The Singaporean chef who moved to Taiwan with his wife, Bannie Kang, to open Mu can’t help but miss the local food and drinks in his home country
Singaporean chef Tryson Quek was one of the rising stars in the local culinary scene when he and his wife, award-winning bartender Bannie Kang, moved to Taipei, Taiwan to open speakeasy bar and restaurant Mu. "Having a restaurant and bar we could call our own had always been our dream," shares Quek, before letting on that they chose Taiwan as their current base as their creations "take inspiration from the four seasons" as well as the seasonal produce and ingredients they can easily procure from the island as well as in neighbouring countries such as China, Korea and Japan.
The goal is to create a space that offers equally delicious food and drinks, and Quek serves elevated Asian fare that showcases the unique Asian culture and ingredients and accented with local touches as a tribute to where he comes from. Singapore is where his love for food and cooking developed, and he always looks forward to coming home to savour the local dishes and drinks he misses the most.
Related: A Taste of Home: Jimmy Lim on the Local Dishes He Misses the Most in Singapore
What do you miss most on the food/drink front when you are away from Singapore or haven’t been back for a while?
Tryson Quek (TQ) Singapore may be one of the smallest cities globally but there are plenty of major attractions to experience—this includes our vibrant F&B landscape. I am impressed with the plethora of local foods, particularly Hokkien mee and char kway teow which are hard to recreate. I think these dishes are unique because their influence spans Malay, Chinese, Peranakan, Indian and Indonesian cuisines.
If you have visitors/guests with you, where do you ensure you always go to give them a real taste of home?
TQ I often bring them to hidden spots not often visited by tourists to get a taste of delicious local food such as char kway teow, bak chor mee and Singapore zi char. These are just some of my favourites and thinking about them now makes me hungry and miss Singapore even more.