Eddie Hsia - Saigon Café

On this episode of The Sauce Podcast, host Lauren sits down with Eddie Hsia, general manager and bar manager at Saigon Café, for a conversation about cocktail creativity, Vietnamese cuisine, Asian food culture, and the growing hospitality community in St. Louis.

Eddie shares how he helped develop Saigon Café’s evolving cocktail program — from clarified cocktails and bottled drinks to presentation-driven creations inspired by travel, flavor, and visual storytelling. He explains the clarification process behind one of the restaurant’s most popular cocktails and why aroma, appearance, and balance are just as important as taste.

The conversation also dives into the food side of Saigon Café, including the restaurant’s fan-favorite papaya salad, shaking beef, spring rolls, and the care that goes into sourcing ingredients and building flavor.

Along the way, Eddie opens up about his Taiwanese background, growing up connected to his family’s legendary restaurant Tai Ke Shabu Shabu, and how returning to Taiwan later in life reshaped his perspective on food, culture, and hospitality.

Lauren and Eddie also talk about travel, Asian nightlife and cocktail culture, pickleball, local restaurant favorites, and the community-driven energy behind the Central West End’s Red Lantern Festival.

In this episode:

•  Building Saigon Café’s cocktail program 
•  Clarified cocktails and bottled drinks 
•  Vietnamese cuisine and fan-favorite dishes 
•  Taiwanese roots and family restaurant history 
•  Returning to Taiwan and traveling through Asia 
•  Favorite St. Louis restaurants and hidden gems 
•  Pickleball, community, and hospitality culture 
•  The story behind Red Lantern Festival 
•  Cocktail presentation and creative inspiration

Come for the conversation. Stay for the culture. 🌿

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Transcript

Cold Open

SPEAKER_02 0:00

My perception of cocktail is that before you could taste the cocktail, you get you have to see it. You have to smell it. And if I don't get you to smell or see it first, then chances are you're not gonna taste it.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 0:12

So my presentation has to be

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SPEAKER_02 0:14

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SPEAKER_01 0:14

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Intro + Meet Edie Hsia of Saigon Café

SPEAKER_01 0:45

welcome to the Sauce Podcast. I'm your host, Lauren, and I am here with Eddie Shaw, and he is the general manager and the bar manager over at Saigon Cafe in the Central West End, one of my favorite spots in town. Uh so why don't you tell us about what you do over there?

SPEAKER_02 1:00

Yeah, so um I've been with Saigon over close to 10 years now.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

So yeah, so I I run the general uh I'm a GM there, so I run all the friends in the house, and I'm in full control of the bar service. And I also run my own company called Mixed Pietti in the bar area. So I produce all my bar products, my uh cocktails and all that to incorporate with the dinner and lunch service with Second

Bottled Cocktails + Clarified Drinks

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Cafe. Oh, some pairing really well.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Yeah, yeah. You've had some really great cocktails that I've tried. And I know you bottle them and sell them. I do, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:35

So one of the one of the cocktails has been really popular, and I just thought, you know, why not bottle them so people can bring it home and share with friends and family and have like a cocktail party.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

So um the most popular one is the Kiwi Clarification Margarita.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

And that's been like a fan's favorite. So I bottle it um uh 16, 32 ounces, and it depends, you know, what they want. And I do another like dehydrate a lime garnish so they can bring them back home and kind of garnish themselves. So yeah, it's been really, really cool. And they can also purchase that at the table. So it's kind of like purchasing a bottle of wine when you're going to a bottle of cocktail to kind of shit around.

SPEAKER_01 2:16

Now, explain to people about the clarification process because I think that's on menus

The Clarification Process Explained

SPEAKER_01 2:21

all over town. But unless you're like a cocktail nerd, you might not know what that means.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Yeah, so you know, I I do all my research based on like inspirations and um just local, you know, like Meredith, Barry, awesome, she's great. They're they're great, and you know, I you know, I follow them, kind of get get their guidance and whatnot. Um, but clarification process, I've learned that online, and it's more so kind of blending milk with alcohol, since um they don't blend well together. Um the milk process, what it does is that it clarifies the alcohol to kind of give a clear filter, and then it also gives it more of like a smooth, smoother taste. So sometimes you'll see like a cocktail that says like strawberry or something, and you'll assume it's like red. But then when you mix it with like milk, it can be all sorts of milk, like almond milk, oat milk, whole milk. I use oat milk. Um, it clears it out. So you'll just have like a clear, like water-based cocktail, but it has all the flavor flavor components in it.

