Trio aims to be a 'catalyst' in Chinatown with Boa and Hare
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Winnie Chen's next restaurant foray brings her even closer to her roots, and she hopes it can add to the positive momentum of change in Edmonton's Chinatown.
Boa and Hare, which Chen co-owns with her brother William and business partner Wilson Wong, will open in mid-December in Pacific Mall at 9700 105 Avenue NW.
Chen has received several accolades over the past two years as the head chef of Fu's Repair Shop. William Chen and Wong, meanwhile, took over Chinatown business Van Loc last year in an effort to help revitalize the neighbourhood.
The trio aspires for Boa and Hare to build on Van Loc's success in bringing younger clientele to the area.
"Cool places do exist in Chinatown," said Winnie Chen. "We want people to say, 'We want to go there and we have to go to Chinatown to go there.'"
Boa and Hare is named after William and Wilson's respective Chinese zodiac signs. "'Boa and Hare and Goat' doesn't have quite the ring to it," laughed Chen about why her zodiac animal was left out.
The concept behind Boa and Hare is a dual café and bar. "It's a day-to-night kind of thing," said Chen. "As Wilson likes to describe it, a place where you can start your day, and a place where you end your night." When Boa and Hare opens, it will launch with daily café hours of 9am to 3pm and cocktail hours of 5 to 11pm, Wednesday to Sunday.
Chen has spent a lot of time in the Chinatown area, having grown up nearby in McCauley, near the Italian Centre. She recalls riding her bike to Chinatown often and enjoying dim sum with her family at the banquet restaurant in Pacific Mall as a child.
"One of my fondest memories of being in the mall was when we were done having dim sum, we got to go buy candy at one of the stores," said Chen. "Now, when people have a family dinner at Dynasty, they can pop downstairs and have a cocktail – the equivalent of sneaking out to buy some candy as an adult. That's what is most exciting to me about this location and project. We want to breathe more life into this mall."
Those family connections will also translate into other aspects of Boa and Hare. While Chen is intensely involved in shaping the food and drink menu, the day-to-day execution will be led by chef Tommy Chung, her uncle.
"I'm really excited for my uncle to shine," said Chen. "[Chung] and my dad were head chefs of a restaurant in Chinatown more than 10 years ago. Some of my favourite dishes from my parents' restaurant will make a comeback. Back then I remember those dishes were some of my favourite things I ever ate. They get a second chance to be featured again. I don't think people gave it that chance. It was too ahead of its time."
