On August 8, 2017, local entrepreneur and restaurateur Adam Tsang opened Soyumi Asian Kitchen on Buckhead Drive in the Statesboro Crossing shopping center. The restaurant, a testament to Tsang’s commitment to quality food and service, is now celebrating five years of success in the Statesboro community.
Tsang was raised in the restaurant business, as his parents, Charles Tsang and Jean Hsu, owned the well-known Peking Restaurant on Fair Road.
The Tsangs later opened The Saucy Shrimp on Highway 301 South in 2014. They then invited Adam to return home after college to manage that restaurant. It was there that he further cultivated his love for food and service.
"Seeing my parents’ hard work pay off and the community they built surrounding the Peking Chinese Restaurant inspired me to want to establish a similar environment that reflects Statesboro's community today," he said.
With a concept of accessible and delicious Asian fusion and a focus on both atmosphere and customer service, the idea for Soyumi was born.
Innovative Asian fusion – with a familiar Southern twist
Current Soyumi General Manager Taylor Rodgers describes the restaurant’s unique take on Asian fusion as “Asian dishes with a Southern American twist – creative with an element of familiarity.”
Rodgers says that one of the restaurant’s primary goals is to bring diversity to Statesboro’s food scene and, through innovation and attention to trends, provide people with things they can’t get anywhere else in town.
“We are a restaurant that prides itself on being able to create and let our staff create and experiment,” she said.
At the same time, they want to offer foods that feel familiar. This is so that customers are comfortable and hopefully willing to try new things.
“Asian fusion is a lot more approachable than people think,” Rodgers said. “We just have to get the food in people’s mouths, and they’ll fall in love.”
Food and drink favorites
Some of the most popular dishes at the restaurant are the Cheeseburger Eggrolls and the Pineapple Fried Rice. Both dishes speak to Rodgers’s description of the Southern Asian fusion concept.
The eggrolls offer an Asian-style dish with familiar Southern flavors. The fried rice is a crowd-pleaser that also incorporates a unique experience. (Diners receive the pineapple, rice, vegetables, protein, and a cracked egg on a sizzling hot plate and stir-fry it themselves.)
Sushi – something that is a little harder to find in Statesboro – is another specialty of Soyumi’s. In fact, the restaurant won Best Sushi in the Region in the Best of Georgia competition in 2021.
A wide variety of rolls are available, from traditional sashimi to more Southern-friendly rolls like those that are deep-fried or made with shrimp tempura or crab.
According to Rodgers, the most popular sushi roll is the OMG Roll. This roll features softshell crab, shrimp tempura, spicy salmon, cream cheese, spicy mayo, and eel sauce wrapped in soybean paper, which is more “user-friendly” than the nori (seaweed) used in more traditional rolls.
The Soyumi bar is also a point of pride for Rodgers, who began as a bartender and then bar manager there.
While customers can always get their old favorite libations, the bar also offers fresh, creative takes on classics, as well as innovative and themed cocktails for the more adventurous.
Rodgers' all-time favorite Soyumi cocktails are the Orange Dreamsicle and the Lotus Blossom, a special that earned a permanent spot on the menu.
A focus on quality and service
No matter your preference for the innovative or the familiar, everything you will find on the Soyumi menu is high quality and both prepared and presented in a service-focused atmosphere. Those commitments are important parts of the restaurant’s recipe for success.
From Soyumi’s inception, Tsang and his staff have worked hard to ensure that customers not only enjoy their food but also their full dining experience.
“We have really fresh product, whether that be sushi or fresh pressed juices at the bar,” Rodgers said. “But it’s not just about the cuisine you’re eating; it’s also about the experience. Our servers, managers, and bartenders truly care about making sure you enjoy your time at the restaurant – not just your food.”
One way the restaurant accomplishes this goal is through the real-life relationships among the staff. Rodgers describes the staff – from dishwashers to management – as a family. And they’re all involved in the restaurant’s mission of constantly innovating and creating.
“Our staff truly gets along, from our cooks to our servers,” Rodgers said. “That translates down to the customer and impacts the feel of the experience at the restaurant.”
In addition to the Best of Georgia Award, the Soyumi experience has also been recognized by Best of the Boro, The Statesboro Magazine Fabulist, and TripAdvisor – an indication that what they’re doing certainly seems to be working.
Serving the community is food for the soul
Going a step beyond their quality food and customer service, Soyumi has also shown a remarkable commitment to serving the Statesboro community through events and charitable efforts. In fact, that’s part of the heart and soul of the restaurant.
“We love our Statesboro people, and they love us, too,” Rodgers said. “Whenever we get a chance to help local organizations, we do.”
The restaurant has hosted fundraising efforts for various teams and organizations. This includes CheerSouth, Safe Haven, AirEvac, and the Statesboro Humane Society.
When two of the restaurant’s bar regulars were tragically affected by COVID, Soyumi stepped up to raise funds and support their families.
Soyumi also hosts “You Got Served,” a community service effort in which the restaurant provides lunch to various businesses and organizations in Statesboro. Tsang has delivered tray upon tray of free sushi to schools, the library, the EMS station, law enforcement agencies, the food bank, medical offices, and more.
“There’s really no way to repay them or give back enough,” Rodgers said of those who keep our city going. “But what we can do is provide them with good food and smiling faces and our appreciation for what they do.”
There is a true sense of community within the restaurant, and that is clearly intentional. It’s important to both Tsang and Rodgers to continue developing those bonds as the restaurant grows.
“These organizations do so much for Statesboro,” Rodgers said. “We want to be there for them, as well.”
While more sociable than charitable, Soyumi has also hosted “pop-ups” and tap takeovers, inviting area restaurants and breweries to introduce their foods and beverages to the Soyumi customer base, along with happy hours, gaming nights, and bartending classes.
But the goal for all the restaurant’s events is the same: to bring people together to enjoy food and drink.
Good food and good people
Simply put, at Soyumi, you’re going to find good food and good people.
“To me, Soyumi means home,” Rodgers said. “Soyumi has grown to be a place where you know you’re going to get good food, good service, and good cocktails – and a relationship and connection that you might not be able to get anywhere else.
Going forward, Tsang and Rodgers both hope to continue that commitment to quality, innovative cuisine and excellent customer service in a welcoming, fun atmosphere. They both said that while they feel accomplished for having made it five years, they’re already looking ahead to what they can do next.
"The past five years have flown by,” Tsang said. “The restaurant has withstood challenging times – from COVID to the labor shortage. But each day, our staff comes into the restaurant with the mindset of creating an environment where people's love for food and community are combined. Over the next five years, we can only hope our passion for our craft continues to grow and inspires others to do the same."
“From the creative side of the Asian fusion to the innovation at the bar on the creative cocktail side to our staff being a family – to have this five year anniversary is a huge success for us,” Rodgers added. “And now it’s time to see how much farther we can go.”
