Chinese businessman presents Turkish pide to the world
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LONDONJul 21, 2015 - 12:00 am GMT+3
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Jul 21, 2015 12:00 am
Chinese businessman Alan Yau, who is the founder of world-famous restaurants such as Wagamama and Hakkasan, has said that he will make Turkish pide a world brand in five years.
The ambitious businessman talked about his future plans to Aynur Tattersall from the Doğan News Agency. Yau rolled up his sleeves to open Babaji Istanbul Pide Salonu in Piccadilly, the busiest quarter in London. Yau became the center of interest in Turkish and British media in a short period of time. Yau said that they would open another branch in Dubai soon, after they attracted great interest in London. "As London is seen as the center of the world in many aspects, it also significantly contributes to brand creation. For instance, the U.S. helped Italy to introduce Italian pizza to the world. Turkish pide has the same concept. There is no obstacle in front of us to make Turkish pide a world brand and create the same popularity," he said. Yau added that Turkish pide should look less ethnic but also maintain its authentic features. He said that he wants to make Turkish pide a global brand in a short period of time. Yau went on to say that although he is a pioneer, there would be many other entrepreneurs that can take part in the project's development process. "Time will show how successful we will be. However, if success came with pizza, there is no reason that Turkish pide, which has the same concept, cannot show a similar progress," Yau said. He said that London is not an easy place to achieve this because it is hard to find good ingredients compared to the availability in Turkey. However, Yau said that they benefited from the success story of pizza and have developed a similar strategy. Stating that they are quite happy with the attention they have received in London, Yau continued, "Our aim is to open branches not only in other parts of London, but also in other cities in the world in the near future. We are getting ready to open another branch in London these days. Beside this, we completed all our preparations for the new branch in Dubai. We will open the Dubai branch in the New Year. With an alcohol-free concept, we will introduce Turkish pide to Dubai with the Istanbul Pide Bread Saloon Babaji."
Having dedicated himself to healthy living, food and spiritual development, Yau said that he sometimes takes 20-hour flights just to taste a new dish. Highly interested in discovering new food and meals, Yau said that Istanbul is one of his favorite cities. "I like the city's energy and dynamism as well as its inherited culture. Istanbul is an amazing city," Yau continued. The Babaji menu features Turkish pide with sujuk, mince meat, cheese or pastrami as well as popular Turkish dishes like hünkar beğendi (lamb ragout with eggplant and sauce), meatballs, stewed white beans and fried anchovies. Customers can enjoy Turkish tea in traditional teacups or have ayran, fizzy beverages or traditional Turkish coffee. Recently, the menu included sütlaç (rice pudding) with sour cherry.
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