SPEAKER_01 3:29

Okay. So do you like steep it with the milk and then strain it out, or how does that work?

SPEAKER_02 3:33

Yeah, so you strain it out, you filter it out. So it's a dripping process. So it does take some time for it to let it uh drip out. So um I use like a filter cone and then you kind of just filter it out. Um, I do a lot of filtering just because I want that clearness. Sometimes when you do it first, you still get that like misty kind of uh feel to it, which is not what you want. So yeah, you definitely want to have that dripping process and to take some time to kind of master

Papaya Salad, Shaking Beef & Saigon Café Favorites

SPEAKER_02 4:01

that work.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Cool. Now we have to talk about the papaya salad because it's your favorite. I knit I mean, I love salads and I eat them all around town, and that is definitely one of my go-to's.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Um, so not only is that um vegetal base really good, but that beef on top is just phenomenal. So tell us about that.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

Yeah, so what's crazy is that so the owner, Michael Lee,'s mom, Joan, she handpicks out the papaya itself. Oh, nice. Every, I would say two or three days, she'll go to the supermarket and hand picks them out. And I think that's the difference, is like how fresh it is.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:39

And then we do everything in the house. Uh the marination process with the beef is I think that's where it's at. You know, it's uh cornstarch, you know, a couple of dark soy here and whatnot. I'm not too familiar with all the sauces, but you know, we freeze it and then thaw it out, and then we grill it and slice it up, put on the papaya salad, and we drizzle it with the house uh fish sauce that we have, and then sesame seeds and peanuts to top it off. It's just clean, easy, refresh. It's a really good spring and summer salad.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

It kind of comes across simple, but clearly it's not simple to make.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Yeah, it takes some time. Yeah. You know, like the marination, the marinating part is uh where it's at.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Yeah. Well, and I have to let people know I get this all the time after my podcast recordings, and it's like a 30-minute drive home, and that beef is still perfect when I get home. Yeah, like it doesn't even need to be fresh or hot. That's how good it is. So everyone go check it out.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Now, um, tell us about the rest of the menu over there.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

Um, so um steak you is one of the most fan favorite again. The it's a marinade process, and you would think like we'd stir fry and whatnot. We actually um fried us, fried a steak. Um garnished with cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, cider jasmine rice, some onions with it too. Uh fans favorite, you know, we always come out with different specials. Like we were doing like uh like a garlic lobster noodle. Oh lobster tails, scallions, and then we Mike picks out like these noodles from Brooklyn, New York. It's just like they're so dedicated to like what each individual things they put in there that they hand select and make sure like these are the freshest ingredients. Like I feel like our back of the house is always hand picking the mints, hand picking Thai basils and things like that is what really sets apart from a lot of other industries, I feel like, is the careness of like what we want. Um just mainly like our pho. Like we I feel like we always sell out on those soups, it's just phenomenal. Um, it's a go-to, it's everybody's like lunch and dinner, and of course our spring rolls is like one of the fans' favorite as well. Uh shrimp, spring roll, veggie, even salmon that we put on. Sometimes we do like a special pork patty with a little bit of like crispy in the middle, and those are really popular too.

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SPEAKER_01 7:04

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Building the Cocktail Program

SPEAKER_01 7:36

Okay, now tell us about the cocktail program because you switch that up fairly often, right?

SPEAKER_02 7:41

Yeah, I do. I try to do seasonal, but also sometimes when I can't sleep, I think all the time, and I'm just processing like, okay, what pairs of what? You know, sometimes scrolling through Instagram and seeing like ideas, and I try to put two and two together. And when I think of something, I was like, I really need to get this down. If I don't put it down and just play around with it, I'm gonna forget. So it all depends. Maybe sometimes I'll come up with like two or three drinks just because I can't sleep, and then uh I'll be like, let's just incorporate this and see like how it goes. And then it turns out to like something really cool, or sometimes it doesn't work, but it's always so like trial and error, trial and error, and then trying to get to the point where like it makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

Yeah. Well, you're doing great stuff over there.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Now I know you spend a lot of time working, but when you're not working, what do you like to do?

