The family-run business has won awards for its sushi as well as being named the Best Japanese Restaurant in Wales – twice
FOR some people, Ely might seem like the last place you would think to establish an award-winning Japanese restaurant.
But for Hong Kong-born David Chan, 42, and his wife Hayman, Ely presented “a good opportunity”.
“We knew in Ely there were no independent restaurants and also no sit-in restaurants,” said David, who moved to Cardiff in December 2019.
“And the people of Ely are really kind.”
The couple left Hong Kong because of an unhealthy work life balance. They moved to South Wales to enjoy a better family life and build their own business from the ground up.
“The work culture in Hong Kong prioritises productivity and promotes extended working hours, which left us with limited quality time together as a family,” said Hayman.
Before setting up shop in Ely, the husband and wife visited Cardiff in February and October of 2019.
“At that moment we were looking at places such as Cathays or the city centre,” said David.
“However because of Covid all the planning was wounded and we also had difficulty in finding a shop because we were very new to here.”
After navigating the challenges of the pandemic Don Don Yatai opened in October 2021 on the junction of Cowbridge Road West and Grand Avenue, right in the centre of Caerau and Ely.
Before deciding where in Cardiff he would open his restaurant, David knew the Welsh capital was the right place after strong recommendations from his brother.
“My elder brother studied his PhD at Cardiff University 15 years ago and he really, really recommended Cardiff, because Cardiff is the capital city of Wales, the people are nice, multinational and also there are many different kinds of culture.”
Working in Hong Kong as a trainee manager, David taught both kitchen and front-of-house staff how to run a restaurant – and after doing that for 15 years he was ready for a new challenge.
His family has a long history in the restaurant business so he wanted to open his own place from an early age.
“Once I got the entrepreneur visa, I moved to the UK to set up my own business from the back and move forward, and for me I really love the culinary industry – especially Japanese cuisines,” he said.
“In Hong Kong, for the last 10 years, I focussed in this industry and worked closely with the Japanese chefs and [they] inspired me a lot with how to be a good chef and do good food. They really loved the industry and this made me want to actualise my dream.”
David had to adapt to the cultural and culinary differences between Wales and Hong Kong when it comes to Japanese food.
“The taste is totally different,” he said.
“Asians can eat Japanese food everyday but in the UK it may not be the most popular – maybe they will try Asian food once a week – and they can choose Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Thai food, so the combination is totally different.
“I want to promote it and let people know that Japanese food is very good, it is very healthy and the chefs will do their best to mould the taste of the food [to the customer.”
They all told me they were preparing to visit Japan, they wanted to know what Japanese food is.
Although Cardiff palates are different to those in Hong Kong, David still wants to deliver the most authentic taste possible.
“We follow the procedure the same as we would in Japan,” said David.
Some customers even visited Don Don Yatai to prepare for a trip to Japan.
“I remember that one time we had four elderly people, it was the first time they had tried Japanese food.
“I asked them why they chose Japanese food. They all told me they were preparing to visit Japan. They wanted to know what Japanese food is. We felt so happy.”
This authenticity has proven to be a success and customers definitely have favourite dishes, says David.
“Most people talk about our ramen. Yeah, they love the spicy ramen. And also the donburi – we say the white rice dish – and also the sushi – the uramaki – that is our most popular food. Every time they [customers] will order this kind of food. It’s popular.”
Three years since its opening Don Don Yatai has become a homely favourite for residents of Cardiff.
“We find that some customers, even though they move to London, when they come back to visit their family every time they will visit us,” said David.
When we won the prize, we were only one year old
Aside from an occasional post on their social media, Don Don Yatai’s continued success has mainly been due to word-of-mouth recommendations from customers.
When coupled with their very impressive 4.9 out of 5 ratings on both Google and Facebook, within a year of opening Don Don Yatai won the Welsh Restaurants Award category for Best Japanese Restaurant in Wales.
“Yeah, it was really surprising because when we won the prize we were only one year old and so we didn’t think that we would get the award,” said David.
A year later, the team won Wales’ Best Japanese Restaurant for the second time, as well as being named Wales’ Best Sushi Restaurant for 2023.
David doesn’t even know who nominated the business for the Welsh Restaurant Awards.
“It was really surprising for our family,” he said.
In line with David’s aim of creating the most authentic restaurant possible, the name Don Don Yatai is a combination of the food and style of the restaurant. He explains the meaning of the restaurant’s name – and its “double dons”.
“The thick big noodles, in the Japanese to English translation, it is ‘udon’, and also the other ‘don’, we can say it is the donburi (a deep rice bowl). So it is the main core elements of our restaurant that we want to provide, the rice dish and also the noodles for the public to try the traditional, main dishes,” said David.
A Yatai is a small, mobile Japanese street food stall which translates to English as ‘shop stand’.
“They [Yatai] only operate under the lights, at night and also the customers are ready to try their food and they are just in small areas and [have] more variety. Something like us because we are also a very small restaurant.”
David and Hayman’s culinary efforts are expanding, with the couple setting up their own pop up ‘Yatai’ in Pontcanna’s Riverside Market earlier this year.
“Mainly we do it on the Riverside Market once a month and also the [Cardiff] Met Uni pop-up market also once a month and the brand is Don Don Plus.”
As the restaurant celebrates its third year, it is clear that Don Don Yatai is now a staple for many Cardiff residents.
“We know that we are small but we want to do the best with our food. We try to make sure that our service and our food can provide more variety and cultural food to the public.”
- Don Don Plus will appear at Cardiff’s Christmas markets from December 16 to the 21. Don Don Yatai can be contacted on Facebook or via WhatsApp on 078 5266 5088.
