tea culture. “One Tree Hill is our ninth baby,” he tells us,
referring to the latest concept under ACG that opened in
October last year.
Serving us his favourite Macanese egg tarts that he had
hand-carried in, Chiang shares how he was only going to
be in Kyoto for 22 hours for the pop-up, before heading
to Tokyo to cook at a four-hands event with his friend,
Lionel Beccat, executive chef of two Michelin-starred
French restaurant, Esquisse. “Then I go to Kanazawa for
17 hours for my new B&B project,” he shares.
We recall what Chiang said on the last day of operations
for Restaurant André about his future plans “to work for
Asia”, noting that he was highly inspired to introduce
Asian food culture and techniques, along with the region’s
growing pool of talented chefs, to the rest of the world.
We had also asked then if he was thinking about doing
something in Japan, to which he simply replied, “I haven’t
planned it yet”. Well, it seems that the time has arrived.
Chiang is confi dent that if the “political condition
remains stable, F&B will naturally work better”. Granted,
while Japan’s economy is still struggling in some areas, it
appears the timing could not be better.
“The Japanese have more international experience and
they are coming back home, but they’re not staying in big
cities like Tokyo,” he explains, adding that it was this trend
that drew him even closer to Japan. Previously, it was the
country’s craftsmen that kept Chiang inspired to invest in a
business in the country. The two-day One Tree Hill pop-up
in July, for example, was held at Kaikado cafe, which is
owned and run by a sixth-generation tea caddy maker,
Takahiro Yagi, who is a good friend of Chiang’s.
The two share a mutual love for the artisanal. In fact,
45-year-old Yagi’s warm demeanour is also affi rmation of
his iron will to keep the tradition of tea caddy-making alive
for the next generation. “My father told me not to succeed
the business, because it is a declining industry,” he shares.
“But I [believe] there is potential in the international
market.” Seven years ago, Yagi and like-minded inheritors
in the country’s varied craft industry banded together to
form the group called Go On, which travels the world to
showcase traditional Japanese crafts and heritage. In Kyoto,
Kaikado is the place for these craftsmen to mingle and
showcase their wares laced with history.FRUITS TO BEAR
It is no coincidence that Chiang’s One Tree Hill tea concept
thrives on a similar ethos of presenting tradition in a
modern way. “Taiwanese tea has great quality, but people’sClockwise from above: a variety of cakes and
pastries, tea and coff ee are served at Kaikado
in Kyoto, Japan; a closer look at the handcrafted
copper, tin and brass tea caddies at Kakaido; chef
André Chiang’s latest concept, One Tree Hill, in
Taiwan proff ers a modern expression of tea paired
with inspired French desserts. Opposite: Kaikado is
one of Kyoto’s most charming cafes
singapore tatler. october 2019 219