Bugra Arkin, owner of Dolan’s Uyghur Cuisine in Alhambra, California, along with his staff, wear simple, yet powerful t-shirts as their restaurant uniform. In white text on a black shirt reads the message: “Google Uyghurs.” And I did. 

A brief search taught me that Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group in the province of Xinjiang in Western China. The region is also ground zero of a cultural genocide, where the Chinese government has been accused of imprisoning millions of Uyghurs in detention centers, along with many other human rights abuses. It’s a dire plight for the Uyghur people, who fear their culture, language, and way of life are slowly being wiped out.

The disappearance of Arkin’s own father — which he states was at the hands of the Chinese government — led him to open up Dolan’s, where he aims to preserve his culture’s unique cuisine.

Uyghur food has influence from neighboring Persian, Greek and Arab cultures. At Dolan’s, folks can look forward to delicious lamb-based dishes, along with expertly crafted hand-pulled noodles, hearty meat pies, juicy kebabs, and its signature Big Plate Chicken.

For Dolan's to be nestled within a hub of legendary Chinese cuisine options in the San Gabriel Valley mirrors the Uyghurs' plight in China — and simultaneously amplifies the bravery shown by the Uyghur people to preserve their culture and to shed light on the cultural genocide they're suffering.