I am Nasir Andrabi and I see myself as an avid food lover. I wasn’t always an entrepreneur, did not even come from a business background. My father was a civil engineer and in our times, people would only opt for a medicine or engineering career. It was the trend of the time. But my father supported my dreams of pursuing an MBA and I went to Cardiff to fulfill this dream. I started my career as a private banker in the Standard Chartered Bank and remained in this sector for a while. However, this wasn’t really my thing. I had always wanted to open up a restaurant chain. Always!
I was fortunate enough to travel a lot. I believe travelling gives you new experiences and opens up your mind to new ideas. Being a foodie ever since childhood, I would visit a lot of restaurants across various countries and relish upon the flavors of a lot of cuisines. Soon I realized that there wasn’t even a single place in the whole wide world which would serve authentic Kashmiri Cuisine – The Wazwan. I used to miss it and always used to ask myself why I can’t get Kashmiri food anywhere. This gave birth to the idea of Khyen Chyen.
Khyen Chyen, which literally translates to Food and Drinks, is aimed to introduce the rich exotic delights of the Kashmiri – the Wazwan, Kashmiri home food, the street food, and drinks to people of other geographies. We do not just serve Kashmiri food; we serve it in the Traditional Kashmiri way. We only use authentic Kashmiri ingredients, we have the best Kashmiri Chefs (Waza's) & we do not bring in any innovation to our food. We stick to how we have been eating our food for generations. The usage of Tash and Naer, the traditional copper utensils, the Tramis (a large plate used to eating together) - this is what makes us stand apart and Alhumdulilah, it has been a wonderful journey so far. People love our food, our service & our traditions. We have grown a lot & serving many families every day. Opening the first outlet in Delhi NCR has allowed us to cater to a varied client base & take our cuisine to a larger audience.
Kashmir is my love and every day spent in Kashmir is memorable day for me. It is this love that keeps me motivated to take Khyen Chyen to greater heights and take our beloved homeland to the rest of the world.
There are many young people out there, who want to take Kashmiri cuisine, arts and crafts to new heights. My advice for them would be to go ahead, follow your dreams & make Kashmir proud. Be ready for a rough ride & remember hard work always pays.