It has been some time since Asian food was first engraved in British food industry, but have you ever wondered how it all started?
Chinese eating houses, situated dockside for Chinese sailors nearly 200 years ago settling in areas such as Liverpool and London Limehouse. It was only when Chinese restaurants started opening in central London that the food began to win the affection of a new demographic of consumers, by the 80’s and 90’s Chinese restaurants were a fixture across the country.
In 1992, the UK’s first Wagamama opened with big sharing tables, the inspiration from Japanese ramen bars and a celebration of Asian food, bringing fresh new flavours to a new audience.
Five years later in 1997 Yo Sushi burst onto the UK high Street, with the Kaiten Conveyor belt and colour-coded dishes, suddenly we were eating raw fish with gusto.
References : Image 1 https://baolondon.com/ , Image 2 https://www.studioluxmore.com/chubby-dumpling-a-family-passion/
From casual food trucks on the street and easy pick-and-go sushi to Michelin-starred restaurants such as Hakkasan The ongoing exploration of these vast regional cooking styles continues to delight and surprise.
The food culture, particularly in the US/UK and Australia has identified that Asian fusion best represents menu choices and combines various dishes from different Asian countries, and menus are not as diverse as in the society where that particular food culture emerges and it seems that Korean food and Gochujang can be found in most major supermarkets.
Over the last decade, we have been involved with some amazing fusion restaurants situated all over the world, these projects are outlined below, but we would be amiss if we did not also give a shoutout to a couple of the studios’ personal favourites, in terms of food and style.
Bao London’s logo was created with the lonely man eating a bun, to highlight the positive side of the loneliness, the range of Merch identifies how much we affiliate with the lonely man brand .Father-and-daughter business Chubby Dumpling originated from Joe calling her daughter Chantel “Little Chubby Dumpling” Chantel was born into the restaurant trade and took her fathers favourite food to the streets of London!
SHŌTŌ and ĀKĒDO
Our work for SHŌTŌ and ĀKĒDO in 2020 is probably one of our most bespoke Asian collections and this truly reflects the vision for this restaurant and speakeasy bar in Washington DC founded by Arjun Waney, the two areas could not be more wildly different in terms of Design.
The Michelin Guide describes them – “The perfectly calibrated lighting shows off the room’s pretty faces. Gorgeous appointments, including a volcanic stone installation cascading from the ceiling, ivy-covered wall and a space enveloped in richly toned wood, are equally dazzling.”
References : Image 1 &2 https://guide.michelin.com/gb/en/district-of-columbia/washington-dc/restaurant/shoto
SHŌTŌ
SHŌTŌ is a contemporary Japanese izakaya with a warm wooden interior and a soothing atmosphere with extraordinary food and drinks. The reviews say that there are no bad seats at this restaurant, having different elements to look at from different angles.
The collection centred around a tie-waisted jacket and dress using muted colours according to the brand palette design by Spinach design (https://spinachbranding.com/) colours included black/white/navy we didn’t stop with the front of house, creating bespoke items for the chefs too.
ĀKĒDO
ĀKĒDO, a newly opened speakeasy has both fun and graphic sides of Japanese culture and, Feel Good Japanese Fast Casual and you enter via a vending machine! No less!
ĀKĒDO’s hostess dresses inspired by Balenciaga. are available in 4 neon colours with pen graffiti outlining the Eat Drink Play motif, ĀKĒDO’s logo in neon green colour. Follows with a playful space invader on the back of the tie-waisted jackets.
