NAKA Japanese Under New Ownership

Naka Japanese Food & Drink is under new ownership as former owner and founder Susan Tung handed the keys over to Emily Tan effective last Friday.

Emily Tan (left) as the new owner of NAK with former owner Susan Tung (right). Tung announced the opening of Naka in an Instagram post back on Jan. 25 last year. Photo courtesy of SUsan Tung.

Tung founded the restaurant which opened in February last year. Its menu features ramen, yakitori, sandwiches, an oyster bar, cocktails, and draft beer.

Tan says she is continuing Naka’s tradition and looks forward to meeting its community of patrons.

“I look forward to welcoming both familiar faces and new guests,” she said.

NAKA is located at 213 Hunter St. W., the former location of the Vietnamese restaurant Hanoi House. In July 2022, Hanoi House had two locations but Tung closed the Hunter Street location to consolidate the restaurant into its Lansdowne Street spot. She opened Hanoi House on Valentine’s Day 2020.

Tung plans to focus on her original project of Hanoi House after selling Naka,

“Naka has been an incredible project,” she explained. I’m excited to focus on Hanoi House while knowing that NAKA is in good hands.”

Naka is continuing its regular hours, offering dinner service from Tuesday to Saturday, with the same menu and staff.

The restaurant is open at the following times:

• Tuesday - Wednesday: 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.

• Thursday - Saturday: 5 p.m. - 10 p.m.

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Hometown PTBO: Susan Tung and Her Restaurant Experience Timeline From Golden Wheel, Hanoi House to Naka Japanese

This week on Hometown PTBO, David Tuan Bui talks with Hanoi House/NAKA Japanese owner Susan Tung about growing up with her family owning the Golden Wheel Restaurant, her path to entrepreneurship and starting her own businesses in Peterborough.

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Photos: Holy Cross Students Celebrate Asian Heritage Month With Cooking Demo In 'Cook Eat Love' Culinary Program

Susan Tung, Hanoi House and NAKA Japanese owner (left) and Morgan Bell, general manager (right) showing HCSS students how to make Vietnamese spring rolls. All photos by Samantha Bianco.

Roughly 20 students from grades 9-12 at Holy Cross Secondary School received a cooking demonstration from Susan Tung and Morgan Bell, owner and general manager of Hanoi House (Vietnamese) and NAKA Japanese Food & Drink restaurants.

The demo is part of the school’s Cook Eat Love culinary program offered to the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board’s six secondary schools throughout May to learn about the many achievements and contributions of Canadians of Asian heritage.

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Local Entrepreneur Susan Tung Opening Hunter Street Japanese Restaurant At Former Hanoi House Location

The Land of the Rising Sun is making its way to downtown Hunter Street as local entrepreneur Susan Tung is opening the restaurant Naka Japanese Food & Drink for mid-February announced on Wednesday.

Susan Tung (left) and her family formerly owned the Golden Wheel Chinese restaurant in SPringville. Photo by Jordan Cooper.

The restaurant will be occupying the vacant and former Vietnamese eatery Hanoi House located at 213 Hunter St. W.; both owned by Tung.

“I decided to go with this concept because I wanted to continue to promote Asian cuisine in the city,” she said. “There were times I wanted to do something more mainstream for Peterborough but that’s not me and I know if I’m not fully passionate about it, it won’t do well. I’m excited to take on this new challenge with my team and come back to Hunter Street full force.”

Hanoi House on Hunter Street had its soft opening on Valentine’s Day in 2020. Photo by Samantha Bianco.

Hanoi House (Hunter Street location) had its soft opening on Feb. 14, 2020. It closed down in late July last year to consolidate both restaurants into one location on Lansdowne Street. The second spot opened on Dec. 9 of the same year.

Tung contrasts the differences between her Vietnamese and Japanese restaurants.

“While the ambiance at Hanoi House is bright, healthy and green, our new brand is intimate, cozy and dark,” she said. “This is the ‘Ying’ to our ‘Yang.’”

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A post shared by Hanoi House (@hanoihouseptbo)

Ramen, fried chicken, freshly-shucked oysters, cocktails and draft beer are some of the menu options announced. The restaurant also features weekend karaoke according to an Instagram post.

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Vietnamese Restaurant Hanoi House Is Closing Its Downtown Location; Consolidates to One Storefront

Vietnamese restaurant Hanoi House is closing its Hunter Street location was announced on its Facebook page on Tuesday.

Tung and her newborn daughter Hunter outside the Hunter Street location that soft opened on Valentine’s Day in 2020. Tung’s family formerly owned the Golden Wheel Chinese restaurant located near Springville. Photo courtesy of Susan Tung.

The closure is due to decreasing overhead expenses incurred from running two restaurants (of the same brand) compared to one. Susan Tung, Hanoi House owner said she can operate and deliver the same level of service with one restaurant.

“I started thinking about it a few weeks ago and considered making the change in the slower months (in Jan. and Feb.) but then really considered the pros and cons of continuing operating the way we are,” she said.

Hanoi House opened on Valentine’s Day of 2020 for its soft opening. Photo by Luke Best.

Vietnamese coffee is typically sweetened with condensed milk as the coffee is steeped over it before being mixed. Photo by Luke Best.

Oysters and fried spring rolls. The former is a fun addition to the Vietnamese restaurant and the latter is wrapped in rice rolls. Photo by Luke Best.

Pho is Vietnam’s national dish that consists of rice noodles and vegetable garnish in a beef broth. Several beef cuts included in the soup are flank, tendon, tripe, beef balls and tenderloin. Photo by Luke Best.

All exclusive amenities and services at the Hunter Street location such as the oyster bar is being incorporated into their Lansdowne Street restaurant according to Tung. Staff are allowed to work at the other restaurant or are welcome to pursue other endeavours due to the Hunter Street closure.

According to their Facebook post, the restaurant plans to put a new concept into the Hunter Street location but would not disclose the information when asked.

Hanoi House soft opened on Hunter Street as its first location on Valentine’s Day of 2020. They opened in early December of the same year.

“Nothing lasts forever so it’s important to know when is the right time to keep moving on,” said Tung. “The business is still going, the location it mainly operates out of now is bigger which is a testament to what we’ve been able to achieve after starting off in this little space.”

Hanoi House specializes in Vietnamese cuisine including the country’s national dish, phở (pronounced fuh), vermicelli (rice noodles) and bánh mì (Vietnamese submarine).

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