Five Restaurants, Four Days.
“So who else are you shooting?”
That was the first question Victor asked me.
He walked me through the dishes, exactly like the Excel spreadsheet he shared via email - mapo tofu, XO prawns and ee fu noodles, dumplings, steamed fish, a hibiscus tea fruit punch with red fruits
“Who took yee sang?”
I told him, to which he replied, “of course she did,” followed by a “did you know we used to date?”
Oh really?
“But good for her,” said Victor.
I gave a 'hey man, I'm just here to take photographs' shrug.
In fact, not long ago I was in a fetal position, sucking my thumb on the floor.
Not many people realise to launch a magazine in February, the editors have to start planning way ahead. In Gourmet Traveller’s case, it was November.
The same month I was informed that our balcony was leaking, causing water damage and the collapse of the ceiling downstairs.
I was on the floor, sucking my thumb because I just received the quote to waterproof and retile the balcony.
A notification came in, right next to the five-digit quote, was a message from Lee Tran asking if I was interested to pitch for Gourmet Traveller's Lunar New Year issue.
“Get fucked.”
It’s funny how two extreme news would conjure the same knee-jerk reaction.
I gave her a 'shocked face' emoji, before sitting up with a proper reply.
Sure we did the email brainstorming thing, but I have a feeling Lee Tran carved the story out for me. She did mention she had a hospo story in the works, but behind the scenes of restaurants having their reunion dinner during Lunar New Year? That’s pretty juicy - anyone would die to write about it, yet somehow it landed on my lap as a photography assignment.
So there I was emailing all the restaurants.
Between the two of us, my first picks were Lee Ho Fook, Dainty, Pacific House, HuTong, and Flower Drum. LT (or GT) suggested we balance out the testosterones with Rosheen and Jerry, which was ultimately a good call.
The Invisible Poster Boy.
Victor was my first shoot, and ironically was not included in the story in the end. We found out the morning of the shoot, the lady who was supposed to be on the cover had too much on her plate, so Victor was asked to step in. But you know, the dishes were all set up anyway, let's have a good staff meal anyway.
“That’s fucking sick, dude.” Victor was also the only person who noticed my medium format film camera.
The Australian public did not get to see the reunion dinner of Lee Ho Fook, but you, my subscribers, you get front-row seats.
The Vietnamese Leader.
“So who else are you shooting?” Jerry asked me the same question, and after I gave her the run down, she said “oh, did you know she and Victor used to date?”
I swear, these master chefs are just gossip generators.
But I think she was just making small talk.
After that, Jerry was constantly talking about the dishes, and what they meant to her family.
Bánh tét - sticky rice filled with king bean and pork, a must-have during the new year. Poached whole chicken head and feet still attached - every alter has to have this chicken, and her dad could finish everything by himself.
How she'll always ask her mum to cook since she's not that far away. Or was it her girlfriend who wanted her mum to cook?
I have to say, Bia Hoi's dishes are the most foreign to me, yet, the round table and the casualness were the most familiar. I’m not doing a good job explaining it, but also, I don’t expect you to get it either.
The One Who Got Yee Sang.
“Who else are you shooting? Oh. Did you know we used to date?” She asked.
REALLY? I have ABSOLUTELY no idea.
Flabbergasted.
Rosheen reassured me that they were on good terms. She told me this funny story about how when she finally received her first hat (or chef of the year award) and they sat her right next to Victor, who was receiving his second hat. It was annoying, but also a relief, since they both knew what it took to get there.
The shot was over, but we were just standing and chatting while she made chocolate tarts without breaking a sweat. She spoke about how she's totally not in the position to be the authority on Asian food (she's Nonya, Filipino and Kashmiri blood) despite everyone asking her to be. We talked about her family in Singapore. She asked where did I eat which was decent. What's overrated? What's underrated? “Osteria Illaria? Yea they're not bad.” (I sensed the unspoken current that she was going to say ‘Etta is better’.) She said she needed to find somewhere closer to work. I don’t know how, it’s like I’m one of her friends already.
Remember Tina from Dainty? Yea Rosheen has that same pull that makes you feel like you're special when she talks to you.
I felt like if I didn't make myself leave, I'd end up pulling up a chair and forgot I had dinner waiting at home or something.
The Machine.
I'm not sure if I've officially said it, but Yugen Dining is basically Vue De Monde 2.0. The alumni are here. I know Stephen from way back, I know John the head pastry chef, I know Sam from Ikijime. Compared to the other restaurants, Yugen is basically a giant robot. I followed Stephen from corridor to corridor and I got lost.
The final photos really did not do the kitchen justice. I must've seen roughly 100 people in the kitchen and on the floor, from the sushi bar to the wok station, to the dessert place, to the bar.
Stephen had no time for chit-chat. He told me what was going to happen, what he was going to do, what dish is going to be made, and what time the staff meal is going to happen. By the way, it's going to be fifty people.
It was not a reunion dinner; but a reunion banquet.
“No, don't you do this to me, Harvard,” Thibaut caught me photographing his cold brew tea in a bottle instead of the fancy cups, which perfectly sums him up.
Our last chat caught Lee Tran's attention, so Thibaut's the reason I got this assignment. Back then he was still upstairs looking over tea, but now he's taming this giant monster of a restaurant as a manager.
I felt sorry the roast ducks did not get published, but also kinda happy that the humble tteokbokki received some spotlight.
The Actual Chinese.
Gaea was a wild card in my pocket which I am glad I kept.
Since Victor may or may not be used in the story, I told LT I was going with Gaea just in case.
Mo was the only 'Chinese' Chinese chef in the whole story, but he is also the most avant-garde - the complete opposite of Yugen.
Gaea sits 12, and the kitchen space is tiny.
But get this, his dumpling skins were made from sourdough. He baked the chicken beggar's style - but instead of clay he used bread, cracked the thing open, and shredded the meat. There's a Taiwanese chef in the house, so there's a pork belly lurou 滷肉. There's a beancurd skin salad. He plays with fermentation, pickles, and small-batch seasonal produce.
Mo talks about his restaurant a lot. He doesn't want a big restaurant (although a renovation is coming soon). He wants to keep experimenting. This is the path he's chosen and he'll keep doing it.
I was taking photographs, but somehow, I was peeking into everyone's life.
A snapshot.
Victor's all about his future (getting married and going to Singapore and UK soon), Jerry is about family, Rosheen is manning the ship but also the face of young Melbourne dining, Stephen is probably still on his phone, and Mo is about his own choice to cook what he believes in.
I should be so lucky to have eight pages of photos on Gourmet Traveller, but there are so, so many more narratives that have been left out.
So many stories, so little attention span.