Ok Lah!
The roasted vegetables, brown rice, tofu, baked salmon and chicken at Ok Lah! are a far cry from the frozen food of Carson Yiu’s youth.
But it’s frozen food that got him into cooking, and eventually co-owning his small restaurant inside the renovated food hall at Queens Crossing.
As a Fresh Meadows latchkey kid, he watched the Food Network— learning technique from stars like Rachael Ray and Alton Brown. He began experimenting and moved away from freezer food, realizing the power meals could have on his body and life.
“I discovered that cooking led to independence, led to freedom.”
That idea of freedom—and controlling your life through diet—is the inspiration behind Ok Lah!, which Yiu and co-owner and chef Neal Syham opened in December 2017.
Syham trained at the Institute of Culinary Education after years working in finance, whereas Yiu focused on business and taught himself how to cook. They met at Smorgasburg a few years ago. Yiu was selling Taiwanese rolls and scallion pancakes at Outer Borough and Syham sold Filipino spring rolls at Lumpia Shack. They became friends and realized they could work well together.
They wanted to open a place focused on healthier dining and saw a need in Flushing, where Yiu hung out as a teenager and waited tables at the Ground Round on Northern Boulevard. The neighborhood was transforming, with new development and restaurants.
“I wanted to be a part of that change,” Yiu said.
Their gas wasn’t hooked up at first, and they’ve spent months cooking on electric burners. In the first three months the duo worked every day; now they take alternating weekends off. The rent is more than $11,000/ month for their tiny footprint.
“When you’re here in Flushing, customers don’t give a s**t about who you are,” he said. It keeps them humble, hustling and mission-focused.
At Ok Lah!, customers choose a salad or brown rice base, or a mix of both; then, they choose side dishes and a main, for $11.
They describe their food as American, with influences from Syham’s Filipino background and other Queens cuisines.
He spent a decade working in some of the fanciest kitchens in New York City, including Eleven Madison Park. In his own kitchen, he elevates the flavor profiles he ate at home, like chicken adobo and okra.
“I love Filipino food,” he says. “It’s underrepresented.”
There’s tamarind-glazed salmon, Vietnamese marinated hanger steak, roasted Hainanese chicken, rendang spiced meatballs and a long list of sides— vibrant slaws, charred avocado, tofu and preserved duck eggs and roasted vegetables.
The menu changes daily, and they plan to keep it seasonal, too. Every item is homemade, including the sauces. Syham sources many of the vegetables locally, recently traveling upstate to harvest wild ramps.
There’s been pushback, some scoffing at the price tag in a neighborhood with plenty of cheaper options. There’s no free soda with lunch, and no white rice—although they’re asked frequently about both.
Their eventual goal is expansion—but they haven’t been able to focus on anything besides Ok Lah! since opening.
“The journey is going to make me happy,” Yiu says. “But let me take care of Flushing first.”
Ok Lah! | @oklahnyc
Queens Crossing | @queenscrossing
Institute of Culinary Education | @iceculinary
Smorgasburg | @smorgasburg
Lumpia Shack | @lumpiashack
Eleven Madison Park | @elevenmadisonpark
