'My new restaurant is a love letter to Leeds' - Man Zen's Thomas Chiang on his new Headingley venture
Thomas Chiang is no stranger to the kitchen - first developing his culinary skills as a teenager in his uncle’s Chinese restaurant.
That love and passion for food has stuck with him - and now he is opening a new Asian-fusion restaurant in Leeds that is his “love letter” to his career.
MAN ZEN officially opens in Headingley this will and specialises in classic Chinese dishes with a focus on “British fan favourites” such as salt and pepper chicken wings and sweet and sour prawns.
Mr Chiang told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We’re trying to modernise the Chinese cuisine and elevate it to another level in terms of presentation.”
The restaurant menu also features a nod to Japanese cuisine through bento boxes, a staple Japanese meal which mixes rice or noodles with proteins and vegetables in a delicate style.
This signature menu presentation is inspired by MAN ZEN’s sister restaurant TADA, which was the first ever Japanese restaurant in Headingley.
It was when TADA moved to a new site in September this year that Thomas decided to launch a second restaurant.
TADA needed a larger premise to meet growing demand but the owner didn’t want to forfeit the offering of an intimate dining experience for Headingley customers that the original site brought.
That’s why he opened MAN ZEN in TADA’s old venue and now the two restaurants sit just a 30 second walk away from each other.
Mr Chiang said: “There’s still a lot of charm in the current smaller restaurant.
“We thought that there isn't an oriental offering for a sit down dining experience in Headingley so we decided to rebrand here as MAN ZEN, as a sister restaurant to TADA.
“It’s the same kind of elegant yet cosy vibes, the same hospitality that you can expect from us, but a different cuisine.”
He hopes that MAN ZEN will “follow in the footsteps” of TADA, which has proved popular with Leeds locals and even won the YEP’s Oliver Award for Best World Restaurant earlier this year.
However, it's a team of just under 50 employees across the two sites that Thomas credits with making this business progression possible.
Mr Chiang said: “Without my team working tirelessly to create the vision, the service and the food quality, I wouldn’t have been able to do (this).”
Thomas himself grew up working in the food industry beginning with a job at his uncle’s Chinese takeaway during his teenage years.
He first moved to Leeds as a student but has stayed ever since because of the “amazing vibes and community.”
He described MAN ZEN as “a love letter” to his career in hospitality and his passion for offering both great food and great service.
The name MAN ZEN references this intention by combining ‘Mǎn’, a Mandarin word meaning fullness with ‘Zen’, a reference to the school of Buddhist philosophy which emphasises mindfulness and simplicity.
Thomas said: “In essence, we wanted something that was soothing, centred, and welcoming.
“Dining at MAN ZEN means having both a full stomach, and calm mind - I hope everyone enjoys our little restaurant as much as we do.”
MAN ZEN is open seven days a week from 5pm - 11pm.
On Saturdays and Sundays it also offers a lunch service from 12pm - 2:30pm.