Her husband’s illness, requiring him to follow a strict diet to regain his health, compelled MaMa Chef Grace Yong Lee to learn how to prepare “healing foods,” which are mostly organic and whole grain.
Now, 10 years later, her husband, Joon, full of vim once again (he bragged that at 61 he could out-run men half his age), the couple decided to share what Yong’s travels to Asia taught her about healing foods.
In late May, they opened HealthyWay, a restaurant and grocery at 405 Walnut St. in Harrisburg. It features all natural foods that Lee said is fresh, mostly local, and 65 to 70 percent organic. She makes soy milk daily.
“I prepare all natural, mostly,” said the Korean native who once had a restaurant in Seattle. She lives by the German proverb printed in their menu: “Man is what he eats.”
Yong said it is difficult to find organic in all foods (she’s trying, though) but some of the items they sell such as vegetables and chicken are 100 percent organic. She uses no preservatives, artificial ingredients, white flour or sugar in her cooking.
“I studied healing foods,” the 59-year-old chef said. “I went to Japan, Korea, China and India – learning how to make healing foods.”
She takes the macrobiotic approach to food preparation. Yong said it resulted in returning her husband to full health, which moved her to open the restaurant so the public could get in on this healthy way of eating and living.
“I wanted to share,” she said, smiling.
Joon is a macrobiotic believer. He said people should know that “besides exercise, they need good food.”
They serve breakfast and early dinner, their hours are from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. Some of their dishes include Soy waffle, naturally sweetened, grilled organic chicken, sweet potato noodles, fruit or yogurt smoothies and chicken soup.
They can accommodate vegetarians and those who desire meat, said Solomon Lee, the couple’s 19-year-old son. The challenge for HealthyWay, though, is making sure the products they use and sell are free of preservatives and additives.
“It’s really hard to get organic food so sometimes we have to make it ourselves,” Solomon said. “That way we can make sure it’s healthy for you.”
MaMa Chef, who wears a red apron with her smile, wants her customers to enjoy not just her food, but her hospitality; she enjoys meeting them and becoming friends. “I treat all my customers like family,” she said.
HealthyWay, 40 Walnut St., is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon-Sun. 717-234-7010 or visit them on Facebook.
