Andre Chiang: From chef to hotelier
The Taiwanese chef’s retirement from the kitchen paves the way for his other passions including designing a guesthouse in Kanazawa
JUST AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, acclaimed Taiwanese chef Andre Chiang visited Kanazawa with two friends for the first time. Kyle Hsieh is an entrepreneur specialising in heritage guesthouses in Taiwan, and Leo Tasi is a noted art restoration artisan. These three creatives all fell in love with the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture on Japan’s Honshu island, and decided to embark on a project together. Mitsumaya (meaning “three rooms”) is a guesthouse featuring three adjoining restored machiyas.
“I love Kanazawa. It’s one of my favourite cities in Japan,” enthuses Chiang. “It has the charm of Kyoto, the contemporary side of Tokyo, the best seafood and lots of Michelin star restaurants to choose from. Most importantly, it’s a very enjoyable place to live.” Kanazawa can be reached via a 2.5-hour Shinkansen train ride from Tokyo, or a three-hour drive from Nagoya. It is famous for its well-preserved Edo-period architecture, art museums and galleries, as well as local crafts.
News of the machiya must be all the more treasured for fans of the chef as he announced on July 29 this year that he was retiring from the frontline of his restaurant businesses and shuttering his Michelin-starred establishment, Raw, in Taipei. His accolades stack high, spanning Michelin, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Global Top 100 Chefs. For someone so busy in his everyday chef life, coming to tranquil Kanazawa must provide real respite.
Unique property
“We worked with Koji Hashimoto, Kozu Seiichi, Nara Yuichi – all very well-known architects in the Kanazawa area,” says Chiang on Mitsumaya. “All the restoration work was done using traditional methods and local materials, and decorated with locally sourced antiques.”
It is truly a unique property in the city’s hospitality scene, as each of the three friends furnished a machiya differently. Chiang dressed “House C” in a neo-classical, Parisian-Japanese atmosphere. “It’s just like my small studio in the south of France where I used to live,” he describes. “The objects in the rooms are mostly antiques that reflect my time in France, things I used, pieces of furniture I had and enjoyed – beautiful yet unique and simple pieces.”
Artworks and objects collected over the years on travels include Chiang’s map of Paris from the 1920s, plates he has designed, an old Japanese lacquer box, a copy of his monograph Aesthetics of Work and a modernist Cassina LC4 Chaise Longue designed by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 2 pm
Lifestyle
Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself.
“It’s the only room in the house with its own kitchen, which is a must for a chef!” laughs Chiang. “I think inside this cosy house, everyone should try to cook while in Kanazawa because the seafood here is just too good to be true.”
It is clear that this project is a very personal one. The aims of the trio are to not only preserve the city’s cultural heritage, but also to revive the neighbourhood. “(We hope to bring) people in to appreciate the beauty of the city, to create a win-win community ecosystem by connecting our guests with the local restaurants, artists, craftsmen, and so on,” he adds. Two new modern-style houses on a hill will be added to the project come autumn of 2025.
Kanazawa is really special to him. For someone who travels 250 days a year, it was the first place he visited where he felt like a local. Hence, aside from Mitsumaya, he also decided to build a holiday home here. Christened Ishibiki Castle, it can be rented to close friends and regular guests.
“Ishibiki Castle is a 120-year-old samurai house,” he says. “It was previously the oldest and most famous Japanese pastry shop in Kanazawa called Takasagoya, and is one of the most beautiful houses in the Ishibiki area. Aside from three rooms, the beautiful heritage building has a huge Japanese garden right next to a small river, overlooking the city of Kanazawa.”
Singapore is home
Another place that he feels much at home is Singapore. While based in Taiwan, Chiang still visits the city-state every other month. “I have so many good friends and memories from my 10 years of running Restaurant Andre. I love my daily routine with laksa, coffee, mee goreng, Indian food as well as fine-dining restaurants. I also love the relationship with the people here – simple, direct and genuine.”
The city defined his late-20s to late-30s. Born in Taiwan to a calligraphy artist father and chef mother, Chiang grew up in Japan before moving to France in 1991 to join Michelin-starred Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier. He worked his way up to the position of head chef by the time he was 25. In 2008, he relocated to Singapore to helm Jaan restaurant at Swissotel The Stamford before opening Restaurant Andre. It closed eight years later when Chiang returned to Taiwan to open Raw.
“I give all my restaurant projects (about) 10 years to try to impact the industry,” says Chiang. After Raw serves its last meal on Dec 31, the space will be turned into an international culinary centre to nurture young Asian chefs, as well as to help hone the development of seasoned chefs aiming for Michelin recognition. “I wish to change the F&B environment in Asia; that will be my priority for the upcoming decade of my career,” says Chiang as he reflects on his next chapter.
This phase of his life appears to be one that brings fresh challenges. Early this year, he had taken on another spotlight role as culinary creator for the Eastern & Oriental Express – Belmond’s luxury train that travels between Singapore and Penang that had renewed operations in February 2024 after a hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chiang’s fans are said to book a place on the train just to sample his dishes. Soon, many of them may well consider Kanazawa as a holiday destination just to room in House C. Such is Chiang’s charisma, artistry and appeal – restaurant or not.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
