Artichoke’s Bjorn Shen on travel inspirations, new concepts and why there’ll be no more cakes at Overdoughs

SINGAPORE — You can say that 2014 was pretty momentous for Bjorn Shen, the owner of popular Middle Eastern restaurant Artichoke. He stepped down as head chef last November, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and changed his diet — losing 10kg in the process — before being rid of the ailment; published his cookbook and memoir; and got hitched to his partner Roxanne Toh (who co-owns sister bakery Overdoughs).

This year is set to be a full one as well. “I’m bursting with ideas — I have a new food concept called Bird Bird; I’m going into consulting to help new food businesses as I hate to see restaurants fail because of inexperience; I’m going help make the dreams of two guys in my kitchen come true; and we’re going to revamp Overdoughs by stopping cakes and tarts,” he shared.

Don’t worry, cake lovers. The change will only happen after Shen gets back from his travels. He’s in Brisbane (as you read this) and is heading to Thailand and Japan in the coming months. Yet he doesn’t consider himself well-travelled. “I’ve only travelled mainly in Australia and around the region,” he said. “But I think it’s important to travel for new experiences to be inspired, to be a better chef.”

Q: What’s happening with Bird Bird and Overdoughs?

A: Bird Bird is our contemporary take on regional Thai cuisine. It’s not the standard stuff you see at Thai restaurants here. It was inspired by regional Thai food I ate in Australia, such as at this place called Chat Thai in Sydney, where I had dishes such as kaeng som, a sour orange curry with an omelette inside. Countries have regional flavours and differences — it’s like how you can’t go to a restaurant in southern Italy and ask for risotto. Bird Bird focuses on north and north-eastern Thai cuisine, where the flavours are grungier and more aggressive. It’s also chicken-oriented, hence the name. We’re operating guerilla-style at the moment — we intend to pop up as long as we can before we open somewhere on no budget. That means being really lok kok (Hokkien for shabby) and maybe finding a place in between a massage parlour and a food reflexology shop sort of thing. As for Overdoughs, we’ll be changing our offerings to frozen confectionary like our own versions of Magnum ice cream and kulfi.

Q: You were living in Brisbane for seven years before setting up Artichoke here. What are your favourite spots in the city?

A: Yeah, I’m bringing Artichoke’s new head chef to the city to learn more about the inspiration for Artichoke. To get to know the history and soul of the restaurant, (you need to) meet the people I know and eat at the places I used to frequent. One of them is The Gunshop Cafe which sparked off my obsession with cafe culture 10 years ago. It wasn’t so mainstream then. Another thing to check out is the Eat Street Market, which happens every Friday and Saturday at Hamilton Wharf where it’s like a collection of food trucks — except without wheels because they’re in shipping containers. It’s amazing. There’s a similar version in the Gold Coast called Miami Marketta.

Q: How does travelling make for a better chef?

A: I feel one way to improve ourselves is to be good, seasoned consumers and get more life experiences. Every year, Artichoke organises a company trip which I call a professional development trip. I cover air tickets, accommodation and expenses. The first year we went to Melbourne, the second year Bangkok, followed by Sydney and Vietnam. This year, we’re going to Kyoto as I feel that there’s a lot more soul in the food of Kyoto. It’s slower-paced and more artisanal compared to Tokyo. We’ll also stop by Osaka which is the street food capital of Japan. Street food vendors have a lot of flair. I’m never inspired by fine dining as I feel you can never exceed the fine dining chef you’re trying to emulate.

Q: If you were to open a Singaporean restaurant overseas, what would you serve?

A: Cai png (rice with assorted dishes). But I’d make sure it’s the best damn cai png there is because you’re now representing your country and culture when you’re overseas. It’s why secondary cuisines like Greek food in Australia and Italian food in New York do so well. It’s done with pride and because the food’s missed so much.