Eventually, they have come to learn that Japanese and Filipino flavors complement each other in delicious ways! The idea to start their own restaurant came about when they lived together for the first time in Chicago. "Our love language is food," Chef
Wada says. "We cooked whatever we grew up eating and learned from each other. This was when EJ first planted the idea of a Filipino and Japanese pop-up." They held their very first pop-up in October 2018, after moving back to San Francisco. After that smashing success, they set a goal to hold a quarterly pop-up in 2019. On the first anniversary of their pop-up, Chef Macayan decided to commit to Ox and Tiger full time.
"It was a nerve- wracking decision," she says. "But the best decision I made and [I haven’t] looked back since." After they made the decision, the pop-up frequency really accelerated. Unfortunately, just when the momentum was picking up, Covid stopped
everything. As a result, they had no
choice but to shift to special take-out options like ready-to-heat meals and a-la-carte deliveries. The support from their friends and community, however, fueled the couple to work harder to survive and thrive.
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