About to bounce out of here
KiuKiu x Matsar togetherness
My friends are like tteok-bokki. Spicy rice cakes that are separated or stuck together in a pan. You can’t control the spiciness so you’ll take it as is, how the chef usually cooks it. If you can’t handle the spice, you’ll enjoy the bounciness. I manage how spicy our friends are by taking in their spiciness then bounce out. We’re all spicy together and make a great dish. If you’re not spicy, you’re bland. Our texture is all over the place but in the end we laugh (fluff) and cry (chewy) together.
So let’s invite them over for brunch and eat pancakes with a twist. Asian flavors such as Pandan Coconut, Black Sesame, and Ube that are chewy, fluffy, and bouncy.
Meet John Liu of KiuKiu.
I met John via IG because I loved seeing the colors of his delicious and Instagrammable mochi pancake & waffle mix called KiuKiu. I had John on Wear Many Hats to chat about KiuKiu right before launching and instantly became friends.
KiuKiu (pronounced “QQ”) is a Taiwanese term for a uniquely chewy, bouncy texture — the kind you’ll find in mochi, boba, and rice cakes. Use it in a sentence: “Mmm… these pancakes are sooo KiuKiu! -via eatkiukiu.com
After John launched, we received a lovely package of all 3 flavors from KiuKiu, a threesome as they say. I’ve been wanting to make KiuKiu pancakes for so long but thought it would be best to invite friends over and try them as well. KiuKiu is meant for sharing and cooking mini pancakes are a sweet spot that reminded me of the time I made Eggo Minis as a kid.
I met John IRL at the new Maru Coffee in Williamsburg. We got drinks and bonded over the CPG world. John has tricks up his sleeve and we talked about what the next steps are for Matsar. John planted in my head that he might be going to Bangkok and I told him to link up. John, if you’re reading this, are we still meeting up? Starting next month, the Wear Many Hats World Tour restarts again and we’re going back to Bangkok but this time with Matsar in mind.. again.
Asia just dominates all aspects of the Wear Many Hats universe right now. I got called out for not going to Europe this time around. We tried Wear Many Hats World Tour: Barcelona but had a big deadline to finish. One of our clients for Dahsar, part of our creative advertising arm, couldn’t afford to take a break. I was already catching strays from taking calls during Wear Many Hats World Tour: Bali earlier this year. For Matsar, I was making customer service calls in Bali to set up a United States business identity with someone based in.. Indonesia? Sounds about right when the United States would outsource their own customer service to figure out a United States issue for products I’m getting tariffed on. The Dahsar modus operandi is built on simplicity and starting new projects have been.. complicated. A new co-worker of mine sent me the ‘man in lotus’ meditation emoji that fit his personality and when I was running late, he sent me that emoji that instantly calmed me.
Being in Asia makes sense right now for Matsar. We’re hitting Thailand in search of pandan, then heading to Nepal to hike and learn about how our friends at Park at Kims makes their chiya.
Nepal being thrown into the mix was not on my bingo card. Our new friends from Malaysia invited us to come with. Friends of friends are doing a documentary trip and Wear Many Hats seems like a documentary in the making so why not? I’m glad it crossed past our chi-ya know. Don’t mind me. I met Sujan Guale, one of the co-owners of Park at Kims who happens to be Nepali. Sujan makes an amazing chiya but not only that, he’s a great barista with a heart of gold.
When me and Sujan worked together at our first pop up with Park at Kims, Sujan enjoyed my vibe and asked questions of how I got started. It should be a simplified answer but there’s always a story that comes along when you start a project that makes you file as an s-corp. It’s been a journey to get here. I told him that close ones lead me up to where I had to be, a little bit of believing in myself, and books. I told him I would deliver the books that helped me along the way but I had a better idea. I told him I would write him something instead. All the books I read are a bit outdated. I would love to give Sujan a fresh perspective. The Wear Many Hats way. Was Sujan the push to start writing a book I’ve been wanting to write all along? After the first Wear Many Hats World Tour, one of my good friends said I should write a book and thought he was tripping. I guess it all makes sense in the end.
Where to go next? I have Philippines on the list but open to other ideas. Maybe Bhutan?
In October, there were friends who had birthdays including my father. I believe the changing of the seasons is what brings us together. Libras and Scorpios are super supportive. Perfect time to break out the KiuKiu. Everyone is some type of Asian so why not make these pancakes that make you proud of your heritage. I took a bite into the mochi pancakes I made and it tasted like the ones John made. I’m so proud of John for launching and look forward to watching it scale. We hope to see KiuKiu in every grocery store in the world. Also Trader Joe’s needs to cut the crap with it’s fake Ube products.