About

WHY “AUTHENTIC, NOT TRADITIONAL?”

With our style of cooking and backgrounds, like so many other diasporic, mixed, and/or “new gen” chefs, we’d often get judged based on a sole individual’s idea of what authentic cooking should look like.

Usually, this stems from one’s own subjective experience or crystallized memory of what is traditional to them, even though the one version of that dish is but one among dozens if not hundreds of valid ways in which that dish exists -often predating the one they hold on a pedestal- and that tradition only survives when it remains relevant, by purposefully evolving along with its custodians.

Ourselves, we’ve created our own traditions, some built on those we grew up with in our respective Cali Italian and French Chinese Singaporean households, others entirely our own. And over time, we have had the deep, heartfelt honor of witnessing countless others start and sustain their own traditions around our food as well, whether by dining with us ritually or making the recipes from our cookbook theirs.

With our motto, we put forth that regardless of what is traditional means to you, we always cook for you authentically, with sincerity.

The plate we place in front of you is a genuine reflection of our marriage of sensibilities, shaped by our professional and human experiences, informed by where we are and have been, rooted in our ever-expanding shared pantry and range of culinary techniques, commitment to our collective ethics, drive to spotlight our passion for incredible produce and the people behind it, and serious belief in unserious eating -as in, it should be joyful, funny, nutritious, bold, exciting and fresh, worth gathering around meaningfully, or enjoying solitarily and festively.

So, enjoy, mangia bene, bon app’, 慢慢吃.

• C-Y & Shane