A Rohingya Muslim immigrant dreamed of opening a restaurant. Now she owns Asian Homecook in West Ridge

Toyuba Amir Ali would prepare large meals for family and friends in her West Ridge home, with dishes like mee goreng mamak ayam, a stir-fried noodle dish tossed in a sweet and spicy sambal chile-based sauce and protein and nasi goreng kampung , a salty and spicy dish made of day-old rice, anchovies, shrimp paste and topped with a fried egg.

She worked as a cook at a restaurant in Malaysia and at one point owned a food stall with a friend. When the Rohingya Muslim immigrant came to the U.S. in September 2024, she began dreaming of opening her own eatery. But her daughter Aishah Hamid and her siblings weren’t crazy about the idea. However, when it became clear that Amir Ali wasn’t going to let the dream go, Hamid and various family members mobilized to support the matriarch’s vision.

“She came up with the idea to open a restaurant and kept saying, ‘maybe we should try,’” said Hamid, 35. “But we weren’t familiar with opening or running a restaurant. However, she kept saying ‘the restaurant is calling me.’ We were not her biggest supporters. I kept saying ‘let’s not do it. It’s too much of a hassle.’ But she really wanted to so we ended up helping her anyway.”

Asian Homecook owner Toyuba Amir Ali (left) sits at her West Ridge restaurant with her daughter Aishah Hamid. Hamid says her mother was determined to open a restaurant and despite initial hesitation, the family mobilized to her the matriarch make her vision a reality. Hamid recalls her mother saying, “the restaurant is calling me.”

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Asian Homecook, a 45-seat restaurant serving halal Malaysian food, opened in March on Devon Street in the heart of “Little India.” The restaurant began as a side hustle born of necessity. When the family immigrated to the United States two years ago, it was a way to bring in money. In addition to the food stall, Amir Ali also did stints in restaurants, and she learned the skill from her own mother. Word of the meals she prepared at her West Ridge home for family and friends spread and eventually she began to receive paying customers — serving about 50 people a week.

When the storefront that now houses Asian Homecook became available in March, Amir Ali convinced her family it was time to expand out of the house and into a brick and mortar. Hamid says the family isn’t wealthy. Three siblings and various family members pooled their money together to help Amir Ali take over the lease that same month.

Malaysia is a diverse country, and its food reflects that, with Chinese, Indian and local Malay flavors and cooking techniques blending together into Malaysian cuisine. Asian Homecook’s menu is broken up largely into noodle and rice dishes as well as a selection of roti, including a banana roti that pairs well with some spicy sambal. Some of the popular dishes include the mee goreng mamak ayam and nasi goreng kampung , that led to her at-home cooking business; along with nasi goreng mamak ayam , a fried rice crispy chicken dish spiced with curry. There are also daily specials like pisang goreng, golden fried banana fritters, and mee rojak , beef noodles in a peanut sauce.

Amir Ali developed the menu based on the comfort food found in street stalls in Malaysia. Everything is made from scratch and evokes the feeling and aromas of her home country (hence the Homecook in the restaurant's name).

Toyuba Amir Ali, who worked as a cook in Malaysia, wanted to open a restaurant and when the storefront on Devon Avenue opened, she took the opportunity to pursue her dream.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The cozy restaurant is a modest space but even on a rainy Wednesday night (when I dined there), almost every table was taken. A young group of young men gathered under a widescreen TV to watch the World Cup, a middle-aged couple explored the menu and solo diners of various ages filled up on noodles and rice.

Amir Ali took over the lease for another Rohingya-owned restaurant that struggled to stay in business, in large part to the difficulties the ethnic population faces.

The Rohingya are an ethnic group that has faced decades of discriminatory policies and violence in Myanmar where the government considers them illegal immigrants, even though many have family roots in the country dating back centuries . A 2025 United Nations report found that conditions for the Rohingya in Myanmar had deteriorated as they faced killings, forced recruitment, displacement and other abuses by the military. About 350,000 Rohingya have been displaced in Rakhine State in western Myanmar and neighboring areas since fighting resumed in November 2023, the report said.

Due to the ongoing conflict, the Rohingya have fled the country and have sought refuge in neighboring countries such as Malaysia, making it one of the largest host populations in the world. However, Malaysia does not officially recognize refugees. As a result, the Rohingya have been denied citizenship for decades, making them the largest stateless population in the world .

Roti telur (left) and roti canai are flatbreads, with the former filled with egg.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

The lack of legal rights to public education and formal employment have created a tense environment in Malaysia where Rohingya people are discriminated against. The immigration crisis there has resulted in widespread undocumented labor, high levels of illiteracy and a large population of people who have grown up immersed in Malaysian culture but who face rejection and exclusion from Malaysian society. As a result, those who can, like Hamid and her family, look to leave.

“Even though we were born there, I’m actually second generation in Malaysia, my mom was also born there but we were never accepted as citizens,” said Hamid. “We were living as refugees in Malaysia. In 2024 we got resettled here by the grace of God.”

Despite never being recognized as a citizen, growing up in Malaysia has left an undeniable mark on Hamid and her family. Their food, culture and language are shaped by the place...

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