As part of the Portraits of merchants & professionals of Côte-des-Neiges project (3rd edition), we invited Francis Faubert Cloutier to accompany us on a series of visits to 10 SDC Côte-des-Neiges businesses that took part in the project.
Interview with
Sinath | Portraits of merchants & professionals of Côte-des-Neiges
Find out more about your local Côte-des-Neiges merchants and professionals! // Looking back on our meeting with : Sinath Yip, Owner of restaurant Tuk Tuk
The Tuk Tuk Restaurant: Where Family Forces Come Together
For Sinath Yip, the Tuk Tuk restaurant is first and foremost a family story. With her parents in the kitchen and her brothers handling the service, the businesswoman completes the team by managing and overseeing the restaurant’s administration. “We support each other from start to finish,” she asserts. For Sinath, her involvement is an act of gratitude towards her parents. “They gave us the opportunity to live in this beautiful city and grow up in this multicultural community, it’s my way of thanking them,” she continues.
Tuk Tuk offers Cambodian cuisine, the family’s country of origin, where freshness and conviviality take center stage. “Cambodian cuisine is very similar to Thai cuisine with ingredients that vary from dish to dish,” explains Sinath. Moreover, both countries hold a significant place in the clan’s history. “My parents met in a Thai refugee camp during the civil war in Cambodia. That’s where I was born,” Sinath recounts.
When it comes to creating the menu, the mother and father only cook with fresh ingredients of the day. Additionally, every effort is made to reduce food waste. The amok, Cambodia’s national dish, is certainly Tuk Tuk’s highlight, according to Sinath. Modernized as a stir-fry, the dish infused with lemongrass and spice pastes is sure to make gourmets salivate.
With a menu catering to all budgets and a “bring your own wine” option, Tuk Tuk is the perfect plan for a successful evening with friends. Pleasure, discovery, attentive service, and affordable prices come together under the same address. “Here, we welcome customers like friends at home,” assures Sinath.
For her, the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood is a vibrant environment: “There are no other neighborhoods in Montreal as multicultural as this one. When people ask me what Montreal is, for me, it’s Côte-des-Neiges!” she declares.
Copywriter: Francis Faubert Cloutier
Photographer: Gaelle Leroyer
Art direction: Félicia Balzano (SDC Côte-des-Neiges)
Complete the experience by visiting the free exhibition from September 7 to December 5, 2023.
ABOUT THE PROJECT :
After a great success in 2021 and 2022, the SDC Côte-des-Neiges is proud to present the third anniversary edition of its Portraits of merchants & professionals of Côte-des-Neiges project through an exhibition on the Promenade Jean-Brillant from September 7 to December 5, 2023, as well as online interviews accessible via QR code on each panel.
The aim of this initiative is to put citizens in touch with businesses in the territory of the Société de développement commercial (SDC) Côte-des-Neiges. Through a series of portraits of 10 shops and businesses, we get to know 14 local business owners and managers. This social and cultural project is a real encounter with the human side of business life.
In this third edition, you’ll discover men and women, young professionals and established entrepreneurs, all from different cultures and backgrounds, with a diverse range of commercial offerings. The common denominator? Their love for Côte-des-Neiges.
This project is an initiative of the SDC Côte-des-Neiges, made possible through collaboration with the Maison de la culture CDN and the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.