Fresh seafood and roast goose are just some of the homegrown Hong Kong delicacies that get VEA’s chef-owner excited
As part of our series celebrating the vibrancy and community within Hong Kong’s dining scene, we spoke to several of the industry’s leading lights about why they love the city’s unique food culture. Here, Vicky Cheng—chef-owner of Michelin-starred Chinese-French restaurant VEA and newly-opened Chinese fine dining restaurant Wing—reminisces about his go-to place for roast goose and why local seafood never fails to excite him.
Tell us about your favourite Hong Kong food memories.
One of my fondest memories of growing up in Hong Kong is eating tong chung beng, which used to be very popular and every child’s favourite; it’s like a rice-paper crêpe wrap that uses a very specific, technically-made hand-pulled sugar, with coconut and sesame. I left Hong Kong by the age of nine and when I returned after so many years, tong chung beng was no longer popular and wasn’t widely available anymore. That’s why I decided to make my own version at VEA, so I could showcase this memory and share it with my guests.
What are some of your favourite local ingredients to use?
I go shopping a lot in many different markets across Hong Kong; I visit Wan Chai Market daily for beautiful seasonal fruit and vegetables, Ap Lei Chau Market twice a week for local fish and seafood, and Kowloon City Market occasionally for Chiu Chow and Thai ingredients.
I really love local seafood. There is obviously a lot of local produce here, but seafood in general is just something that I truly enjoy exploring—the wild species from the sea, which aren’t grown [in farms] or genetically modified. Exploring this type of seafood, whether it’s fish or shrimp, is very exciting for me because once I discover and taste something new—or new to me, anyway—I get really excited to share these ingredients with my guests.
One fish that I’ve started to use at Wing is lion head croaker; we only opened the restaurant recently, but it’s already become a hit. It’s a small little fish, and if you don’t know how to eat fish, it’s not so easy to eat—but if you do, you’ll really appreciate it. This is something I grew up eating with my grandmother and it’s a type of fish that is very popular in Shanghai. Even the largest of its kind is still maybe only the size of your palm, so it’s something that is very precious—small but delicious, and full of flavour—and every time I see one, it immediately reminds me of my grandmother.