With Fiji Day approaching, Edwin Kumar is proudly taking Fiji to the world through his Airando Fiji Restaurant & Café, the only Fijian restaurant in Japan and possibly in all of Asia.
Kumar, who is from Votualevu in Nadi and attended Mount St. Mary’s Primary and Swami Vivekananda College, moved to Okinawa more than nine years ago after meeting his Japanese wife in Fiji.
Speaking to fijivillage News, Kumar says he opened the restaurant in Okinawa seven years ago.
He says although he had no culinary background, he explained that business was his passion and he wanted to do something not only for himself but also for Fiji, the country that shaped him.
He says the restaurant faced its biggest challenge just a year after opening when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Despite the difficulties, he and his team pushed through, and to date they have introduced more than 800,000 customers to authentic Fijian flavours in Japan.
Kumar says the restaurant’s menu features Fijian delicacies such as kokoda, coconut shrimp, roti, garlic mussels in lolo and other homestyle dishes.
He further says that if Fiji Water can be world famous, then Fijian food has the same potential, as Fiji’s hospitality, love, and culture deserve the same global spotlight.
Kumar has also developed a microwavable Fiji Coconut Chicken Curry with a two-year shelf life, which he calls the first of its kind in the world. He says they have been selling about 1,000 packs per month and exporting them to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.
The businessman explains that this is his small way of putting Fiji on the map and believes that with the right support and incentives from the Government, this product could one day become as famous as Fiji Water.
Reflecting on the beginnings of the restaurant, Kumar says it was difficult as they started by purchasing a piece of land and building everything from the ground up.
He says they are now planning to open another restaurant in Okinawa and have already identified one or two convenient locations.
The 37-year-old adds that he would definitely prefer to open a restaurant in Fiji rather than another in Japan, as for him, it is not always about profit. Sometimes, he says, it is about how you feel, and the sentimental value means more to him than economics.
