[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]omatoes, cilantro, mint, beans, rice, cumin, and chiles are the building blocks of the staple dishes of Mexico. At the same time, these powerful elements play their own unique roles in and among the flavor bomb curries, noodle soups, and braises of Southeast Asia.
Bridging the vast cultural and culinary distances between these regions is the current obsession of 33-year-old Saw Naing, executive chef at Tallula's in Santa Monica.
Naing first stepped up to the Chef de Cuisine position from sous chef only a few months after the restaurant's 2017 opening. After an initial stab at serving the kind of upscale, family-style Mexican eats one would expect a certain species of well-heeled Westsider to go gaga for didn't exactly live up to every expectation.
Like most of Los Angeles, chef Saw is obsessed with Mexican food. After moving to the States in 2007, he studied at the side of his Mexican stepfather for years and took a job at Tallula's to hone that craft. But the Myanmar native's most potent food memories stretch back to the intense Northern Indian curries his grandmother made when he was growing up in Rangoon.
