Chefs Darren Chang and Travis Masar are the Pig and the Tiger at Pig and Tiger, a new Taiwanese Night Market restaurant in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood.

The two friends recognized that their love of Asian cuisine complemented each other’s personalities well after meeting in Los Angeles in 2018.

“Pigs and tigers, they’re the best working relationships in the Chinese zodiacs,” Masar said. “After we met, we just got along really well.”

Their desire to put the Pig and Tiger concept in place in Colorado began to grow, but timing spoiled their plan at first via the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was supposed to move back to Denver in March 2020, and (then) the whole world shut down, and I was stuck in LA,” Chang said. “Around late May, he reached out to me, but all prospects of moving back to Denver and opening a restaurant were kind of just on hold.”

However, in the end Pig and Tiger’s start was fortuitous.

“A friend of mine, Steve Redzikowski with Oak, said, ‘hey, Avanti’s opening up in Boulder. Would you like to do your concept up there and get started?’,” Masar said. “From there, the rest is history.”

From their start in Boulder as a food stall to their move to Denver, Masar and Chang chose the Five Points neighborhood for simple reasons.

 “We didn’t want to just be a destination restaurant. We wanted to be a neighborhood restaurant. We wanted it to be for everybody,” Masar said.

Pig and Tiger has been open since August, and as Masar said, has begun establishing itself as a place where people “can not only come in for a drink at the bar and grab a couple of dumplings, but can also come in with the family if a child has a peanut allergy or if they just want to try some noodles.”

WHAT IS PIG AND TIGER ALL ABOUT

Masar and Chang have created a menu that has balance — a Yin and Yang approach — to the Taiwanese dishes at Pig and Tiger.

Masar connects his Eastern European heritage and love for Asian cuisine with Chang’s Taiwanese heritage and family recipes, bringing balance to the offerings.

Taiwanese food draws bits of influence from all across the globe, such as Portugal, Japan, China and even the U.S.

“Noodles themselves in Taiwan really didn’t become a thing until the 60s and 70s when Americans started importing flour to them,” Masar said. “Then with the Japanese, the biggest one is rice. We use a short-grain rice here because that’s what they use in Taiwan.”

Masar said he’ll take European influence from, say, a Polish pierogi or Italian ravioli but “Asian” it some to match Pig and Tiger’s theme.

“So instead of cheese, we use tofu that we season, then press it, and then we crumble it into our dumpling,” Masar said.

Recommended menu items at Pig and Tiger:

• Taiwanese Fried Chicken – (half chicken, Thai basil, p&t house spice, hot honey) – a Taiwanese classic reimagined; this version transforms the traditional cutlet into a crispy half-bird
• Cold Sesame Noodle (rotating local vegetable, cilantro, chili oil) – a true union of the chef duo; this traditional dish was a staple in Chang’s home, while this specific recipe is one Masar has crafted over the last decade of his career
• Chili Wontons – (shrimp, pork, zha cai, chili sauce, cilantro) – made without broth, or “dry style,” the wontons are tossed in a house soy and chili sauce, before being finished with fresh cracked maqaw “black” pepper that the chefs import from Taiwan––it’s commonly known as Taiwan Mountain Pepper and used by Taiwan’s indigenous Atayal tribe
• Saucy Pork Noodles (Zhajiangmian – pork ragu, cucumbers, pickle, cilantro) – one of Chang’s grandmother’s most coveted recipes, where chefs rotate in Colorado’s best seasonal ingredients
• Shaved Ice (almond panna cotta, pineapple three ways) – five-year-old Chang’s favorite shaved ice combo — almond Jello and pineapple — takes on new form, a nostalgic pairing he still orders to this day

Masar and Chang are constantly thinking about their food offerings as well and how they pair with drinks.

“Sometimes you order a bottle of wine and you’re just drinking it and you’re like, ‘well, this is such a great wine and the food is great, but none of it works’,” Masar said.

Most of Pig and Tiger’s red wines are served slightly chilled, which according to Masar, pairs better with the spicier foods.

“The same thing (approach) with our drinks program is you have either like the bao bing sour being more high acidic and so that’s going to cut through the richness of the braised pork rice dish,” Masar said.

Masar said he thinks Pig and Tiger is a great place that people in Denver will like to come eat at, especially in the winter, and check out a different approach to Asian food.

“It’s hard to want to go out when it’s cold, but providing the food that you know is warming and nurturing at the same time, well there’s just no other.”

Pig and Tiger has a holiday dinner planned for Christmas Eve and reservations (required) can be made here. The cost is $80/person.

Christmas Eve Dinner includes:

Food menu:

• Five courses, including dessert, will be served family-style (able to accommodate vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free guests)
• Supplemental add-on: Peking-style Roasted Duck Breast for $35 (serves two).

Drink pairings:

• Wine Pairings: $35 per person (includes three glasses of wine and one dessert cocktail.)
• Supplemental Wine Pairing: $15 to accompany the duck add-on.
• Non-Alcoholic (N/A) Pairings: $25 per person (mainly features N/A cocktails, with a sparkling tea for the first course.)

One food experience coming up in 2026 will be a Taiwanese breakfast.

Masar said historically in Taiwan, it was imperative to eat a quick, carb-heavy breakfast to sustain workers through a full day’s work in rice or sugar plantations, where they often went without lunch breaks.

“Breakfast remains the country’s most important meal of the day, a beautiful tradition that captures the daily comfort and rhythm of Taiwanese culture,” he said.

Three things in common with every Taiwanese breakfast: It’s warming, carb-heavy and grab-and-go for convenience.

The country’s clock revolves around soy milk, youtiao (a churro-shaped, donut-like pastry), fan tuan (sticky rice roll with crispy fried dough, savory pork floss, and preserved veg) and dan bing (a crepe-like omelet filled with anything from ham, corn, cheese, scallions, or pork floss, rolled up and sliced for quick, easy eating).

Pig and Tiger will be launching their interpretation of a Taiwanese breakfast in early 2026.

Pig and Tiger is located at 2200 California Street in Denver.

The restaurant is open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 5-9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5-10 p.m. It’s closed on Monday and Tuesday.