SPEAKER_02 8:29

Um,

Pickleball & Life Outside the Restaurant

SPEAKER_02 8:30

I play a lot of pickleball. Oh, really? Yeah, so so me and Mike, you know, we try to hang out outside of work. Okay, and we don't golf. Oh, so it's like, okay, well, what what do we do instead? So he got into pickleball and he was kind of teaching me and whatnot. And I used to play college basketball and I play a lot of sports, so like competition-wise, it's like something I still crave. So he started playing pickleball, and I was like, maybe I can get used to this. So, you know, he got me into it, and we started playing a lot, and we actually made a lot of good connection with a lot of other people too. Networking was awesome, so it's just been like really cool to like play every Thursday night, and sometimes we'll play tournaments on weekends and just meeting new people. It's like one of the best things to do.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

That's so fun.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

I love pickleball, but I do not know how to keep score, it's so confusing to me, and like the kitchen situation. I'm just like somebody else keep score and I'll hit the ball around.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

That's different. I've never played paddle sport my whole life. Like, I'll mess around ping pong, but like I wasn't great at it. But it's like my first like paddle sport, and it's kind of giving me that that feel again where like you have that competition, like you actually care, like you're really out there to have fun and like enjoy the sports itself.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

And it's good to just move around.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Very important. I'm getting old, so like I don't move around that often, so it's like a good reason to kind of go sweat it out.

Favorite St. Louis Restaurants

SPEAKER_01 9:50

Yeah, for sure. Okay, and now um, what are some of your favorite restaurants around town?

SPEAKER_02 9:55

Oh man, so my number one spot, and this is so like low-key for me that anytime around South County, Lima area, barracks.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Okay, it's right by my house. Big fan. I've never been. I have to go like tonight now. Yeah, I'm gonna go check it out. What should we get?

SPEAKER_02 10:13

Um, their meat pie is phenomenal. It's not even an entree. I don't even know if it's an appetizer, okay. But it's just it's just there. Like when you walk in, you'll see like this big old pie that's just like laid out there, along with all the other desserts. But they would like hand they they would like slice the pie, huge portions, and it's just so fluffy. It's kind of have like the croissant feel to it, like like a Taiwanese green onion pancake texture. Yeah, but it's just like I don't know how to describe it, it just melts in your mouth, it's just so good. Okay, and their entree is phenomenal. They got this um like a veal pasta dish that just has veal in a long pasta that just it's very mom and pop feel to it. Okay, and they always come with like half loaf of bread and you know, anything from there on out, you can you can try from there.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

You know, I ask people this every single week, and no one has ever said that. So I'm excited to try something new.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Yeah, Berk's definitely a hot spot, and I try to keep a low-key about it, but but but I think they need a shout-out for that. We have to tell people now. They need a shout-out for sure.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Okay, where else?

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Um, so I also go, I'm a big breakfast guide. Okay, and I live on Olivet 170, right next to the Costco, and I stumbled across this place called Olive Diner. Oh it's in this plaza right next to my family's restaurant, Tyco.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

And I just went in there one time for the breakfast. And I actually went there because I came back from Japan, I couldn't sleep. So it was like five in the morning. I was like, I need some like breakfast. So I went in there and they weren't even open. And by the time they turn on the lights, like four or five people was already like walking in. I was like, well, this must be like a really cool spot. So I go in there, and the next thing you know, four or five people, it just seems like you know, they're locals, you know, they come in for a cup of coffee, you know, talk and whatnot. Very, very like casual uh breakfast joint. Then you see the firefighters coming in, the EMTs, and I'm like, okay, this is the spot. I was like, this is where you you talk to the owners, you just have like that relationship, and that's what I'm like digging for, you know, like something like that.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

And you know, they're just super kind, super nice. Uh, portions are huge, and it's just good traditional American breakfast. Okay. And they do this like uh banana frost waffle with vanilla ice cream on top.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

It's it's to die for bed. It's that's what we need for breakfast. It's heavy, but it's so good. And I kid you not, like I was by myself, and I was just sitting there because I was just like, I wasn't sleeping as much because I just came back from Japan, you know, sleep deprived. And then once I hit that, I started like smiling by myself, and I felt so awkward because I'm just like, look at this weirdo just by himself just smiling over this breakfast. And I'm sure they all saw it. I'm just like, this is so weird, but I was just so happy because it was just like it was so good. It just hit the spot.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

That's what you're looking for.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Yeah, the olive

Family Roots + Tai Ke Shabu Shabu

SPEAKER_02 13:08

diner.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Wait a second, take it back. Did you just say Taika's your family's restaurant?

