The whole idea was, so
it wasn't like about doing something that you draw in from your experiences.
>> Right, absolutely.
>> And when I first started the restaurant, it was basically only for me.
It was just for me and for the local community,
who maybe the non-smashing community.
And I wanted to draw on those experiences I had, what I knew best.
Of what I knew best was Asian food because living in Asia,
I didn't have a lot of money, so I spent most of my days eating on the streets or
in the back of restaurants.
>> But how did you pick up, I mean, the recipes?
Where did it- >> It became my comfort food.
Like for you, macaroni and cheese may be your comfort food.
No one taught you how- >> Not so much, but that's all right.
>> [LAUGH] But no one teaches you to make macaroni and cheese.
>> Right. >> But you make macaroni and
cheese, that kind of thing.
>> Right. >> And it became my comfort food.
And as I moved around Asia, there were things that I had picked up and
things that I would miss.
And I used to hang out at the back of the kitchens sometimes, because there
were periods when I had no money, nowhere to hang out, nowhere to sleep.
So I would find nice restaurants that would feed me for free.
>> Right.
>> Street vendors.
I don't mean nice restaurants, I mean like nice people and really shitty fucking
restaurants, but they would let me sit at the back, and they would feed me for free.
And I would kind of get dragged into helping out sometimes.
And that's kind of where I started to like get some of the recipes.
>> Right. >> And then it became my own comfort
food so as I moved from city to city, I kind of took a little bit from each city.
I kind of like to think of is as a bit of Slum Dog Millionaire the movie where
he doesn't actually know the answers to the questions,
because he's clever and it's like the same with our menu.
It's just a moment in each item on the menu
it's kind of like a moment in my life.
>> It's like a little each item on the menu is like a little story.
>> Like a story.
>> In your life, that's really interesting, yeah.
>> For example, there's an item on the menu called Chungking Express.
>> Okay. >> And I used to
live in Chungking mansions, which was made famous in the movie by.
And there was a little guy who used to stand downstairs cooking stir fried beef.
>> Right. >> In an oyster sauce, and
he used to stand there day in and day out, with a white vest on,
a big gold chain, jade- >> The cigarette.
>> [LAUGH] The cigarette in the mouth.
>> Nice, yeah, yeah, yeah.
>> Cigarette in the mouth.
>> Horse racing in the background on the radio and that was it.
>> It's other film.
>> Yeah, and that became from him, and it had no name.
It was just some stir fry which now because it was Chunking,
I kind of caught it, okay, well, give me the Chunking Express and that became our
kind of which I now incorporate into the menu in the restaurants.
>> Right, that is it.
>> So, yes, I get a little pocket from each moment of life.
>> So when did you actually start the first restaurant?
>> It was about three years ago.
I started it- >> Wow.
>> Here, in Calais, in Cardinal Cisneros.
>> And then and how many have you have now?
>> Right now there's a restaurant and we have more coming.
>> Wow. [CROSSTALK] So, it's like growth,
super growth.
>> It's just been unexpected, been an unexpected pleasure.
>> Yeah, and you guys, the ingredients, do you buy the ingredients,
do you make them, what's the deal?