Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar Alex Chen on the travel he missed most - and making up for lost travel time.

By Doug Wallace

WHAT RESTAURANT DID YOU MISS MOST DURING LOCKDOWN?

Phnom Penh Restaurant. I have been eating at this Cambodian place for more than 30 years and it’s one of our kids’ favourites. We missed the warm hospitality. They have the best chicken wings on the planet, hands down — so simple, yet impossible to duplicate.

WHERE DID YOU WANT TO GO WHEN TRAVEL WASN’T POSSIBLE?

Singapore and Malaysia. We miss our families — my siblings and parents live on the small island of Penang — and we miss the food. My kids miss all the street food and their grandparents, who spoil them rotten when we visit.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST TRIP WHEN TRAVEL WAS BACK?

I went to Toronto for work in August.

WHAT RESTAURANTS DID YOU VISIT THERE?

I dined at ēst by Sean MacDonald. The food is very good — simple, yet with purpose and great execution.

WHAT’S YOUR NEXT DESTINATION?

Hopefully Japan, and I will be eating anything and everything! I would love to explore all the markets, ramen shops, yakitori shops, Michelin-star sushi restaurants — everything. Oh, and who can forget the unagi rice?

WHAT WAS THE BEST THING ABOUT STAYING PUT IN 2020?

I got to enjoy my family more. It was a blessing in disguise.

 

Stuffed Chantecler chicken leg at ēst, Toronto.
Shinsekai district, Osaka, Japan.

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