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

What?

SPEAKER_02 13:14

Yeah, so uh my uncle, um, he's the owner, Calvin. Oh, no way, and yeah, so um I came here in the United States with my grandma, my aunt, and my uncle, my sister. So um, yeah, they they opened up shop and it's the first Taiwanese restaurant in St. Louis.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 13:32

Very proud of it because like can't really get that anywhere at anywhere here, and I still go there often, you know, just to of course like catching up with like family and also just like eating traditional Taiwanese food.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

I mean, people love that spot. We named it a best new restaurant the year it opened. Yeah, it's really good.

SPEAKER_02 13:49

It's phenomenal. This is like the the the things that my uncle's producing is the things that I grew up eating.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Okay. So that's so cool.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

It's

Taiwanese vs. Vietnamese Cuisine

SPEAKER_02 13:57

it's just so good.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

So is any of that reflected at Saigon at all, or are you just mostly in the bar side of things?

SPEAKER_02 14:02

I'm mostly in the bar side. Okay. Um, but yeah, it's two two separate cultures, two separate kind of traditional foods. Okay. Um, so it doesn't really cross path as much. Okay. Except some some ingredients here and there.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Saigon is Vietnamese. Saigon is Vietnamese. Okay. So what are the differences between Taiwanese and Vietnamese?

SPEAKER_02 14:18

Um, I think it's different style, um, different um marination process and different ways of like looking at like food. Like we don't we have beef noodle soup in Taiwan, which is very similar to pho, but it's more darker, and we use different parts of beef versus um um pho itself.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 14:42

So, yeah, a lot of different components. Okay, and um, but there's still some similarities here and there, like you know, fried rice, you know, that's kind of everywhere in traditional Asia and whatnot. Yeah, but uh yeah, it's just different.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

That's cool. Now I know you like to travel a lot. Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_02 14:57

Yeah. Um, so every year I would go back to Taiwan to visit family.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

Cool.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

And I

Returning to Taiwan + Travel Inspiration

SPEAKER_02 15:04

just started this. Oh, really? So like I came to the States when I was seven.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 15:09

Didn't get back home in Taiwan till I was 33.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

So and my mom doesn't live here. So like I missed my mom or dad for like 30 plus years. Oh wow. So like it was cool to like finally get to go back home.

SPEAKER_00 15:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

And growing up, you know, you never really thought like, okay, I need to go back home and visit family. You're just like so focused here, college, school, like work, and everything like that. You kind of like leave that behind. But then when once you're getting older, you're like, what is what is my background? Like, what's my culture like? You know, like should I go back? Should I go check it out? And of course, you know, like um my grandma came here with me and she had to go back because she had breast cancer. So, you know, it was a good opportunity for me to kind of like go back and visit her because like she was pretty much like my mom. Yeah, you know, like she raised me and whatnot. So I was like, I gotta go back, you know. So ever since going back the first time, it was just like a culture shock. One, two, I was like, wow, like these are like my people, like this is crazy. And like the food that you remember growing up is still there. And also like trying out different flavors around different spices, and also like I've been to some of the cocktail bars too, just having a visual and idea, like the concept of what they're doing, it really gives you an open mind. So I just taught myself told myself I was like, every year I need to go and travel outside of the States. Yeah, and I would go to Taiwan for sure, and then I would do another country around Asia. So la this year, well, last year we did Japan and Taiwan, and a year prior I did Korea in Taiwan.

unknown 16:51

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

And I always told myself that I would bring a friend of mine with me that has never experienced Asia before.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Yeah, that's so cool.

