18 OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 1, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Wok On BY MOLLY MARTIN A crowd gathered on First Avenue to watch an uncommon spectacle in the Baker neigh- borhood: an energetic lion dance routine complete with loud drumming and plenty of cheers and applause. “When the lion dance team was performing and we were standing at the door being blessed, it felt like we were getting married again,” says Kenneth Wan, who’s about to open a restaurant at 39 West First Avenue with his wife. “I almost shed a tear, because I realized that they’re here for us and all the work we put into the place. It was defi nitely a once-in-a-lifetime moment for us, for sure.” Wan and Doris Yuen began doing pop-up restaurants in New York and New Jersey before moving to Denver in July 2019. Soon after, they debuted Meta Asian Kitchen at Avanti. Just fi ve months into that venture, the pandemic hit. Though it was challenging, they kept the business going, and in February, they moved out of Avanti to focus on opening their fi rst brick-and-mortar, MAKfam. The “fi ne casual” eatery, as Wan describes it, will offi cially debut on November 1. It will also be softly open by reservation only for lunch service from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. October 25-26 and dinner service from 5 to 9 p.m. October 27-28. After that, walk-ins are welcome for lunch and dinner, and reservations will only be needed for parties of fi ve to eight guests. The space includes a walk-up counter where orders will be placed, next to a long bar with plenty of seating. There are also counter seats along the window facing Punch Bowl Social across the street, as well as two booths, the largest of which has been dubbed the “grandma table,” where a photo of Yuen’s grandmother in a beanie stitched with the words “cocaine & caviar” hangs. Neon signs throughout are an homage to Hong Kong in the 1980s. Touches like those refl ect the idea behind MAKfam, which is to “showcase more of our Cantonese culture,” Yuen says, but with their own “MAK” twist. Another important aspect of the space is the kitchen setup. While the small cooking area at Avanti made it hard to execute Meta Asian Kitchen’s popular deep-fried málà- spiced chicken wings ($11.75), for example, those can be produced much more quickly at MAKfam, thanks to a large fryer. One key component of the kitchen is the full wok range: Wok hei is an essential part of Cantonese cuisine. “The English translation is ‘the breath of the wok,’” Wan explains. “It gives almost a smokiness to whatever you’re stir-frying. ... We think it’s really important to replicate the stuff we ate in Hong Kong, or the stuff we ate growing up in Chinatown.” You can taste the effect in dishes like the Shrimp XO Fried Rice ($15.75) and the Stir Fried Market Greens ($8.25), whose ingredients will rotate depending on what’s available at the Asian markets in town week to week. Sizzling Spicy Noodles ($13.75), a dish also made with Sichuan peppercorn-spiked málà seasoning, was a crowd favorite during a preview night; it was inspired by Wan’s time working at the popular New York chain Xi’An Famous Foods. The chicken-and-chive-fi lled Chinatown Dumplings ($9.25) “are something that we’re really proud of,” Yuen notes. “They’re inspired by the dumplings we had in Chinatown from a place called C & L Dumpling House.” Af- ter moving to Denver, the couple couldn’t fi nd anything similar, so they spent months testing different dumpling skins and fi llings before landing on just the right combination. “They’re our pride and joy,” she adds. Yuen is also excited about the Salt N Pepper Chicken Rice Plate ($13.75), which can be made gluten-free and vegetarian by subbing in tofu. “It sounds really basic, but the salt and pepper fl avor in Cantonese cui- sine is not just table salt and pepper mixed together,” Wan says. “It’s a salt that has ginger powder, star anise, sugar, a little bit of MSG. I call it Hong Kong salt.” Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is an ingredient that has “a lot of negative con- notations,” Yuen adds. “And a lot of it is based on racism. So we want to take that narrative back and highlight it.” It’s even being used in one of the cocktails, the MSGin. Before debuting MAKfam, Meta Asian Kitchen did a stint inside Honor Farm, and the owner of that bar, Lexi Healy, helped Wan and Yuen create the drink program for the new restaurant. “We went shopping for the fl avor profi les that we wanted,” like MSG, grass jelly and milk tea, Yuen says. Then Healy formulated a template for the drinks and lead bartender Grace Tomczak stepped in to fi nalize the recipes and presentations. “We’re really excited about our leader- ship team,” Yuen says. “It kind of happened by accident, but it’s majority women.” And it comprises people who share the couple’s pas- sion for hospitality, food and drinks, she adds. “We hired people that we want to be around all the time,” Wan notes. “We really care about creating a good culture here — no egos, no toxic attitudes. It’s an open and collaborative environment.” While MAKfam will be open for just lunch and dinner to start, there are plans to add brunch soon, as well as happy hour, which will include exclusive food specials like knife-cut noodles. For now, though, Wan and Yuen are just excited to welcome guests for a taste of their culture. “We would love to be the neighbor- hood spot,” Wan says. “It’s been a little sur- real. It was a two-year project in the making, from fi nding the space to designing the space, lease negotiations, getting the construction team in here, buying all the equipment — all the logistical things that come along with opening a place. It’s just a lot of work. So I’m very proud of what me and Doris have done, and the blood, sweat and tears that we’ve put into this place.” Starting November 1, MAKfam will be open at 39 West First Avenue from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Learn more at makfam.co. CAFE FIND MORE FOOD & DRINK COVERAGE AT WESTWORD.COM/RESTAURANTS MAKfam’s menu highlights wok hei, or the fl avor from the “breath of the wok.” JEFF FIERBERG
