Fam and Wong, who are part of a wave of new-generation Chinese chefs, come from different cooking backgrounds. Hailing from Malaysia, Fam graduated from Flamingo Institute of Hotel Catering in Kuala Lumpur before cutting his teeth as junior chef in the famed Raffles Hotel in Singapore. He joined City of Dreams in Macau a decade ago and has been instrumental in paving the way for its Chinese restaurants Pearl Dragon and Jade Dragon to achieve one and three-Michelin-star accolades respectively.
Later, he joined the opening team of Morpheus as its executive chef. Born in 1985, he is the youngest executive chef in the Melco Resorts & Entertainment Group, which runs City of Dreams.
On the other hand, Wong, who is from Hong Kong, started out as a chef in Hong Kong restaurant group Maxim's in the 1990s. Later, he worked at Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, before rising to become one of the head chefs at Howard’s Gourmet in Hong Kong in 2015. Wong also led the team to expand Howard’s Gourmet in Beijing. Equipped with close to 20 years of culinary experiences, he is the chef de cuisine of Yi.
Fam and Wong started working together last year to bring out the uniqueness of Yi’s cuisine. The dishes change daily as they are centred around fresh seasonal ingredients. Diners can only find out about the dishes when they arrive at the table, saving them the hassle of deciding what to eat and giving a pleasant surprise at the table.
This May, these three chefs will showcase their culinary prowess at the International Chef Showcase, which is part of The MICHELIN Guide Hong Kong Macau Dining Series. The chefs share more about their upcoming collaboration here.
Lau: They are a great opportunity to learn, not only about a variety of cuisines and ingredients, but also build up teamwork and organization within one’s own kitchen. It is a nice break from daily routine and allow us to step back and absorb the valuable in-depth cultural experiences that you don’t experience as a tourist.
Fam & Wong: As our menu changes daily at Yi, our work is a continuous collaboration. There is a constant exchange of ideas, which is crucial to our style of contemporary Chinese cuisine here. These collaborations provide us a new platform to learn. We are given the opportunity to uncover new techniques, preparation methods, and discover new ingredients which we may not be familiar with. This is very exciting for us.
2. How do you usually select your six-hands partner?
Lau: We usually select a partner who has a similar culinary philosophy for the best synergy. As for our cuisine, it can sometimes be very interesting to combine different styles of food.
Fam & Wong: Familiarity of culinary philosophies plays an important role. Our culinary backgrounds all began with classical French training, but it is exciting to see how this training is being used to put a spin on traditional Chinese cuisine in different yet complementary ways.
Lau: It is my dream to cook alongside Yi, a modern fine dining Chinese restaurant with a lot of soul. I love their philosophy of always finding the freshest seasonal ingredients in the market every morning, which is a lost tradition in modern restaurants. Chefs Wilson and Angelo put in that extra mile and care into their cuisine, and it shows.
Fam & Wong: Vicky is a remarkable chef whose accomplishments in the culinary scene are second to none. Her dishes are elaborate and detailed, and you can clearly see the passion and creativity that goes into each dish.
4. Share with us what can diners expect from this six-hands menu?
Lau: The menu has been designed to showcase the best of both of our worlds; Tate Dining Room’s signature Chinese-French ‘edible stories’ alongside Yi’s contemporary Chinese gastronomy. I think this menu is a fantastic reflection of the work of next-generation Chinese chefs, who strive to enhance familiar flavours and ingredients with brilliant interpretations.
Fam & Wong: The menu has been designed to highlight the best of both worlds. It is a new-wave approach to showcasing the flavours and ingredients of Chinese cuisine.
5. Share with us one tip for guests to enjoy this six-hands collaboration to the fullest?
Lau: Sit back, relax, have an open mind and do not forget to order our tea-pairing menu.
Fam & Wong: Sit back and allow yourselves to be pleasantly surprised by the flavours and service.
Chefs Wilson Fam and Angelo Wong of Yi and chef Vicky Lau of TATE Dining Room will jointly host an eight-course dinner at Yi in Morpheus Hotel in Macau's City of Dreams on May 3 & 4. This collaboration is part of the the International Chef Showcase by The MICHELIN Guide Hong Kong Macau Dining Series. The dinner will be accompanied by wines selected by Robert Parker Wine Advocate that have a minimum rating of 90 points each. Tea pairing is also available.
Click here for more information and to make reservations.
This story is written by Mandy Li and translated by Kenneth Goh. Click here to read the original article.