SPEAKER_02 17:00

Yeah, so I I brought a good buddy of mine, um, Kevin, and um, you know, and I just don't think he will ever think I'm gonna ever gonna go to like Taiwan or Korea. Uh-huh. But he's always we always talked about it when we were kids. I was like, yeah, he's always like, Where are you from? And this and that. I was like, you you gotta come with me, man. Just come with me and check it out. And of course, he's like, No, no, I got work, I can't do this, you know, like this big budget. I was like, no, dude, don't even worry about it. Like, let's do this, we'll figure it out later.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

And it was just a trip of the life of him. It was just so cool to see it. And then for me too, you know, it's a different perspective. I never been to Korea. So it was like a first time for both of us.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

And then I think this year we're gonna go to Europe. Nice, so that's completely different for me. I'm just super excited. I'm a big pasta

Europe Travel Plans + Food Culture

SPEAKER_02 17:46

guy.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:47

Um, um Adriana's on the hills. Oh, okay. Oh my god. Yeah, so good. They are so good. So, like, I'm excited to try like traditional.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Going to Italy?

SPEAKER_02 17:59

I'm going to Italy.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

Anywhere else?

SPEAKER_02 18:01

Uh, we're gonna go to Romania.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

Oh, that'll be cool.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

Romania, yeah. My girlfriend's from Romania. Oh, nice, and she hasn't been back home for a very long time. Okay, and I thought to myself, I was like, you know, I've never been to Romania, no, why not?

SPEAKER_01 18:13

Why not?

SPEAKER_02 18:13

So we're gonna go there, and I didn't know how close everything is and proximity that you can fly.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Oh, yeah, it's like right over there. Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

So I'm gonna go to Italy, try some things out. Um, yeah, just just trying to be open-minded, explored, and trying to get new flavor, new ideas, and give myself a culture shock.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

I love it. Where in Italy are you going?

SPEAKER_02 18:37

We haven't decided yet. Oh I'm gonna let her do all the planning as she always does, uh-huh, and I'm just gonna roll along with it.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

Okay, that's so

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SPEAKER_01 18:46

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Italy, Hospitality & St. Louis Community

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Okay. I did go to Italy a couple years ago and it was really cool. Where'd you go? Um, I did Rome and Naples and Sorrento. Um, but we really went there because um there is a place called Baya, um, which is actually the name of an Italian restaurant that's opening in the grove. Um, but it was the Las Vegas of ancient Rome. Yeah. But it has since sunken into the sea and you can scuba dive it. Okay. So I did that, and it was like probably the coolest thing I've ever done.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

Yeah. Is Ba the same owner's good company?

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Yes. Okay. Yeah. So Kyle and uh Jordan Goodman. Yeah. So and they're gonna be doing handmade pasta. Yeah, they're they know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

So I get my ice from Kyle. Oh, nice. Yeah, we have a really good connection, and he really delegates my cocktails to another level with his critique.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

So okay, good, yeah. They they know what's up.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

Yeah, I love our St. Louis locals, you know. We we we help each other a lot, yeah. We take care of each other all the time, and we all have our specialties and craft, and we love to collaborate and build as a one community. And I think that's what I love about St. Louis.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

Yeah, we we do have a really strong community here. And I know so you get involved in some of those events in the Central West End, is that right?

SPEAKER_02 20:35

Absolutely, yeah. So we host Red Lantern Festival. Okay, and we started this three years ago. And originally it was just like a 20th year anniversary celebration for Saigon.

The Story Behind Red Lantern Festival

SPEAKER_02 20:47

We have been there for more than 20 years. Wow, and that was during COVID um that time, and we're like, well, we can't really do much. It's COVID time, but we still had the funds from South Euclid, you know, they were gonna sponsor us and, you know, pay some of the funds to just support us. And um, you know, we didn't know what to do. So our friend Heidi from Tabroom came along and was like, Yeah, I do Rand Lantern Forest Park, but like we're not gonna do it at Forest Park this year. And I was just thinking to myself, I was like, why don't we just put two and two together, just do a big like festival, you know, just just drop it right in the heart of Central West and see where it takes. You know, none of us, well, besides Heidi, like me and Mike never done festivals, we don't we don't know what we're doing. So we just kind of like play by year, we got some guidance, just mash it all up and did the first one, and it it was just a hit. And we were just like, This is crazy. Like I was like, we actually pulled off like a Red Lantern Festival, how it would feel when you go to Asia, where it would feel like when you go to San Francisco's Chinatown. And that's what we wanted. So we're like, okay, let's do it again. Second year, success, third year, boom, and like we're on to our fourth year.

