Southeast Asian home cooking in Brooklyn
Not Too Sweet
Home cooking, far from home.
The list
Hear what's next first.
The dinners are just for close friends for now, but I'm working on what's next. The list hears about it first, along with new recipes.
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Have you eaten?
That’s how my family asks how you are, as food has always been how we show love. My mom looked after people by feeding them, and she’d think about who was coming long before deciding what to cook.
I was raised between Burma, Malaysia, and Los Angeles. When we first got to the States, my mom cooked for young Burmese immigrants who were homesick, giving them a taste of home in a place that didn’t quite feel like one yet. She later ran a restaurant under her own name, serving Thai, Chinese, and other Southeast Asian dishes to people seeking nostalgic flavors and those discovering them for the first time.
Why I started it
Not Too Sweet began as a way for me to get back to my mom’s cooking and the warmth and comfort she created around her table. It also grew from how, outside of Queens, it can be hard to find Burmese, Lao, or Cambodian food in Brooklyn or Manhattan. The hope is to get more people trying these cuisines, learning about the cultures behind them, and coming together around my dining table, exchanging ideas and making new connections over my take on these traditional recipes. It’s home cooking, far from home, meant to make everyone welcome.
The host
Thet Naing
Not Too Sweet is a solo passion project. I plan each menu, prepare every dish, and pour each drink. It all comes together in my apartment, turning a house into a home for ten guests, one dinner at a time.
I wouldn’t call myself a chef, but cooking has long been a staple of my life. New York has been home for more than ten years, a stretch that’s included teaching and running the Columbia Bartending Agency and working at bars around the city, including Fred’s at Barneys. That’s why there’s always a cocktail or two of my own creation on the table.
You don’t have to be at home to feel at home. So, have you eaten?
What I cook with
The knives, pots and glasses behind every dinner.
- My go-to chef's knifeWüsthof Classic Ikon 8" (opens in a new tab)
- My end-grain cutting boardSonder LA Welton, walnut (opens in a new tab)
- Dutch oven for curries and braisesLodge enameled, 6 qt (opens in a new tab)
- Torch for charring glazesIwatani PRO2 (opens in a new tab)
- Coupe glassesLuna Mantha ribbed coupes, 10 oz (opens in a new tab)
- Clear ice trayClearlyFrozen (opens in a new tab)
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