Tucked away in the backstreets of Broome is . Its Yawuru name translates to 'good food', which is exactly what people can expect to find in this brightly lit, Indigenous-owned-and-operated space.
But Mabu Mayi Cafe nourishes the local community in more ways than one.
A community affair
Mabu Mayi Cafe is located in Rubibi (Broome) on Yawuru Country. The cafe opened in 2019 as part of the Liyan-ngan Nyirrwa Cultural Wellbeing Centre, and is run by not-for-profit, Nyamba Buru Yawuru (NBY). It aims to empower the Yawuru people and improve the community's social, cultural, and economic outcomes.
Carol-Anne Bernard, Yawuru woman and senior project officer for NBY, explains what drives the centre's community focus.
"The facility is underpinned by the (positive wellbeing) philosophy, driven by Yawuru's cultural strength to enhance growth and empowerment of the Yawuru community," Bernard tells SBS Food.
"It's a lively and interactive space with visitors to the cafe and venue able to embrace and learn more about Yawuru culture, community and country."
It's a lively and interactive space with visitors to the cafe and venue able to embrace and learn more about Yawuru culture, community and country.
As part of its commitment to provide mabu liyan to the Yawuru people, NBY supports training and employment opportunities across various industries. Sectors include agriculture, construction and hospitality. To help combat Broome's hospitality shortage, NBY runs hospitality training through its Warrmijala Murrgurlayi (Rise up to Work) initiative. Profits from the organisation's social enterprises, such as the cafe, go to supporting its vision.
Bernard says the cafe helps to provide a deeper understanding of Yawuru culture and connection to Country through cuisine.
"Mabu Mayi Cafe adds value in its point of difference, providing a culinary experience unique to Broome, combining Asian and Native ingredients," she says.
Carol-Anne Bernard (second from left) and Lenny Tang Wei (second from right). Source: Mabu Mayi
Fusing flavours
Mabu Mayi Cafe's head chef Lenny Tang Wei embodies Broome's multiculturalism.
"My grandfather is Chinese, and my grandmother is Bardi Jawi. My grandad came to Broome to be a pearl diver, and my grandmother was born in Bulgin on the Dampier Peninsula," Tang Wei tells SBS Food.
"Once grandad finished being a pearl diver, he opened a restaurant and bought a house in Chinatown. My family ran Tong's Chinese Restaurant, which became famous for my grandfather's long soup. Although cooking was a part of my family, and I was raised with it everywhere I looked, it still felt like a spontaneous choice to become a chef."
In Tang Wei's last year of high school, he got a taste of working in the hospitality sector as a kitchen hand. It led him to work at multiple venues across town until a head chef at the iconic Cable Beach Club restaurant gave him a chance to work in the kitchen. A traineeship soon turned into an apprenticeship, eventually paving the way for Tang Wei to work further afield at restaurants in Uluru, Melbourne, Port Douglas and Brisbane. It wasn't until he returned to Broome for a second stint away that he jumped at the chance to work at NBY.
"Being a chef means everything to me, and despite the long days and stressful situations, I am glad I have stuck with it."
When the CEO at the time of NBY asked him to run the Mabu Mayi Cafe, he jumped at the opportunity.
"Being a part of NBY gives me the work-life balance I crave and an opportunity to be creative."
Being a chef means everything to me.
When designing the menu at Mabu Mayi Cafe, Tang Wei prefers to fuse the flavours of his heritage.
"I like to use my Asian heritage as inspiration and incorporate Asian fusion into the menu, and often there is an Asian twist to a menu item that is unexpected," he says.
"I use lemon myrtle to infuse the flavour of lemon. I also use aniseed myrtle in the pork as it is a replacement for star aniseed, and I use native basil in our chilli mayo and bush tomatoes in our sweet and sour."
Besides making good food, Tang Wei finds it meaningful to employ Indigenous staff and offer them the same start he did all those years ago.
"It has become my mission to encourage a prosperous workplace and lively culture that embraces the Yawuru value of mabu liyan."
Monday-Friday | 8am-2pm
