available within five miles of Nyum Bai.
Back in April, Yun first told the The Mercury News that she was closing to re-imagine the popular sit-down restaurant as a fast-casual eatery, with “less family-style food and more Cambodian street snacks, noodle dishes and rice plates.”
“The world has changed so much so quickly, and this is a secondary concept that I’ve always had in mind,” Yun said.
The Nyum Bai opening today is not the complete makeover. As Yun explained in April, her plans included converting the covered “garage” section of Nyum Bai’s outdoor patio into the the main counter where customers would put in their orders. Yun imagined a display of grab-and-go food options along with a pastry case stocked with marinades and hot sauce available for purchase.
Check back for progress on those details.
Nyum Bai’s new hours are dinner only, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday at 3340 E. 12th St., Suite 11, Oakland. For more information, visit www.nyumbai.com.
