Macau may be a small city, but its compact size can benefit boutique business owners looking to innovate and make their mark on the local gastronomy scene. Kevin Law, founder and chef of Cafe Cheri, and Katy Ou, founder of the kombucha brand Boozy Brew are among them.
“Macau is a great place to ‘ferment’ small brands,” Ou says. “It’s a small, supportive environment with room for trial and error.”
The origins of Boozy Brew date back to January 2020, when Ou was inspired by YouTube videos to start experimenting with making her own kombucha – a fermented tea drink. Ou also sampled different kombucha brands from Australia, Europe and the US, and found them to be highly carbonated as well as more sour and intense in flavour. She wanted to put her own innovative twist on the drink to better suit local palates.
“We realised that local Chinese tastes might not prefer something so sharp or aggressive. So we adjusted our flavours: less acidic, more balanced, more approachable,” Ou explains.
“Our key differentiator is using Chinese teas. Our first six flavours were based on the six major types of Chinese tea, paired with fruits and flowers. This makes it more culturally familiar and easier for people to accept.”
“My cooking techniques are largely based on French culinary training,” Law says. “At the same time, I value two key principles in Chinese cuisine: food should be served hot, and it should have wok hei – that distinctive, smoky, high-heat aroma. I use charcoal techniques to help achieve that.”
He adds: “Innovation is very important to me. It’s about uniqueness – using my own ideas to create something new. This gives customers a sense of freshness, even a ‘wow’ factor. From both a business and creative perspective, that’s very valuable.”
Law is also interested in fermentation and how it can be incorporated into his menu. So he recently met with Ou at Boozy Brew’s retail shop to learn more about kombucha and how it can be used in cooking or paired with a dish.
“Fermentation is something I’ve been paying close attention to and experimenting with,” Law says. “It’s fascinating because so many variables – temperature, humidity, ingredients – affect the final result. That makes it very creative and unpredictable.”
Ou notes: “Kombucha allows [for] endless combinations – you can use tea, fruits, herbs and more. As long as it is not too oily, you can experiment freely. What makes it exciting is that there are no boundaries. You don’t have to limit your imagination.”
Ou and Law combined their expertise and penchant for creativity to come up with kombucha pairings for dishes at Cafe Cheri. One features a dish of seared pigeon with beetroot and liver parfait, for which Law selects a rose mulberry kombucha that he finds to have an elegant flavour profile similar to a pinot noir wine.
“Kombucha has huge flexibility. In gastronomy, its biggest strength is pairing – it can adapt its flavour to match food,” Law says.
Having built a livelihood with kombucha over several years, Ou holds a philosophical perspective about the drink. “Kombucha can absorb many different elements, just like life,” she says. “You take in different perspectives, whether supportive or critical, and transform them into something new. It becomes a source of creativity and strength.”
Watch the video to find out how Kevin Law and Katy Ou determine their pairings of kombucha and fusion cuisine.
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