SPEAKER_01 21:54

It's when is that gonna be?

SPEAKER_02 21:56

July the eighteenth.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Okay. Yeah, I have not actually been to that event. But I saw the pictures and it looked packed.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

It's always packed. And we trying to keep it that way because we want that vibe. We want that like shoulder to shoulder. You know, you get all the smoke from vendors, you get all the smell, you you get that busyness. You know, we we we trying to keep that culture alive. Yeah. And then we have uh taiko drum from Japan American Society coming out perform, um, life DJ.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:24

And we also have like um Lion Dance that's gonna come around. Oh, just make it loud. Yeah, just give Central West End a pop somewhere you would come visit and know that, like, oh wow, this is a cool spot.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

I love the Central West End. I feel like so. I lived in Seulard for three years, and I feel like the Central West End is like the adult version. It's like it's like grown up. Um, and is that where we met at the Central West End cocktail party?

Cocktail Competitions + Presentation Philosophy

SPEAKER_02 22:52

We did, yeah. So that was my first uh cocktail um competition. Okay, and you know, like I was just gonna challenge myself. That was my first year doing this, and I was like, why not give it a shot and see what I'm all about? So me and Anka girlfriend did it, and yeah, we we took first and second. I took second, she actually took first, yeah. And uh yeah, it was just like okay, we're doing something right. Yeah, there's something we're doing that makes sense, people like it. It's not just like I'm throwing things out there and hope to God someone likes it. It it worked.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Yeah, well, I was judging that, yeah. And I think one of you had like a cocktail with tea in it, and I really liked that.

SPEAKER_02 23:31

Yeah, she I think she had hers. Yeah, it was hers. I think the third round we were batching like big bulks to share.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

And she put two and a two together that was like perfect fit.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

And she just absolutely killed it.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Well, I remember what I liked about that too, is like, yes, it was a cocktail and it had some alcohol in it, but it was not so so strong. Right. I think a lot of drinks these days are super duper strong. And like, I don't sometimes that can be nice, but I don't know. I kind of like a weaker drink myself.

SPEAKER_02 24:02

Yeah, yeah. So to me, I feel like cocktail, you need to have a flavor component. You need to have like someone has to taste and be like, wow, this is good. It's not just like oof, like, you know, you don't, I don't want people to get that, like, oh my god, that's strong first taste. Uh-huh. I want people to enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Right.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

I want the flavor to be there, and I want um the assess uh uh what is it called? Like just like how the presentation, I think the presentation's gotta be there. Because my perception of cocktail is that before you could taste the cocktail, you get you have to see it, you have to smell it. And but if I don't get you to smell it or see it first, then chances are you're not gonna taste it.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 24:41

So my presentation has to be key.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:44

My garnish has to be on point. Uh-huh. And if you like those concepts, then you're like, let me try it. And then once you try it, and if that dirt part hits, then that's a home run for me. So it has to be those three components that makes it work. So I have to make sure I capture you to make you want it. And then I have to make sure that you actually enjoyed it at the end.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

Right.

SPEAKER_02 25:05

So that's my key to.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

I'm glad you're paying attention to all of that. Yeah. Because if you're gonna spend $15 on a cocktail, like we want all of those things. It's important. Like you need that attention to detail.

SPEAKER_02 25:16

So yeah, cocktail expensive, you know. They are, it adds up. They really are. Yeah, it adds up. So, you know, we we want to put all of our thoughts and

Red Lantern Festival Preview

SPEAKER_02 25:23

hearts into it, and we want to give everybody what they deserve. What you're doing paying for it.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

Yeah, you're doing a really nice job over there.

unknown 25:29

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

Is there anything else you want to add?

SPEAKER_02 25:31

Um, yeah, just Rand Lantern, you know, July the 18th. You know, if everybody come out, phenomenal. It's gonna be fun. Um, great time live, it's gonna be more busier every year. Um come early. Yes, find parking.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 25:44

We're in the city, so it's gonna be tough. Uh-huh. Uh, more vendors, more opportunities um for people to taste some of the places that don't have a brick motor yet. So, this is a great time for people to showcase some of the products and a great time for people to help and support some of the locals as well.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Love it. Okay, well, thanks

Closing Thoughts

SPEAKER_01 26:03

for stopping by.

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Thank you.