In English, a living room is exactly what it sounds like: a place where life happens. You watch television, unwind after work, or gather with friends. And if you have a guest room, that’s where visitors may spend the night. In Chinese, however, the word for a living room, 客厅 (kè tīng), literally translates to “guest room,” a room for welcoming others into your home.
And then, there’s Cat Family Dinner, a supper club that gives new meaning to the definition of the living room. Guests are invited into the kè tīng of JunJun and Masaki, seated around a table filled with homemade food, and surrounded by people they’ve never met before. Strangers are just friends yet to be made, and at the home of the Cat Family, you’ll experience the power of human connection through one of the best ways possible: sharing a meal together.
RADII recently spoke with JunJun and Masaki, the couple behind the Cat Family Dinner, a community project that has been building since 2024. The pair invites a group of women over every weekend and documents the experience on RedNote. Most evenings revolve around home-cooked meals and free-flowing conversation. Others are organized around themed discussions. One recent gathering centered on the topic “The Many Careers We Can Choose,” and explored women’s experiences in the professional world.
A Living Room of Their Own
The project first took shape after JunJun met Masaki in Qingdao; the two often invited friends over to snack, chat, and pet their cats. “It was a feeling of being accepted, and there wasn’t any social pressure.” Over time, they began to realize that perhaps many more people needed a place where they could simply relax.
So they took to posting on RedNote, inviting strangers—specifically women—to their home. “We were surprised by how much attention it received,” they recall. It confirmed something that they already knew: people were craving spaces where they could connect genuinely and safely.
But there is one important condition: the Cat Family is exclusively for women. Because the gathering takes place in the couple’s home, safety was the first consideration when they opened their doors to strangers. But as the weekly gatherings progressed, the couple realized that “a women-only space offered something beyond just physical security.”
“A lot of girls arrive feeling shy, but they relax just as quickly. We’d talk about work, personal relationships, and everyday mundane things… We want to create a space that is less restrictive and more understanding.
The existence of a women-only space doesn’t mean we emphasize being women. Rather, it means we can finally put that emphasis away. The word ‘cat’ in our name is actually more important. We want people to come here and feel as relaxed as a cat.”
The Space Between Friends and Strangers
That line between friends and strangers has always been blurry, but perhaps even more so today. The internet has made it easier than ever to meet people around the world, but genuine face-to-face interactions can also feel rare. In their effort to explore human connection, the Cat Family Dinner finds itself somewhere between those two realities. And after hosting hundreds of guests, the experience has also reshaped how JunJun and Masaki define relationships.
“Before, we always categorized relationships as either strangers or friends. But after hosting these dinners, we realized that those two labels aren’t enough to describe the nuances of the connections we make at the Cat Family Dinner.”
There are many regulars at the Cat Family home, yet they never communicate regularly outside of the dinner events. “They aren’t friends in the traditional sense,” the hosts explain. “But they’re definitely no longer strangers.”
It’s a kind of relationship that reminds the couple of neighborhood communities from their childhood. “When we were younger, everyone lived close to one another. We weren’t necessarily best friends, but we naturally appeared in each other’s lives.” The Cat Family Dinner recreates that kind of dynamic: “Some girls don’t come often, but when the doorbell rings, we still greet each other as if no time has passed.”
The Taste of Travel
Of course, the Cat Family Dinner would not be complete without food. For JunJun and Masaki, cooking isn’t just about serving dinner; it’s also a way to share stories and spark conversations.
“We love sharing food from other countries. Food is one of the most important aspects of life and culture. Every time we travel, we always make it a point to visit local markets, buy local ingredients and spices, and ask locals for cooking tips. After we come back, we always share ‘the taste of travel’ with everyone.”
One of their favorite memories was preparing a Nepalese-inspired meal for guests. “Everyone ate the curry with their hands. It was such a simple and intimate way to experience another culture.” Alongside dishes inspired by their travels, the couple also regularly serves Taiwanese specialties and experiments with regional Chinese cuisines.
The Room for Guests and Beyond
As for the future, JunJun and Masaki have little interest in turning the Cat Family Dinner into a large-scale business concept. Instead, they hope to deepen its roots in Qingdao, bringing the Cat Family beyond the living room to beaches, parks, and other corners of the city where new experiences and conversations can unfold.
What has been even more rewarding, however, is seeing former guests recreate similar gatherings in their own hometowns. “The Cat Family Dinner started with two girls inviting strangers into their home with the warmest welcome. If more people create spaces like this in different cities and living rooms, that’s a beautiful continuation.”
The Cat Family Dinner is an exploration of human connections disguised as a dinner party. We regularly eat with family, friends, or colleagues; rarely do we sit down for a family-style dinner with complete strangers. There is a vulnerability in that experience, but also an unexpected sense of safety. Sometimes it’s easier to share parts of yourself with people whom you will likely never meet again. And somewhere along the way through the evening, that distinction between stranger and friend begins to blur.
If you find yourself in Qingdao looking for a truly unique experience, the Cat Family Dinner has a seat waiting for you. It might not be Michelin-starred, but the conversation and connections will be every bit as memorable as the delicious meal itself.
All images courtesy of JunJun and Masaki.
