Lovers of Japanese food are already familiar with Nippon Tei, a sushi and Asian-fusion restaurant that has been open in Ballwin since 2001. Owner Ann Bognar recently punched through a wall of the restaurant and expanded the space to accommodate a new sake bar, which will have its grand opening on Oct. 18. After two decades in the restaurant industry, it’s clear that Bognar hasn’t lost any of her enthusiasm for the business. In fact, it only seems to be growing: Bognar debuted another restaurant, Tei Too, a fast-casual Thai restaurant in Webster Groves, this year. The joy she brings to her work is felt by her loyal customers, many of whom become her friends. “Every time a customer comes in,” said Bognar, “they want to see me, talk to me.”
Can you tell me a bit about your history? I came here from Thailand when I was only 19 to attend school. I went to Memphis State University. Back in Thailand, my father had tobacco farms, plantation, and we export the tobacco to Tennessee. The person who had the business with my father lived in Memphis. That’s the only family that we knew. My older sister came here first. My brother and me later, and my little sister came many years later. My sister married an American and [ended up] moving to St. Louis, and after school I followed her. My major was English and my intention was to go home and be an English teacher, but things change.
I opened Manee Thai with my brother in 1999. For two years I was with my brother, and after two years … you know, you love your family … it’s so much better to be the family, not the co-worker. So I left. I decided to do something different.
Obviously, you have a Thai background, so why open a Japanese restaurant? I love Japanese food. Japanese food has a pure taste. It’s not overwhelming. When you eat it, you don’t feel overwhelmed, you don’t feel overstuffed … there’s nothing “over” about it. When I was in college, Japanese was my minor. That’s how I got to study about that culture, the food, the customs. I fell in love with all the things Japanese. I love Thai food, but Japanese food is pure. [Even] if you have tempura, even the deep-fried [food] when you eat [it], it’s just not heavy. It’s just like you’re eating bubbles.
Tei Too is a Thai restaurant, and you’ve mentioned that the recipes are based on your mom’s cooking. My mother came and visited every year. So she taught me how to make Thai food. Thai food is difficult to make. When you eat it, you have to be able to taste about five tastes in one dish like sweet, salty, spicy, sour … it’s complex.
When you took over the space that now houses your sake bar, why didn’t you just expand Nippon Tei and add more seating?
I want to do something different. I want to change the habit of people drinking and eating for the better. Most of the time when you go out … drinking, the next day you feel, oh, you shouldn’t do that last night, you know? But [with sake] you don’t have to worry about that. One day, I have customers here that have become good friends, and we sit here and we drink two big bottles. … The next day, I saw them and ask them, “How are you feeling?” And they said, “Oh, that stuff is so good.” They didn’t feel anything. They woke up, got up and went to work. No problem. They used to drink beer, but now, after I introduced them to the sake, they never drink anything else.
Tell me a bit about the types of sake you carry. We have the daiginjo, the ginjo, and the ordinary sake and unfiltered, which is creamy and sweeter. We carry mostly ginjo – the time you brew it is longer. It’s smoother, just like a scotch. If you have 20 years old of the scotch, taste is going to be smoother. Daiginjo is brewed even longer.
Tell me about your new Asian tapas menu. I’m going to have jerky; this is something new. Beef jerky. We marinate it with sea salt, a pinch of sugar and then we let it dry in the oven and then we deep-fry them. This is in Thailand how they cook, but in Thailand they don’t use the oven, they use the sun. They call it sun beef. ‘Cause it’s hot all the time, you know, it’s sunny all the time. Another item is squid fingers.
Is it the tentacles? Yes, big one. You’d be surprised at how big it is. It’s huge. We marinate it, we batter it and deep-fry it. Very tender. We serve it with spicy mayonnaise sauce. I’ve sent [it] to the customers just to taste the menu and they love it. They want to order it and the menu didn’t come out yet. Another dish is shrimp ceviche. We cook shrimp very fast in the boiling water. And we have it with onions and avocados … a little spicy with Thai chile peppers and garlic and cilantro.
Now that’s where the fusion comes in. We have been known as a fusion restaurant for so many years, ’cause I love mix and match. Creating new tastes. I love what I’m doing, love food. I don’t know why. It’s just so in me. Instead of being an English teacher, here I am. I wake up every day and I just think, what am I going to do today? Everybody loves when I create something new. After two decades, [there’s] never a day that I wake up and don’t want to go to work.
This article appears in Oct 1-31, 2008.