Gaagaa Ge Wai Kitchen

As the third Ge Wai restaurant in Chongqing, designed by Xie Ke, the Gaagaa Restaurant responds to the “kitchen robber” from the bottom of his heart and reflects his concerns about Chongqing with simple, plain, interesting, and smooth design languages. As a neighbor of YIJI Collection, a furniture shop founded by Xie Ke, the restaurant boasts a profound and restrained architectural style.

gaagaa餐厅是谢柯为山城打造的格外小馆系列的第三间餐厅，以简单、朴素、有趣又流畅的设计语言回应着自己灵魂深处的“厨师大盗”，同时也体现着他对山城上下的设计关怀。gaagaa餐厅与谢柯自创的家具美学集合店壹集相邻，建筑风格沉稳内敛。

The designer made some advances and retreats in the architecture, making the restaurant have abundant shadow changes, which are perfect if they are decorated with green plants. It’s easy to identify “Xie Ke’s style” in the restaurant, such as warm tones, simplicity, minimalism, and logs. These elements can help customers rapidly integrate into the designer’s world and experience the landscapes of Chongqing. Most of the wood tables, cabinets, and artistic ornaments are from the neighboring YIJI Collection shop. The designer’s love for life and the city can be found all over the restaurant. The works of Tang Ke, an artist, are hung opposite to the entrance. He and Xie Ke were classmates at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, and they share something in common in artistic expression.

设计师在建筑上做了部分进退处理，这让gaagaa餐厅的外观充满了富于节奏韵律的光影变化，并在绿植的点缀下恰到好处。走进gaagaa餐厅，“谢柯风格”非常容易辨识，暖色调、质朴、
极简、原木质感……让顾客快速进入到他的世界中来，感受山城光影。木质桌柜及诸多艺术装饰品皆来自相邻的家具美学集合店——壹集。源于对细节美学的捕捉，空间中到处都可以感受到设计师对生活以及这个城市的热爱。艺术家唐可的作品悬于入口正对面，他与谢柯是川美同学，两人在艺术表达上也一拍即合。

There are 152 seats in the restaurant. Besides private rooms, it has semi-open areas, making the layout spacious and closely connected. Sunlight shines on the hung artworks via green plants, making customers experience a poetic atmosphere that may allow them to lose track of time. The tables, chairs, walls, floor tiles, and goblets perfectly match the light, producing an elegant, harmonious scene. Xie Ke hopes that the restaurant can be an easy, inclusive place for social purposes. With diverse cuisines, it welcomes all walks of life and helps them relax physically and mentally.

餐厅共有152个餐位，既有包房，又有半开放式区域，空间互通，格局开敞而又密切连接。透过绿植，光影照射在悬挂的艺术品上，营造出一种忘却时间的诗意生活。桌椅、素墙、地砖与高脚杯都与光串联融合，一幅雅韵、和谐的画面铺陈开来。谢柯希望将gaagaa餐厅打造成一个轻松无界限的社交感餐厅，包容当下多元化的味觉系统，让各个人群都能轻松步入，有一个舒服的位置坐下来，让身心感受回归到细腻的生活细节里。

The lobby as tall as 5m and the entrance have a subtle contrast: The low-profile architecture really has something different inside. The spacious inner space should have a more unconstrained traffic flow. The floor is handmade floor tiles from Jingdezhen. The restaurant was jointly made by groups that share the same craftsmanship, including the design team, material suppliers, and craftsmen. There is a “mysterious zone” on the left of the lobby, namely the space for the kitchen and staff, and it accounts for one third of the restaurant. Diners can see chefs’ hands, not their faces. The subtle design provides an interesting dining experience.

大厅的空间保留了5米的高度，使得大厅相较于建筑入口处产生微妙的反差：低调的建筑内别有洞天。开阔的内部空间适宜做更自由、流畅的动线。地板由景德镇手工地砖铺就。对空间质感的匠心打造，集合了设计团队、材料商、工匠师傅这些拥有着同样内核基因的人的匠心。餐厅在大厅左侧留了一处“神秘地带”——占餐厅面积三分之一的厨房和员工空间。顾客但见厨师的手而不见脸，正是这样“半遮面”的设计，营造出极具趣味性的用餐体验。

Xie Ke expected that the restaurant can provide Asian cuisines. Besides Chinese dishes, it provides dishes of Southeast Asia and India as well. In addition, it keeps exploring localized tastes and dishes. His and the chef’s travels around the globe for delicacies and their routine experiences at local vegetable markets contribute to the success of the restaurant.

谢柯对于gaagaa的期望是亚洲融合菜风味，所以餐厅在中国菜基础之上，亦有东南亚、印度菜系的影子，并深植于在地文化风味的发掘创新。这归功于他和主厨游历世界的取经钻研，以及日常衷情的“菜市场之旅”。