FOOD & WINE
Connecting cultures Story by Sam Marchetti. Photography by Jason Porter. Styling by Mug and Chia.
The idea for Muni started with the Willunga Hills. Taiwanese-born chefs, Mug Chen and Chia Wu, were driving from Melbourne to the Fleurieu towards new restaurant jobs and adventures. As they approached their new home some two years ago, they saw what they describe as ‘pillow mountains’ – beautiful green hills, a landscape like they’d never seen before. That first glimpse of the Fleurieu Peninsula stayed with them and is now reflected in the logo for Muni, their small dining spot due to open in October on Willunga’s High Street. Muni, meaning one and only, will be a small 40-seater restaurant with a cosy wine bar feel, serving European and Asian influenced food. Mug and Chia will not only prepare and cook the food, they’ll also serve it so they can engage with their customers, sharing the story behind the produce and the dishes they create. Whether customers drop in for a snack and a glass of wine or sit and stay for a meal, they want to create an entire experience for anyone who visits Muni. The pair began searching for a location to house Muni in 2020, looking for a space that would enable them to build connection between chef and customer – a concept as important to Mug and Chia as serving good food and wine. ‘Willunga was one of our preferred locations and when we saw this space with the two large windows, we knew we had found our home,’ says Chia. Having found their venue, the pair engaged Melbourne/Adelaidebased Sans Arc Architecture Studio to realise their aesthetic vision for the interior. They imagined a spare, minimalist space crafted with sustainable materials which Sans Arc has brought to life through the use of concrete and timber to create a serene space, thoughtful in its
simplicity. It’s a setting that’s intentionally demure, standing in contrast to the unexpectedly complex flavours that characterise Mug and Chia’s food. The Muni kitchen will be an open-plan ‘theatre’. They hope to invite customers into their process as chefs by giving them front-row seats and allowing them to engage with the ingredients as they’re transformed. ‘We want to make the ingredients sing and dance for themselves, combining the clean, fresh flavours of the ingredients in a simple yet distinctive way,’ explains Chia. Mug and Chia’s ambitious vision embraces the symbiotic relationship between wine and food. Working with Lulie Kaori Tanaka, a Japanese wine consultant spreading her time between France and Asia, the wine list will include Australian wines, some from South Australia including their personal favourite, minimal intervention wines. There will be an extensive selection of wines served by the glass that will change weekly, as well as wines by the bottle, memorable cocktails from bars around the world and Nama (unpasteurised) sake. As we go to print, Muni’s fitout is well underway. Mug and Chia are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the handmade plates they’ve ordered from Taiwan and are developing their relationships with local food and wine producers. Their trial menu is ready for testing. Soon the doors will be open and Mug and Chia will be at their stations, ready to welcome customers in to experience their expansive vision for their food.
Mug Chen Growing up in a family in Taiwan where studying was paramount, learning to cook in her mother’s kitchen was Mug’s favourite time of the day. University studies behind her, Mug attended Le Cordon Bleu culinary arts school in Paris. Landing a job with celebrated chef Atsushi Tanaka at Restaurant A.T. in Paris was a dream come true for Mug. Her confidence as a chef grew and Atsushi once memorably commented that he could eat her dish of braised pork rice every day. It was at Restaurant A.T. that Mug also learned more about Australia, matching food for James Erskine’s wine label Jauma wines. Mug continued to crave new experiences and travelled to Melbourne where she worked at Vue de Monde – and where she first met Chia. Next stop was a month’s internship at Brae with Dan Hunter where she was allowed time to watch and learn before landing in the kitchen at The Salopian Inn in McLaren Vale. > 78
