First Look: Pig and Tiger Now Serving Modern Taiwanese

Pig and Tiger just opened in Five Points on August 23, and it already feels like a favorite haunt, with diners filling the room during dinner service. Every table boasts happy folks connecting with each other over dishes, drinks and conversation, keeping an eye on their upcoming meals through the open kitchen. The tables surround a large bar that faces the tall buildings of downtown just a few blocks away, but the focus here is on the food.

Some of these customers may have known Pig and Tiger for longer than just a few days; they might have been regulars at the eatery's launching pad in Avanti Boulder, where founders helped open the food hall in 2020 before finally finding this location for their brick-and-mortar restaurant.
The story of that restaurant starts with a friendship forged in the kitchen. Darren Chang, a Taiwanese American chef born in California who learned his craft in Denver, was living in L.A. when he met Travis Masar, a native Coloradan who had competed on Bravo's Top Chef after spending time as head chef at Uncle, the popular Japanese restaurant in Denver; they both worked at an L.A. eatery run by another Top Chef alum, Shirley Chung.

With roots in Colorado and a shared passion for Asian cuisine, they soon moved to Boulder to open Pig and Tiger. Now that they have their own place in Denver, they've expanded both their vision and culinary offerings.

The restaurant's name reflects the chefs' Chinese zodiac signs. Chang was born in the year of the pig; Masar is a tiger. The two combined Chang's love for his family heritage and Masar's encyclopedic knowledge of East Asian cuisines to cook up a menu that's deeply rooted in traditional Taiwanese dishes as well as elements of Masar's Eastern European heritage.
Growing up in rural southeast Colorado, Masur readily admits he wasn't familiar with Asian food. He got his first taste of that when he came to Denver to earn his associate's degree at Johnson & Wales University, then went on to get his bachelor's at Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island. From there, he cooked around the globe — starting in Europe, then moving on to Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan before returning to Denver to run Uncle.

The two are a well-matched team working from both the gut and intellect, and they've assembled a staff that meets their knowledge and enthusiasm for treating customers well.

The menu at Pig and Tiger consists of "Nibbles," "Vegetables," Dumplings," "Shareables" (entrees), "Rice & Noodle" and "Desserts." Standouts include the Pig and Tiger salad, which includes chewy strips of tofu gan and chrysanthemum; Jellyfish salad, which mixes smashed cucumbers with crunchy jellyfish; Taiwanese corn salad, featuring heavenly Olathe sweet corn (currently in season); chili wontons with long, green, wonderfully chewy jade noodles coated with a Taiwanese pesto; incredibly crispy, double-fried Taiwanese fried chicken (coated with tapioca starch and sweet potato starch) served with "chicken fat rice" and a not-too-sweet chili honey; and desserts that include an almond panna cotta pineapple shaved ice and refreshing chocolate marquise with dark chocolate, black sesame mousse and ginger ice cream.
The jellyfish salad is a rare treat in Colorado. "Jellyfish is one of my things," Masar says. "I love the texture of it. And when I first had it, it was always like the Cantonese or Vietnamese styles. I liked a little bit of spiciness with it and a little bit heavier zesty oil and pickled daikon, pickled carrot and cilantro. That's it. Then we were able to bring smashed cucumber into the jellyfish salad." It's a perfect cool, crunchy opener for the meal, and the dishes that follow are just as impressive.

Chang is thrilled by the crowds the restaurant has attracted after only a few days. "Yeah, we're really lucky," he says. "The staff worked really hard to get prepared for opening, and so things have gone well pretty quickly. Everyone is awesome."

The diners filling the room would agree with his assessment: Pig and Tiger is an awesome addition to Denver's dining scene.
Pig and Tiger is at 2200 California Street, open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 10 p.m. For more information, visit the website at pigandtiger.com.