For our fifth anniversary celebration, we teamed up with Pam to create a menu that explores the distinct flavors, textures and colors of Vietnam.

Pam Yung is someone we admire as a chef, baker, and traveler and are lucky to call a friend. We have fond memories of Pam’s visit to Vietnam in October 2017 when we had the opportunity to share with her some of what we love about Vietnam. We hope to share a bit of that with you tonight guided by Pam’s unique vision, tastes and talents.

Some of the ingredients Pam is working with tonight come from the hometowns of our team based in Saigon:

Lotus Seeds, Diên Khánh
Turmeric, Cam Ranh
Pepper, Bình Phước
Mountain Mushrooms, Sa Pa
Ô-mai, Mộc Châu

Using Vietnamese dried fruit and spices -- including some sourced directly from the hometowns of our Vietnam studio team -- Pam has created a delicious, interactive spread of her freshly baked bread and small bites paired with organic wine.

About Pam Yung

Pamela Yung most recently was the co-owner and baker/pastry chef of 1-Michelin-starred Semilla, a modern vegetable-forward restaurant in Brooklyn, NY.

At Semilla, the creative thrust was motivated by the desire to create a more sustainable restaurant - minimizing waste, buying from like-minded small producers, and promoting a delicious vegetable-forward approach to eating. It meant working from scratch as much as possible: freshly milled grains for bread-baking, housemade dairy cultures, preserves and ferments. This provided a distinctive flavor pantry from which to work from, that informed every item on the menu.

In November 2016, Pam Yung parted ways with her partner and the restaurant, to embark on an exploratory journey. This resulted in collaborations with other like-minded creative cohorts around the world, from building a community earth oven in Sicily, to wood-fired cooking in the Yucatan, to exploring medicinal plants and chocolate production in the Peruvian Amazon and Bali.

Florals by FDK Florals

Elevated Phalaenopsis Orchids w/clear acrylic base, exposed roots coated with Ground Turmeric and blooms with dusting of Mung Bean Powder and Lotus Root Powder, by Fernando D. Kabigting of FDK Florals.

A Letter from KAAREM

October 25, 2018

We started KAAREM* over five years ago with the intention of creating something that connected with our values, upbringing and communities. This anniversary has provided us with an opportunity to reflect upon our experiences in building and growing with Kaarem and we wanted to share more of our story with you.

Blind Hem Stitch
The blind hem stitch is a traditional technique incorporated into how we construct most of our pieces. From traditional dyes to doing our patternmaking by hand, we find value in traditional production methods, and craft. While we have not highlighted the handcrafted qualities in our pieces, we believe it’s a way our pieces have connected with people, whether they are aware of it or not.

Nature
We continue to find inspiration by learning about the complex structures, systems and processes in natures. Seemingly simple and perhaps obvious to some, we love digging deeper to learn how things work and to find ways to connect with what we find.

Studio
We are proud to have developed a production studio focused on craft. We have honed a process over the years that focuses on crafting well-made pieces from the inside out while always caring deeply about the piece as a whole. We have worked with and helped train a talented team who design, sew, cut, and craft by hand our collections season after season. Please come visit next time you’re in Saigon.

Roots
Growing our production studio in Saigon has connected and reconnected us to the hometown of our families. Sharing our experiences of what we knew and now know of Vietnam is an integral part of what we do.

Communities
Our communities have grown from California to New York and back and forth to Vietnam. We have collaborated with friends, both old and new, and continue to be inspired by the warmth, generosity and creativity of the people we get to work with everyday. We appreciate all of the friends, family, partners, collaborators and customers who have been with us every step of the way.

Thank you for being part of our community and sharing this journey with us.

With love and gratitude,

Kathy and Chuong


*Our name comes from the phonetic way of our parents generation would pronounce crème. It’s an anachronistic way of saying ice cream in Vietnamese.

We'd like to give a special thanks to friends, family, partners, collaborators, and customers who have been with us every step of the way.