Popup Haema Enters Hudson Valley/Berkshires Asian Street Food Scene
Haema's accomplished chefs blend Asian street food flavors with seafood and local produce.
Marinated beets, duck breast with corn and chimichurri, seared scallops with chowder sauce and nduja butter, romano beans with cherry tomatoes
Chef Hannah Wong says street food is a window into the vitality and regional specificity of East Asian cuisine. Here in the Hudson Valley/Berkshires region, much of the most interesting food is coming out of the mobile popup scene. Now, Wong’s new concept, Haema, is bringing the flavors of the dishes she’s loved while traveling the world to can't-miss dinners and events from North Adams, Massachusetts to Tivoli, New York.
Wong and partner/co-operator Sarah Jane (SJ) McLaughlin have been working nonstop this summer to establish Haema as a presence in the area and folks are taking note, coming back for dishes that the pair are modeling after classic street food but adapting with a seafood-forward approach and the implementation of the best local produce.
“Street food is just what I gravitate toward,” Wong says. “The flavors are unapologetic and the experience is focused and personal. I love restaurants but I feel like sometimes the modern dining experience is a little out of touch. The vibrancy is on the streets.”
Hannah Wong and Sarah Jane McLaughlin
Being a popup allows Haema to change the menu regularly and improvise, but the hits include items like a popular lemongrass shrimp burger served on a Hawaiian sweet roll bun, with ginger-pineapple jam, sambal mayo and a red cabbage slaw. Haema concocts many of its seafood dishes based on what’s in season, using all manner of fish, as well as scallops, squid and octopus.
Haema also serves a variety of noodle dishes and Wong is bringing her passion for the complex art of hand-pulled noodles to the table. She’s even taught classes on that subject, among others, at HGS Home Chef. Education and cooking classes are just one more aspect to Haema’s programming, which Wong hopes to expand with time.
While there is a playful “surf and turf” bent to the Haema menu, the team has worked hard to build a range of vegetarian options, which Wong said is made much easier by the quality of farm-fresh fruits and veggies avalible here. She’s even created her own version of a vegan “fish sauce.” The umami character of the ingredient is pivotal to many East Asian dishes, so a ringer was a priority.
Shaved cantaloupe with cucumber, Thai basil and nuoc cham
“There isn’t a lot of variety of Asian food in the region,” says Wong. “The popups are tiding us over until we can find a brick and mortar. But we’ve really come to see the value in it and want to continue them. It really gives us room to be creative.”
Wong was born in South Korea and adopted by Chinese and Hong Kong-born parents in New Jersey. While her upbringing informs her cooking (her father was a chef), she originally went to school for English and biology at Williams College, giving her her first taste of the Berkshires. Fittingly, the name Haema has biological and etymological roots. Hippocampus haema is the scientific moniker for a species of wild Korean seahorse (a representation of which is the popup’s logo). Haema is also a close homonym for the Icelandic word heima, which means “at home.”
After graduation, Wong taught English in Hong Kong and traveled across Southeast Asia and parts of China. The trip inspired her to change direction and commit herself to the kitchen.
While Haema may be new on the local scene, it’s been driving Wong’s personal ambition for years. After a decade of gaining skills and accolades in the New York City kitchens of Gramercy Tavern and db bistro Moderne, she teamed with restaurateur Yen Ngo to launch the Michelin Guide-recommended Van Đa. When the pandemic closed the restaurant, Wong turned her focus to helping feed her community, working with One to One Foods and Food Issues Group. All the while she was actively working to launch Haema as a full-scale restaurant in the city.
Octopus salad with nectarines, mint and peanuts
When it became clear the pandemic was unrelenting, she had to abandon her effort and moved upstate to help Ngo open her new restaurant, The Aviary, in Kinderhook, New York. She built the menu and served as executive chef for the Vietnamese/Dutch fusion restaurant and its daytime cafe concept Morning Bird. It was here Wong met McLaughlin, an industry pro in her own right from the Capital Region who ran the New World Bistro Bar in Albany for ten years. After opening The Aviary in the restored old Knitting Mill complex, the locale became a central hub for the small town and Wong’s recipes drew praise and press. Her efforts getting the complex project off the ground with Ngo was always meant to be temporary and Heama remained her passion.
Somewhat to her own surprise, Wong admits, the vibrant culinary scene and quality of ingredients upstate has inspired her not to return to the city to open Haema. As they build an identity and a following, Wong and McLaughlin are looking for the best location for Haema to finally build a permanent home.
“[The decision to stay] mostly came down to the community I’ve built here,” says Wong. “And the access to really high-quality ingredients felt inspirational to me.”
In an effort to achieve their goals sooner than later, Wong and McLaughlin have been working an extremely busy schedule. September is already booked solid for the pair, which is good news for those looking to get a taste. Haema has a residency of sorts at the Tourists Welcome hotel in North Adams, September 1, 2, 15, 16 ,29, and 30, where they collaborate with kitchen staff there to offer a particularly robust menu. But they will also pop up at Kinderhook Books on the 6th, MX Morningstar Farm on the 7th, The Olana Summer Party on the 21st and Lasting Joy Brewery on the 22nd. Visit Haema’s website for updates on details, times and availability.
