64 JULY 2020
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Law-Yone and Jacobson had spent every
day together since opening Thamee,
but since they shuttered the restaurant
in response to COVID-19, they have not
been able to see each other. Here is how
they’re spending their days apart.
JOCELYN LAW-YONE: “What this has
given me is time to breathe. It was just
crushingly sad; we were working at an
incredible pace, and the rug was just
pulled out from under me. I have been
using this time to catch up on all the
things I have wanted to do for a long
time: develop new recipes, make lots
of sambals, and dive deeper into my
heritage. I am finally writing down all
the menu ideas that have been in my
head and needed to be on paper.”
SIMONE JACOBSON: ÒI am working the
same hours I did while at the restau-
rant, except my day starts and ends
earlier. One of the things I am most
excited about is this series of virtual
happy hours I’ve organized with Hap-
pied, a company started by one of our
servers, where our bar manager and
bartenders show Asian and Asian
American riffs on classic cocktails. A
portion of ticket sales will be donated
to a number of Asian/Pacific American–
serving organizations.”
their pivot
from top: Jocelyn Law-Yone and
her daughter, Simone Jacobson,
co-own Thamee; steamed whole
fish with citrus and turmeric;
ohno khauk swe, a restorative
bowl of chewy lo mein noodles
and hard-boiled eggs swimming
in a coconut-lentil curry; the din-
ing room at Thamee
why we love them
At the restaurant she runs with her daugh-
ter, Simone Jacobson, Jocelyn Law-Yone
cooks soul food from her native Myanmar
(formerly Burma). The pickled tea leaf
salad is assertive and bright, goosed with
lime juice. For Ma Jo’s Spicy Tofu, Law-
Yone uses Burmese chickpea tofu; it’s best
spooned over the Golden Rice, yellowed
with turmeric and laced with fried shallots,
each grain loaded with comfort.
VIBRANT BURMESE FLAVORS
FROM AN UNSTOPPABLE
MOTHER-DAUGHTER DUO
washington, d.c.
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