Two new restaurants have opened in the dining quarter of the Chapelfield shopping centre as lockdown lifts.

Norwich Evening News: A bao bun by Chi in Chapelfield. Picture: intu ChapelfieldA bao bun by Chi in Chapelfield. Picture: intu Chapelfield (Image: intu Chapelfield)

The first is Granary – a deli-style cafe offering handmade sandwiches and patisserie. The other is Chi, an Asian street food restaurant offering dishes such as bao buns and noodle bowls.

Both businesses are owned by Aidan Tjinakiet and his business partners Lamen and Wendy Reddy. Mr Tjinakiet said: “My dad is from Hong Kong and has lived there for 30 years and he used to have his own restaurant, so I’ve grown up in the industry. I am from Cambridge and I had lots of friends who went to university in Norwich so I used to come up to visit and I love it.”

MORE: Market stall greengrocer launches online fruit and veg hampers

His business partner Ms Reddy said: “Chi has grown from our love and passion for the flavours and freshness of street food. “We offer dishes such as bao buns, which are soft and like eating a cloud, and big bowls of rice and noodles with toppings such as katsu chicken and barbecue beef short rib. We use all our own recipes and pride ourselves on our quality and detail, mirroring the authentic colourful Asian taste.

“All our products are prepared from scratch using raw ingredients with no preservatives or additives.”

She added: “All our products are made fresh on site giving us the advantage to source our products and to be knowledgeable about the ingredients on offer.

“Each new menu choice, store opening and exciting food concept represents another chapter in our story.” Chi and the Granary can be found on the Chapelfield dining terrace on the right-hand side as you reach the top of the escalators.

Food is available for takeaway or to eat in. Sheridan Smith, marketing manager at intu Chapelfield, said: “We have been looking forward to Chi and the Granary opening since the beginning of the year and it has definitely been worth the wait. We’re always looking for new ways to excite our customers and give them more choices and the two new restaurants certainly offer something different.”