Ganby and Mugi in the yurt (or ger) at Naadam Mongolian Restaurant. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Who are you?
I’m Mugi, cofounder and co-owner of Naadam restaurant
My name is Ganby, and I’m also the co-owner and co-founder of Naadam.
Tell me about Naadam.
Ganby: Naadam Restaurant initially started as a place where Mongolians could bring their friends and show off Mongolian food and culture. But at the same time, people who have no Mongolian knowledge can come here and be as comfortable as they would be in any other restaurant. We aim to blend our culture and traditions with the unique flavours of Australian restaurant culture.
Mugi: Now we’re representing the Mongolian community in Canberra. We were like a bridge between the Australian and Mongolian customers. We are connecting the cultures. We also celebrated our first Naadam festival in Canberra recently [a traditional Mongolian festival]. And whenever people dine here, we’re always telling them about our culture, like dance and music.
How did you get involved in the hospitality industry?
Mugi: I started working in restaurants when I came to Australia to study eight years ago. But ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved cooking.
Ganby: I had a lot of Aussie friends who wanted to try Mongolian food, so I would bring them home and cook for them. It started there.
What is your food philosophy?
Ganby: Mongolian families cook a lot. It’s really 99 per cent home cooking; it’s a rare treat to get delivery or takeaway. And everything is done by hand, so Mongolian mums are the best cooks! Our kitchen philosophy is to prepare everything by hand from raw ingredients, embodying the love that parents put into their food.
Mugi: Translating home cooking to a restaurant plate is where the melding of the two cultures comes in. We needed to create a way to translate that cultural, ethnic homemade food to a restaurant level without losing the stories behind the food and what makes it special.
The whole Naadam team at their recent Naadam festival in Glebe Park. Photo: Supplied, Naadam.
What is your favourite ingredient to use when cooking?
Mugi: Sea buckthorn. It’s an indigenous berry that we use for tea, juice, and the oils are also used in cosmetics. It’s very strong, so you need to be careful not to overpower the other flavours. Back home, it’s mostly used as an immune booster, but we put it in drinks and food.
What dish on the menu are you loving right now?
Mugi: Ground beef pockets, which are traditionally served during the Naadam festival. They’re a hit with everyone. I could eat it every day! It’s one of those dishes you just keep coming back to.
Gabby: We sold 2000 at our festival in five hours. It’s a custom that you have to eat them at the wrestling arena. It’s not Naadam unless you do that!
What’s an underrated Canberra venue that you love?
Ganby: Thip’s Thai in Belconnen. They’re fast and efficient. Their wok-fried shallot beef is quite similar to Mongolian dishes and it produces a really great flavour. They serve a lot of people at lunch, but it’s a nice environment at dinner time.
Sea Buckthorn has a sweet and sour taste and a brilliant orange colour. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Who do you admire in the Canberra food scene?
Ganby: I really like the owner of Les Bistronomes, Chef Clement. I really admire how they’ve set up the venue, and their menu is really impressive. My wife loves it there.
Mugi: Tony lo Terzo from The Italian Place. He was really supportive of us when we were setting up. I know he’s had some health troubles in the last few years – people should give them some love!
Where do you go for drinks in Canberra?
Ganby: Every now and again, the whole Naadam staff and our families will go out to spend our tips together! We like to go somewhere we’ve never been before to try new drinks and get out of our bubble. We’ve been to Kingpin for bowling and drinks, we’ve had dinner at places like Koto, Mugieat and Wine Co, Rebel Rebel, Akiba, Wilma … We try to do that as often as possible.
Mugi: Bar Rochford is a great place for drinks, and we haven’t taken the team there, so maybe that will be next.
Traditional savoury milk tea is always offered to guests at Naadam. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Who is your dream dinner party guest, and what would you make them?
Ganby: For me, Chris Hemsworth! I would serve him three or four Naadam pockets and lamb tartare as an entree to fill him up. And then tonnes of Mongolian barbecue! That umami flavour you get from the hot volcanic rock would be interesting for him.
Mugi: It’s an interesting question. I could say Mum and Dad, or go down the ‘famous person’ route like Elon Musk to have some really interesting conversations. It might be best to have people who are really passionate about food, like Andy Cooks or the Korean Englishman from YouTube. I think they would be really excited to taste Mongolian food.
Ganby: In Mongolia, there’s a traditional barbecue where you take a whole sheep and butcher it carefully so you can use the skin and carcass as the vessel to cook it in. You save the blood for a sausage, and then put the meat back into the skin with hot, sizzling rocks to cook it over a few hours. The outside is charred, and the inside is kind of like a pressure cooker.
Mugi: Yes! They would love that, and because it’s an event that takes a whole day, we could keep the conversations going.
What’s the best thing you ate this week?
Ganby: My wife’s noodle soup. We call it lapsha – it’s kind of like Mongolian ramen, but we make it with beef bones. It’s simple but so nice, especially when someone else makes it for you!
What’s a food that reminds you of your childhood?
Mugi: Weirdly, Chinese food! I’d have that with my Dad whenever my Mum was travelling. Mongolian households don’t go out to eat often, so that always reminds me of my Dad.
Ganby: Milk tea dumpling soup. It’s made with millet, beef jerky and sheep’s tail with cow’s milk and Georgian green tea. It’s an everyday dish for nomadic people, but in the city, you’d have it as a big family breakfast on Saturday morning, and my parents would wake up early to make the dumplings. They are made with diced meat, not minced meat, so it has a really nice chewy texture.
Where do you shop for groceries?
Ganby: In Belconnen Markets, there’s a deli that has a lot of Russian stuff, which is what we grew up on: pickles, canned sardines and stuff like that. People often think of Mongolia as very Asian, but for almost a hundred years, we were under Soviet control. As a result, we drink black tea and vodka, and many European staple foods, like goulash, are also common.
Grease Monkey is a favourite of Mugi’s family. Photo: Zachary Griffith.
When you can’t be bothered to cook for yourself, where do you go and what do you eat?
Mugi: I have kids so whenever we go out as a family, value and speed are important. We like Grease Monkey and CBD Dumplings a lot – their speed and efficiency are crazy! You sit down, order, get your food, eat and get out in 30 minutes! The kids love their sweet and sour pork and fried rice.
Tell me something you love about living in Canberra?
Mugi: The calmness. It’s relaxed, family-friendly. There are so many small communities where you can just be yourself.
Ganby: One thing I notice when I go back to Sydney is that people don’t make eye contact, they don’t even greet you in the elevator. But in Canberra, people look at each other more, and really seek that eye connection.
What TV show are you watching right now?
Mugi: I recently finished Ted Lasso. In a world where everything is so serious and deep, it was overwhelmingly positive and fun. Hospitality is always chaotic, with everything happening so fast, but just watching it calmed me down.
An easy one to finish – what’s your go-to coffee order?
Mugi: Large latte, and if I’m feeling it, hazelnut syrup.
Ganby: Just a flat white.
Naadam is located at 98 Corinna Street, Phillip. Follow them on Instagram or Facebook.
