I
Smoked aubergine, black vinegar
$32
Charred over binchotan, dressed warm.
002 / 008The Alignment
Twenty years
at the same flame.
A restaurant is not a brand. It is an accumulation of nights — each one burning at the same hour.
2004Origin
The First Flame
Eight seats around a single carbon-steel wok, hidden behind a wet market on Staunton Street. No printed menu. Whatever was caught that morning, cooked at midnight.
200401 / 07
2007Space
The Room Grows Quieter
A second room opens — not to seat more guests, but to give each table more silence. The wok stays in its corner. The philosophy doesn't move an inch.
200702 / 07
2011Recognition
Hong Kong Notices
Michelin Bib Gourmand, first year. Chef Chen declines the press call. A hand-typed card appears on the door: still eight tables.
201103 / 07
2014Global
World's 50 Best Discovery
The waiting list reaches nine months. Nothing on the menu changes. When asked if he plans to expand, Chen says the wok doesn't.
201404 / 07
2017Architecture
Smoke & Stone
A private garden is walled off from the alley. The first private dining room is carved from the original kitchen — raw concrete, one flame, no windows, no clock.
201705 / 07
2019Expansion
The Villa Breaks Ground
Three suites rise beside the kitchen. The brief to the architect: make it feel like nowhere. The rooms face west — toward the harbour, toward the last light.
201906 / 07
2024Present
Twenty Years. Same Wok.
The carbon-steel wok throws sparks at the same hour each evening. The room has grown quieter around it. The flame has not changed by a single degree.
202407 / 07
SWIPE
002 / 008The Alignment
Twenty years
at the same flame.
A restaurant is not a brand. It is an accumulation of nights — each one burning at the same hour.
200401 / 07
OriginThe First Flame
Eight seats around a single carbon-steel wok, hidden behind a wet market on Staunton Street. No printed menu. Whatever was caught that morning, cooked at midnight.