Chinese restaurant chain Mr Chow is so popular among the well-heeled that searching “celebrity sightings at Mr Chow” on Getty Images currently pulls up 1,488 pictures. With several branches across the US and one in London, its success has long been attributed to the industriousness of its founder Michael Chow.
But it is also widely acknowledged that his ex-wife Eva Chow had a hand in steering the ship. In addition to launching Mr Chow’s wine label, she also managed its operations. “I loved all the details that went into it from arranging flowers and making wine to designing the staff uniforms and interior decorations—all the details that made the guests feel special,” she recounts.
After moving to the US from Korea with her mother when she was 15, Chow quickly took to Western music, fashion, and film. “Everything creative comes from all the knowledge one collects. In my case, art has always been a part of my life.”
When she was in college, she worked for film production houses before enrolling at Otis Parsons School of Design. She worked as a fashion designer before joining Mr Chow.
After her divorce from the restaurateur in 2018, however, she started spending more time in Korea to reconnect with her cultural roots. As the story goes, she was having dinner with rapper Psy—best known for his global hit Gangnam Style—when he introduced her to soju.
It was her first taste of the clear, colourless alcoholic beverage. “Soju is the national drink of Korea and the most consumed spirit in the world. Yet, few people had experienced it outside of Korea at that point in time,” she explains. So, she decided to start her label. “I wanted to share Korean culture with the world.”
A three-year developmental process led to the creation of Khee Premium Soju. Chow tells us the word “Khee” is eponymous: her Korean name is Hee Kyung, but growing up, Americans often mispronounced it and called her “Hee”, with “K” as her middle name. When coming up with the naming convention for her soju, she added “K” to her first name to make it easier to pronounce.
Premium rice, rock water, and yeast are all used in the distillation and fermentation process, and the concoction is aged in onggi (Korean clay) earthenware for 180 days. The traditional method enriches the flavour and makes the soju soft and clean, and Chow makes sure to keep Khee soju devoid of artificial additives.
Khee soju comes in two variants. “Khee 38 Premium Soju gives off an aroma that is similar to wine, followed by a strong mineral flavour that takes a sharp turn and leads to a rich, flavourful aftertaste.” In contrast, Khee 22 Premium Soju is described as having “a delicate fragrance of flowers and a silky texture… accompanied by a subtle fruity taste that lingers in the mouth”.
Given Chow’s savviness about celebrity influence, it is perhaps little surprise that Lee Min-ho and Lee Jung-jae front Khee’s advertisements. But it’s not all commercial strategy, she asserts. “The celebrities who support the brand do so because they love it. Khee has been established in Korea as a premium soju,” she says. Miley Cyrus, Park Seo-joon, G-Dragon, and Sandara Park have also been known to drink the liquor.
Chow also conceived the bottle design, which has picked up a few design awards. Inspired by Korean architecture, she explains, she chose to use glass of the clearest quality as it is a universal material.
Khee has been available at the Jungle Ballroom at Mondrian Singapore Duxton since July. “I believe Khee goes very well with the local innovative bars and culinary culture,” says Chow, who intends to visit Singapore before Christmas rolls around. If you run into her, maybe ask for tips on running a successful restaurant. She just might oblige.
