At Yam'Tcha, a Michelin-starred fusion bistro near the Louvre Museum, in Paris, curious diners often ask owner Chan Chi-wah what 'Yam'Tcha' means. A Hong Kong native, Chan explains the word translates as 'drink tea' and reflects an unconventional menu that offers a variety of Chinese tea to match the French-with-a-hint-of-China dishes prepared by his French wife, chef Adeline Grattard.
The idea is apparently a popular one; the restaurant has been booked a month in advance since its opening in March last year. But the thriving business has proved challenging for Chan, who brought to end three decades in graphic design at the age of 50 to try his luck in the restaurant trade.
'Running a restaurant is a time-consuming business. I have so little free time, with only one hour each day to see my daughter. I rarely get to sit down to drink a cup of tea!' he says.
Chan's ties with the French capital stem from a mid-20s curiosity about European culture. 'Having been in Hong Kong for so long, I really wanted to see something new. In those days, I found the British people in Hong Kong a bit strange, and I was curious to know how life was different in continental Europe.'
In 1985, he quit his design job and packed his bags. Finding France 'an open society highly tolerant of foreign arts and cultures', he took a French language course in a small town for a year before enrolling in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, to study communication and design. Upon graduation, he found a graphic design job in Paris.
Chan felt at home in France and became savagely critical of his hometown.
