Two years ago, as the world of hospitality slowly started to emerge from the shadows of the pandemic, husband and wife duo Karen and JP Saint were faced with a decision.
Until then, Mr Saint had earned his living working in fine dining kitchens across Scotland, starting as a kitchen porter aged just 16 before working his way up to head chef roles at AA Rosette levels.
A skilled baker, Mrs Saint was supplying a number of local cafes with sweet treats via her wholesale business, Saintly Cakes.
After years of unsociable hours and stressful schedules, it was welcoming their first child to the world that put this all into perspective, she told the Herald, when asked what inspired the launch of their own Inverness restaurant, Hou Hou Mei.
“JP was working really long hours, maybe 60 or 70 a week, which meant he was missing out on a lot when our first baby was born," she said.
“Then, during Covid, he was suddenly able to spend a lot more time at home.
“When the time came to go back to work, we decided it was right for us to venture out on our own.
“If we were going to be working long hours, we wanted to be doing it for ourselves and making sure we could maintain a work-life balance."
With a clear vision for the style of modern Asian restaurant they wanted to run, the duo soon found the perfect unit to make this dream a reality in a former pizzeria on Tomnahurich Street.
Offering a helping hand throughout the process Mrs Saint's mother, a talented chef who had owned takeaways around the city for 20 years and was now eager to take on the role of chief babysitter in retirement.
“After viewing the location, we knew that we could turn it into something amazing,” Mrs Saint continued.
“The idea was to move away from fine dining, and drawing on my family's Chinese heritage, we wanted to bring something different to Inverness.
“If you go to big cities like London or Edinburgh, they have rakes of modern Asian restaurants.
“But here, when it comes to Chinese food especially, it’s mostly takeaways.
“We’re sit in only at Hou Hou Mei and on the menu you’ll see influence from Japanese and Korean cultures as well as Chinese.
“It’s the kind of stuff we like to eat and were cooking a lot of during lockdown.”
Initially, the couple worried that Inverness might not be interested in a new concept which married different elements and techniques of Cantonese, Japanese, Thai and Korean cooking.
These fears were short-lived, however, with the 80-cover space fully booked throughout opening weekend and the weeks that followed.
Two years later this buzz has yet to die down as Hou Hou Mei, meaning ‘very very yummy’ in Cantonese, continues to impress with dishes ranging from Char Siu pork belly ramen to sticky coconut rice with mango compote and sesame crumb.
There's also a strong focus on cocktails, with an extensive menu of classic and experimental drinks delivered by a front of house team that is led by Mrs Saint.
She said: “Our menu is pretty much the same one we’ve had from the very start and takes inspiration from my family’s Chinese heritage.
“We prefer to add things rather than swap them out because we wouldn’t want anyone to miss their favourites.
“The bao buns are very popular. Initially, they were just pork, beef or tofu but over the years we’ve gradually expanded on that and now serve other fillings like Korean glazed chicken or cauliflower.
“My mum still makes all of our traditional Wor Tip by hand, stuffing them and folding each one and another of our chefs also hand rolls all of the spring rolls.
“Everything here is done in-house.”
Recent years have ushered in an evolution for the Inverness food and drink scene, led by the likes of team Hou Hou Mei, craft distilleries, artisan coffee roasters and the transformation of the city centre Victorian Market into a bustling food court.
With whispers of a new project on the horizon for the restaurant, Mrs Saint says she is proud to play a part in feeding the Highland community with a growing appetite for new culinary experiences.
“When we started, a lot of people asked us what we were going to do during the quiet season which is usually from November to March when there are fewer tourists.
“Our answer was ‘Well, we’re not really planning on having a quiet season.”
“For us, it was always about opening somewhere that would appeal to people who lived locally and somewhere they could visit a few times a month rather than just for a special occasion.
“Cooking and baking have been part of my life for as long as I can remember, from being taught how to cook Asian cuisine by my mum to starting my first baking business.
“Now, I’m so excited to have joined forces with my husband to bring a new style of restaurant to Inverness.”
Hou Hou Mei is located at 18 Tomnahurich Street in Inverness.
For more information visit houhoumei.co.uk.
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