What's going on in Uusikaupunki

16 Torstaina 3. lokakuuta 2019 W H A T , S G O I N G O N I N U U S I K AU P U N K I ? The language of Food Granger T Simmons Running abusiness anywhere can be a challenge. But can you imagine what it’s like to own a business in the hos- pitality industry in a foreign country, and not even be able to speak the language of the people? Yuliang Zhao knows exactly what it is like to be an en- trepreneur in a foreign land without a full grasp of the lan- guage. Yuliang is the owner of Pilvi ja Järvi (Cloud and Lake), the Chinese restau- rant located in downtown Uusikaupunki. His restau- rant has been open a little over seven years and is still standing. Having overcome various obstacles and difficulties, Zhao is still optimistic and grateful for the way that the residents off Uusikaupunki have received him and have supported his store. IN 2006 Yuliang was invited to come from China to Fin- land to serve as a Chef in Turku. He accepted the of- fer and has not looked back since. After leaving the restaurant in 2012 he decided to openup a store of his own. –I used tocome toUusikau- punki for vacation and I liked it. I recognized that there was no Chinese food here in this area and I wanted to open up a good place so that peo- ple could enjoy the foodofmy culture, says Yuliang. One of the biggest chal- lenges has been customer in- teraction. Over the years peo- plehave assumed that Yuliang speaks Finnish because he has a business in Finland. The truth is, that although Yuliang participated in Finn- ish courses during his early years in Finland, he did not quite grasp the fullness of the language and has limited ca- pabilities in communicating. –Dad can speak some basic Finnish and can solve simple issueswithcustomers, but has been very busy working here alone, says Yuliangs son Kun . – Phone orders are the most challenging to handle because the message is not always clear, shares Yuliang. The father-son duo ex- plains that there have been obstacles in marketing and advertising also, and say that the language barrier makes it hard to reach out to new cus- tomers as well as gain friends. – I have had no time to so- cialize, which makes it dif- ficult to learn Finnish and almost impossible to learn about Finnish culture, says Yuliang. SERVING customers without fully speaking the language has gotten easier. Every day we have our buffet and the food is out for everyone to take what they want. When orders come from the menu, in-person, they are easy to handle because customers can just point to the item or say the names, and they can serve them as needed. When it comes to phone orders, that’s a differ- ent story. – It is rather hard to find out what the people are asking for over the phone, people tend to speak too quickly, says Yuliang. Service is improving now that Kun is helping his fa- ther. The long wait for food during the lunch buffet is no more, andKunhas convinced his dad to buy a bigger buffet station, addingmore delecta- ble items for the customers to enjoy, while keeping the price the same. –My dad can cook, and I serve and we can keep things running great, says Kun. Kun came this summer to help his dad run the business. Granger met Kun (left) and Yuliang Zhao. Organic food gallup 1. Do you sell a lot of or- ganic products? ■■ Lidl: We have selected items, at least one in every food category ■■ Aito Natual Care: Yes we sell many Organic products ■■ K-Supermarket Itäpoju: We have a selection of organic produce among other items ■■ S-Market: Yes, we sell many organic products, they are mixed in with the others. 2. What is the most popular organic product sold ■■ Lidl: Fresh produce – fruit and vegetables ■■ Aito Natural Care: Com- plex probiotics and pow- dered leafy green products ■■ K-Supermarket Itäpoju: Fresh produce – fruit &vegetables ■■ S-Market: Bananas and dif- ferent kinds of milk. 3. Is Finnish local food (lähiruoka) the same as or- ganic food, and is it free from chemicals andpoisons? ■■ Lidl: No ■■ Aito Natural Care: No. Of course, there can be items lo- cally grown that are “organic” but do not have the official organic certification. Organic products are labeled as such. Locally grown does not equal organic. ■■ K-Supermarket Itäpoju: Close but not the same. There can be locally raised beef, for example, that is only grass and water fed, but not considered organic because the farm is not officially or- ganic. The practices of caring for the animal may be clean and humane, but without the official certification, the product cannot be sold as organic. ■■ S-Market: Local produce and organic produce are not necessarily interchangeable, even though in some cases they can be. Not all local pro- duce is organic, and at the same time, produce from far away can be organic. Organic produce is always grown without toxins and with nat- ural methods. ■■ K-Market Pikkuherkku: No local is not the same as organic, but sometimes it is safer to choose locally grown food instead of organic items from Spain for example. 4. Is locally grown food considered as organic food to Finnish people? ■■ K Market Itäpoju: Yes What’s going on with Food? Granger T Simmons Welcome to the food edi- tion of ”What’s going on in Uusikaupunki.” Everyone knows how much Finnish people love their selection of wild moose steak, San- ta’s reindeer pizza, black bear burgers, and the ever so popular Mämmi. Al- though those dishes are wonderful, there is a com- mon problem that many of us foreigners (ulkomaa- laiset) face with food in Finland. Our issue is that we can not easily find what we need tomake the food that we like to eat. Certain cul- tures use yams and various types of rice, some need specially prepared and slaughteredmeats, and others would like to enjoy different kinds of exotic fruits like the blue banana. Two problems come to mind, accessibility, and affordability. It may be possible to find some of these items and bring them to Finland, but then the issue of price comes into play. Something that costs ninety-nine cents in one country can end up costing upwards of seven euros or more, once re- sold here in Finland. So far it is almost im- possible to even buy the majority of those specialty items here in Uusikau- punki, but in other cities, you may find them. We all recognize that everybody has specific things that they want and need to eat, for example, there are those of us who prefer to cook at home and use locally grown foods or organic foods, and there are those who would rather eat out a good restaurant. Today we will talk a bit about these different Pilvi ja Järvi is the only Chinese restaurant in Uusikaupunki. Mämmi might look suspicious.