This Singaporean F&B entrepreneur moved to Paris to pursue her passions

Pearlyn Lee’s work in the commodities sector brought her to Europe, where she was forcessed on business developed and structured finance. Despite being based in Switzerland, Lee would take frequent trips to Paris, where she fell in love with the famous city of lights. 

Her decision to move to Paris came after a while spent in Europe. After the Bataclan attacks on November 13th, 2015, Lee realised that life could be unexpectedly cut short by any number of tragedies. It sparked in her a desire to pursue something she loved — Lee wanted to create a space that brings people together. Simultaneously, during her travels to Paris, she had also noticed that the city was lacking high quality Asian food.

So she married her interest with the gap in the market, and started The Hood as a passion project.

Early days

Getting started as a restaurateur in Paris wasn’t easy. 

“French is not exactly my native tongue so that was the immediate challenge,” Lee shared. “but still, I was very lucky back then, The Hood was set up with Khanh-Ly Huynh, the winner of Masterchef France 2015.”

Huynh is French-Vietnamese, and the partnership between her and Lee was crucial to navigating the different cultural and linguistic landscape of France and getting started. 

The partners zeroed in on the 11th arrondissement as the site of The Hood; this arrondissement was home to a young, trendy international community that was open to new ideas, cuisines and cultures. 

Representing Singapore

Since Lee was hoping to introduce elevated Asian cuisine, being located in a neighbourhood that was willing to try new things was particularly important. Asian cuisine in France had a reputation for being cheap and low quality at that time, so the larger French market was sceptical about The Hood. 

Lee often had to explain Singaporean food to her guests, who may not have been to or heard of the city state. For instance, when Lee started serving chicken rice, diners were puzzled by the dish, and frequently asked her what was so special about chicken and rice. 

Only after these individuals learned about the steps involved with cooking chicken rice, such as the specially made bouillon used to cook the rice, did the diners understand that Asian cuisine can be just as refined as French cuisine.

Even though it required quite some effort, introducing Singaporean food to the French market was worth it. Lee shared: “As restaurateurs of Asian heritage, we represent our communities, our cultures, and our countries. That became part of the appeal of opening in Paris.” 

Perfectly balanced 

The idea for Lee’s next restaurant emerged from The Hood. The restaurant started serving a turkey version of bánh mì specially for Christmas, but this dish was so popular that diners would stop by just to buy it, and Lee then realised that they could start a separate sister brand that served artisanal versions of bánh mì. 

However, since Lee is Singaporean, opening up a restaurant focussing on bánh mì, which is Vietnamese and not Singaporean may seem at odds with her goal of representing her culture in Paris. According to Lee, although bánh mì itself is a Vietnamese dish, the way that Nonette operates and the ethos around it is Singaporean. 

Additionally, Lee wanted to create a brand that represented harmony across different cultures, reminiscent of Singapore’s own multiculturalism. 

The bánh mì had considerable potential in this endeavour. On the practical side, the ingredients inside it could be easily customised and adapted to appeal to a broader audience. Simultaneously, the dish itself was made of the combination between a French baguette and rich and savoury Vietnamese fillings, offering a harmonious combination of East and West.

Building a multicultural business

With that, Lee and Huynh took all that they learned with The Hood and opened Nonette. The name Nonette came from the word’s meaning, which stands for a group of nine people or objects playing in harmony. Lee hoped to open a restaurant that brought harmony between flavours and different cultures.

“We want to connect people through the universal language of food,” she explained. “This is also why our team is so diverse. I believe in supporting migrant communities with opportunities for growth.”

After all, Lee herself had migrated to Europe for work, and was given many opportunities to find her place in France with the support from her community and her friends.

Nonette has found success in France, with its bánh mì being nicknamed the “bánh mì Parisien” by regulars, on account of how the traditional Vietnamese street food is elevated using locally grown French ingredients. 

Dreams in action

When Lee started Nonette, it was meant to be a scalable concept, and is presently in the midst of development. The success of her restaurants have kept Lee busy, leaving her with little time to be homesick.

“I’m on the floor everyday wearing multiple hats — everything from greeting and seating our customers at The Hood to helping to assemble the sandwiches over at Nonette, and of course, the background business development and strategising,” Lee explained.

Running restaurants that serve Singaporean dishes does help; whenever Lee has a longing for local food, she’s able to get her fix at her workplace. She also video calls with her family every other day to take the edge off missing them.

Despite the hard work necessary, Lee expressed an appreciation of her work and how it has given her the opportunities to meet people from all over the world. As guests continually return to The Hood and Nonette and become regulars, Lee’s restaurants start to feel more and more like a community, fulfilling her goal of creating a space that brings people together.

Looking ahead

Presently, Lee has much work ahead of her as she and Huynh try to cement Nonette’s reputation as the best sandwicherie and deli in Paris. However, she is also looking forward to an expansion into Asia. 

“I’d love to bring Nonette to Singapore and open an outlet sometime in 2025,” Lee shared. She intends for Nonette to act as a bridge between Asia and Europe, the two regions that she has called home for the last 13 years. 

Lee hopes to one day live a life split between Paris and Singapore, where she can get the best of both worlds: the charm and inspiration she finds in the City of Lights with the comfort of that comes from when she Balik Kampung. 

Fow now, though, Lee will happily remain in Paris as she works on her business, the one that will hopefully give her that opportunity.