Prosperous Celebrations: The Art of Living with Melissa Chen
In celebration of Lunar New Year, we spent an afternoon with Melbourne Interior Designer at Numi Collective, food connoisseur and founder of Mill’s Kitchen Melissa Chen, to discuss the influence her Chinese heritage has had on her design philosophy, family traditions, and her famous dumplings.
Melissa Chen, co-founder of leading Interior Design firm Numi Collective, is the daughter of one of the first Chinese families to move to Melbourne. Her father’s family arrived in Robe in the 1850’s during the gold rush, however after walking their way to Melbourne, they became traders and pioneered the import of Chinese goods into Australia. This included everything from silk carpets, to furniture and homewares and exposed a young Mill to the world of design.
Family, Food, Philanthropy & Design:
“When I turned 50 recently, I realised that these are the pillars I want to live by, and I try to focus on a bit of each every single day.”
Family:
”At this time of year, we always catch up with family and host multiple Chinese dinners. My son is now a chef, so Mum, Jake and I love to cook with one another.”
Philanthropy:
“I think the greatest influence my Chinese heritage has had is teaching me how to give back to the community. Mum taught me how to cook, and we catch up every week as an extended family. But through Mill’s Kitchen, a charity in memory of my brother-in-law who lost his battle to a brain tumour at the age of 31, I have channelled my passion for Asian cooking and sharing meals into raising essential funds for transformative projects at the Royal Melbourne Hospital since 2012.”
Mill’s design philosophy:
“Design with integrity, considered design and wherever possible I support local manufacturing.”
Her Styling advice for interiors:
“Surround yourself with things that mean something and buy things as you go. A house should be about the things that you really love and that are a part of your family’s history, pieces that tell your story".
Food:
Symbolising wealth and prosperity representing little ‘pockets or purses of money’, Mill kindly shares her famous dumpling recipe, a key contributor to Mill’s Kitchen’s incredible fund raising efforts for the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Melissa Chen’s Lunar New Year Dumpling Recipe
Ingredients:
- Mill’s wonton recipe
- 500g pork mince
- 1/2 wombok finely shredded
- 2T ginger finely diced
- 2t sesame oil
- Pinch white pepper
- 1T tamari soy sauce
- 1T Shaoxing wine
- 2T oyster sayce
- 1t caster sugar
- 6 spring onions finely sliced
Method:
Place wombok into a colander, add 2t salt and mix. Set over a bowl and add weight on top to drain for 1/2 hour. Place into a clean tea towel to drain any excess liquid. Mix very well with the rest of the ingredients until the mixture is paste like in texture.
Using your fingers, wet the edges of the dumpling wrappers with beaten egg. Place a heaped teaspoon of the mixture in the middle, then fold over the wrapper, pinching the edges as you go.
To cook, boil water in a saucepan, then reduce to a soft simmer. Stir the water with a spoon, then gently lower dumplings into the water and submerge. They will be ready in 5-7 minutes or until they float. To serve: Place on a platter and serve with a dipping sauce of 1T soy sauce, 1t sesame oil, 1t caster sugar and 1t boiling water and a sprinkling of chopped spring onions and chilli.
“Dad’s family are very creative – writers, artists, film directors, academics. This exposure certainly shaped my design eye.” Melissa Chen
Melissa wears the Abigail Silk Dress.
