Founded by a Singaporean entrepreneur-cum-foodie, and spearheaded by a renowned Taiwanese yakiniku chef, Yen Social is a blend of Asian food and design culture.
Inspired by the traditional Yakiniku craft, the interior fuses elements recalling the art of the grill. Metal mesh – the quintessential grilling tool – appears in various scales: facade screens and columns are clad in the finest mesh; a larger scale mesh is used to create semi-transparent partitions and service stations; the largest mesh acts as the bar lighting feature: here, its structure is lit up by the warm glow of tungsten light bulbs recalling hot embers.
Charcoal, too, is present in the design through the matte, rough texture of the tiles chosen to clad the fascia and back wall of the bar. The main feature of the bar – the striking Alicante Red marble counter – stands out from the surrounding dark tones as a freshly-cut piece of marbled beef on a charcoal backdrop. Pieces of charcoal are stacked inside metal screens as another tribute to the beauty of binchotan. On the walls, handcrafted textured plaster resembles the swirling cracks seen on pieces of blazing charcoal.