One overseas diner told me that he was not going to come back to Hong Kong, but after visiting my restaurant he saw that there was more to our city than he originally thought, and he would therefore be back. That made me proud.
A lot of people who come to my restaurant bring their parents over because it brings back good memories.
For me, cooking is practical. That's the core of an engineer. Engineers are very practical designers and creative people. Every single thing I create has to have a purpose.
When I first got two stars, I didn't think I deserved it. Now I have three I think I am worthy.
I take whatever I can get with grace.
I like using Pat Chun in several ways but the most common one is to pair with tomatoes and Chinese preserved olives because of its sweet taste. I turn it into a sort of Chinese balsamic.
If you only use rich and luxurious ingredients, you end up with excess.
There always needs to be some excitement and some peace and quiet - otherwise you'll have a heart attack.
Lowbrow ingredients don't equal inexpensive or not tasty food. In fact, it requires even more skill to make something simple into something spectacular.
All my dishes are engineered.
The Brits like to see their local chefs do well - when a foreign chef comes in - even Joel Robuchon - they are harshly critical.
Just because it tastes good in Hong Kong, it doesn't necessarily translate elsewhere.
Engineers are very logical and everything has to be tested so when we fail, we'll know why and how to improve things.
Engineers don't have that sixth sense where we can just toss in things here and there like many chefs.
I like a lot of things but I am diabetic so I have to be careful with sugars.
As I have to have low-sugar foods, I eat more berries, dragonfruit and kiwis. Aside from that, my go-to sweet treat is Chinese dessert soups.
It's not that hard to make good food.
Hong Kong never had prestige. It's gone from fishing village to where it is today.
Being a scientist/engineer by nature, I approach everything as a problem.
Talent in cooking can be described as skill, creativity, your instincts, how do you approach a problem.
