Tell us more about your background and culinary journey.
I grew up in a village in Lim Chu Kang, where my family had a small vegetable farm and reared some poultry. Since young, I was exposed to various traditional Chinese cooking styles and recipes handed down from generations within my family. I remember enjoying and learning classic Teochew dishes with my grandmother from Chao Shan, China, and homemade dishes such as thunder tea rice and yong tau foo with my mother of Hakka descent. Back in the day, children had to help with household chores, and I was the kitchen assistant to my sisters since I was about seven years old. After finishing my secondary education in 1984, I joined Kirin Court Seafood Restaurant with a group of friends as kitchen apprentices, hoping to pick up a skill before we enlisted in the army. That was when my passion for cooking and Chinese cuisine was ignited, which led me to return to Kirin Court after completing my National Service in 1988.
30 years ago, being an apprentice chef in a traditional Chinese restaurant was not an easy feat. We had to show our eagerness to learn, and take initiative to consult senior chefs during our breaks, while performing our duties and picking up skills from all departments, which include dim sum, roasts, soups and stir-frys amongst others. I was working at least 16 hours every day – it was a tough but meaningful period for me. After a few years, I was the only one in our initial group of nine friends who persevered on. My first mentor, Executive Chef Zhou Zhong Han of Kirin Court Seafood Restaurant, played an instrumental role in moulding my character and shaping me as a chef. He was one of the last few standing Hong Kong culinary maestros who started cooking professionally from a tender age of 12 or 13 years old, and held very strict and high standards in the kitchen. Nonetheless, he was patient in guiding young chefs like myself. As I carry the baton forward as a chef and mentor today, I know I owe it all to him.
After leaving Kirin Court Seafood Restaurant, I joined Noble House Restaurant in 1992 as a Kitchen Assistant, and continued to refine my culinary techniques and share my knowledge with many aspiring chefs like myself for the next 18 years. In 2010, I was presented with a lifetime opportunity to be part of the opening team Marina Bay Sands as its Sous Chef for the casino’s Ruby Lounge. Today, I lead a team of 17 culinary staff to oversee Fatt Choi Hotpot’s daily operations as Senior Sous Chef.
What is your culinary philosophy?
One principle that I hold close to my heart is my mentor’s teaching on the importance of culinary ethics (厨德). As a chef, it is important that every dish we serve is consistent and prepared with sincerity. Our badge of responsibility is to serve only the best ingredients, treat them with respect, and present every dish with a spirit of excellence.
What makes Fatt Choi Hotpot different from other Chinese restaurants? What are the must-try dishes?
Fatt Choi Hotpot is an all-day eatery which offers Asian delicacies and local delights. We serve comfort food and nostalgic dishes that people would be familiar with. Our menu extends from local dishes such as curry chicken and Bak Kut Teh, to braised meats such as our signature braised spicy pig trotter and mushrooms, as well as a selection of daily double-boiled soups. My favourites are the double-boiled herbal black chicken soup, and the double-boiled chicken and pork rib cordyceps soup, both of which are my personal recipes. These soups are deceptively easy to make, but they are the true test of a Cantonese chef’s culinary skills. We have to carefully consider the combination of ingredients used, learn to balance the nourishing benefits of every herb and ingredient, and maintain good control on the heat during the boiling process.
Another signature offering at Fatt Choi Hotpot is our personalised steamboat sets. We offer four choices of soup base daily, with a selection of more than 25 fresh ingredients. Our best sellers are the tom yum soup, pork bone soup, and herbal chicken soup. Although these are sold at wallet-friendly prices, our soups are made with quality ingredients and prepared with care by my team of chefs. For example, the pork bone soup has a flavourful, milky consistency which is achieved by simmering premium pork bones and collagen-rich ingredients such as chicken feet and pork skin, for a minimum of eight hours.
How do you create new dishes that will keep surprising your guests at Fatt Choi?
Each month, we offer an exclusive soup base made in-house from scratch using fresh quality produce. Guests love our soups for their natural flavours, nourishing benefits and great value. My team experiments with different ingredients and combinations, and one of my favourites is the tea tree mushroom soup (茶树菇汤). Tea tree mushrooms are rich in amino acids, packed with nourishing properties, and are perfect for soups as they exude a pure scent with intense earthy flavours. My team is always on the lookout for such seasonal produce that we can use to create new surprises for our guests.
How do you go the extra mile to surprise and delight guests?
To me, it is important for chefs to create that personal connection with guests, to tell the stories behind our dishes and get their feedback. This is how we keep improving to deliver dishes which appeal to their palates. I make my rounds every day to talk to guests and observe if they are enjoying the food. I’ve met guests who are passionate about cooking, and we often share our favourite recipes and ingredients to work with. These lively interactions make us all feel at home, which is why our regulars return to Fatt Choi Hotpot time and again.
