We first encountered Toli Moli at EmporiYum in the fall of 2016. After circling around their stand countless times throughout the event, we decided to stop by and learn a little more about Burmese food. What began as a quick question turned into a 2 hour conversation about food, travel, and hip hop. Since then, it has easily become one of our favorite spots in DC.

A lot has changed for Toli Moli since that day. They have became a permanent fixture within Union Market and evolved into a full-fledged Bodega selling Asian pantry items and books on food and culture. If you’re hungry, they are still serving a noodles, snacks, and other Burmese goodies. Oh I forgot to mention, they have also been hosting their Cook X Book Series and popping-up sporadically throughout DC.

There are quite a few restaurants like Toli Moli that have a special place in our hearts. All of these restaurants have a few things in common. They are small businesses owned by great people. They serve great food. And most importantly, it is what they love to do. With this series of posts, we are looking to highlight these establishments and give you a peak inside the inner workings of them with some Q&A with the owners. Below is a convo we had with Simone, one of the owners of Simply Banh Mi with her mom, Chef Jojo, and brother Eric. Comment below if there’s any other questions you’d want to know about them, or you could just stop by the restaurant and ask Simone, Chef Jojo, or Eric yourself!

From your website, we see you have lived many past lives. Did you have a favorite past life/profession?

My mom loved teaching AP Art History (she was one of only a handful in DC to do so), but one of the most rewarding things I currently do is teaching yoga at the DC jail. In the past, the coolest job I ever had by far was leading a cultural exchange program for hip-hop dancers from all over the world in partnership with the State Department and the Kennedy Center.

What inspired you to open Toli Moli? How did you decide on Union Market?

Our original idea was to “sweeten your snack time.” We wanted to create an intergenerational exchange via food diplomacy to share Burmese food culture with the world. Falooda was the most memorable food I ate in Burma and my mom’s favorite childhood snack in Rangoon, so we started there. We didn’t really “decide” on Union Market. They were generous enough to take a meeting with us thanks to some influential food industry friends, and to our great surprise and delight they invited us to pop up there. What was supposed to last a few weeks has turned into a full-fledged bodega and cultural hub (two years this summer)!

Was opening a bodega always part of Toli Moli’s grand plans?

No! We always dreamed of having a snack shop, but we were just lucky to be in the right place at the right time when the space became available.

Can you tell us a little about your “Cook x Book” series? Was there something which inspired the pairings of chefs and books?

Toli Moli x Duende District present: COOK + BOOK, a friendly gathering on the last Wednesday of each month to learn more about cooking with Asian ingredients at home.

Last December when we opened our Burmese Bodega, we sent out a survey to all of our e-mail subscribers and asked people to fill it out when they were in the shop. Hundreds of people responded, and one of the #1 patterns we saw was that people said things like, “these Asian ingredients are so cool, but can you teach us how to use them?” We have an amazing partnership with Duende District, a POC-centric bookstore, and so the idea of cooking classes where chefs recommend the best cookbooks from their region/specialty – our mutual areas of expertise – was the perfect match.

If you could do an event with a guest chef, regardless of logistical limitations, location, and dead or alive, who would it be?

That’s such a hard one! I think most of us would just wish for more time with our families in the kitchen. For me, that would be my grandfather, whom I never had the chance to meet but I have heard stories that he and I love all the same foods.

What are your favorite cook books and book books?

Currently, Eric is loving Buttermilk Graffiti and I think Naomi Duguid’s Burma cookbook is a precious kitchen resource. As for non-cookbooks, all three of us – me, my mom, and Eric – could talk to you about this for hours on end. I am currently reading about four different books, ranging from discourse on yoga/trauma/race to humorous French fiction. One book we all cherish deeply is my aunt’s account of my grandfather’s life, A Daughter’s Memoir of Burma.How would you describe Burmese food to someone who is not super familiar with it?

It really is ‘toli moli’ (a little of this, a little of that). Burmese food is not usually very spicy so that everyone can make their plate to taste. For example, laphet thoke, a pickled tea leaf salad we also sell at our bodega, is served at home with all ingredients separate and each guest can make their serving to their liking. The things that define Burmese food are color, texture, and variety – a lot of crunchy, salty, sour, funky, savory, and sweet make for a festival of flavors in every dish.

If you could add another item to the menu, regardless of logistical limitations, what would it be?

Ah pone! We made it at the EmporiYUM last year – after it was a huge hit at our Sally’s Middle Name pop-up dinner – and it sold out so fast.

When you are not at the bodega where can we find you?

Eric and my mom have sacrificed so much this year and work full-time at the bodega. I teach yoga at the Columbia Heights Yoga District on Thursday nights at 8pm, and once a month at the Petworth Public Library (Second Saturdays, 11am). Starting in June, we’re also re-launching free Sunday yoga classes at Total Source Fitness at 10am next to Union Market. I’ve invited some new teachers to lead the classes, but I’ll be there from time to time to practice and teach.

For fun, you might be totally unsurprised to know that our favorite thing to do together is go eat at our friends’ restaurants. We have a little “family” tradition of going to Thip Khao with our staff and volunteers after almost every event we do.

What are you favorite restaurants/vendors in the DC area?

Thip Khao, Himitsu, Lapis, Dorjee Momo, Z&Z, Short Eats, Ruby Scoops, Pho Viet, CHIKO, Ambar, Kaz Sushi Bistro, Baan Thai, Colada Shop, Bresca, Peking Gourmet Inn, Bad Saint, Clavel (in Baltimore), Honey Pig … Eric, my mom and I could also probably talk about this for days on end! Eric and I recently discovered this amazing Filipino gem in the ‘burbs: Kabayan.

We’re really focused on making the bodega the best it can possibly be, and we love to hear from our community. The survey that helped launch COOK + BOOK is still live, so please let us know what you’d like to see at the shop next!

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