Our Story
Crafted with Love, Spiced with Memory
Shum Like it Hot XO Chilli Oil began, in our home kitchen in Hong Kong. It started not as a business idea, but as a demonstration of love.
One of us has always loved chilli oil over everything, a spoonful over noodles, a drizzle on eggs, an extra flavour kick stirred into fried rice. The other wanted to share something meaningful, something that carried the flavours and memories of his childhood in Hong Kong. Inspired by the umami-rich XO Chilli sauces of Hong Kong, traditionally slow-cooked with dried seafood, aromatics and patience and eaten with dim sum or as an accompaniment to traditional Cantonese cuisine. A special version was created at home.
Food is how we show love. We cook for gatherings, birthdays, for celebrations, for comfort, for no reason at all. We cook to bring people together.
Over the years together, this XO chilli oil became part of our story. We brought it to dinner parties, we wrapped it and gifted it to family and friends. Each time, we received such generous compliments and requests for more.
Then in 2024 life carried us from Hong Kong to the UK. We embraced a new country, new home, new influences and new traditions. But we deeply missed the flavours of home, the depth of Hong Kong cooking, and the dishes that shaped our childhood and growing up. Though we blend our Chinese and British heritage our cooking remains rooted in Asian tradition. Our gatherings are still centred around food and the dinner table. There is always something on the stove, something being shared, something passed from hand to hand.
Shum Like it Hot XO Chilli Oil is how we hold on to the tastes of Hong Kong and the joy of sharing food together. From our home and our table to yours — we hope you like it hot.
