25/11/2025
We just wanted to take a moment to say how truly grateful we are for your contribution and continued support for our community. Having you stop by to share a meal with us meant so much โ weโre so glad you were able to try our food and experience a little piece of our culture.
Your dedication to spreading awareness about our struggles, our traditions, and our identity does more for us than you may realise. Because of your support, we feel encouraged, motivated, and committed to working even harder. We canโt wait to introduce more specials that reflect our culture in the most authentic way.
To our customers:
Thank you for supporting our small family business. We are still learning, growing, and figuring out how to manage everything the best we can. There may be days where things get difficult and we become a little inconsistent โ for that, we sincerely apologise. Please be patient with us as we continue to improve. We promise we are always doing our very best.
Thank you all for allowing us to feel seen, heard, and supported. โค๏ธ
๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป/๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ถ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐'๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ'๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ - ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ.
I was standing with my wife at the Mount Gambier Christmas Parade recently, and noticed that the signage for Aumaรจ Mt Gambier (where Royal Copenhagen was) includes two little Karen characters in traditional clothing holding hands and we both felt quite emotional.
It's been almost 20 years since Karen and Karenni people first arrived in Mount Gambier, after fleeing the Burmese military and many spending years in refugee camps on the Thai border. When I was younger, I was always fascinated with their traditional clothing when I'd see them down the street. As I became more involved in the community, I found myself attending traditional New Year events, celebrations, and basically anywhere I could go to try their incredible food!
Through events, and the temporary Karenni Kitchen from a couple of years ago, we had opportunities - but never a proper restaurant. So to have that now, right in the centre of town, cooking up some of the most incredible food - I just feel so lucky.
I saw those two little characters on signage in one of the most prominent areas of town and I felt an immense sense of pride for our community.
It also served as further evidence to disprove one of the most ridiculous statements I've ever read - "Refugees will never own businesses in Mount Gambier". This person said this so confidently, but fast forward a few years and I'm losing count. So many brand new businesses, or existing businesses that have been put on the market, are now being run by people from these communities who have made Mount Gambier their home and contributed so much to the strength and diversity of our community fabric.
But I want to bring it back to Aumaรจ quickly. The staff there are fantastic and their new menu I just can't put into words. We had a lovely meal there over the weekend, and it's a great spot to fully immerse yourself in Karen-Thai food, or grab some ice cream or donuts!
