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We speak to the Top Chef Master, who was recently in town cooking at Langham’s Food and Wine Festival
With his smooth skin, tall frame and long hair in a signature ponytail, Susur Lee is hard to miss as he energetically strides into a room. Those who spent time in Toronto or are avid fans of Top Chef Masters will instantly recognise him, as he is one of the top chefs in his adopted Canadian hometown, and did many Asian chefs proud as he finished second to Marcus Samuelsson. So when we heard that the chef would be in town for the Langham Food and Wine Festival, we couldn’t pass up a chance to see if Lee was as much of a culinary ninja as he was portrayed in the show.
Below we get the chef’s thoughts on everything ranging from Tim Ho Wan to his time on Top Chef Masters.
On his first food memory: My favourite thing growing up was going to dim sum with my father at Loong Fung in Mong Kok. Is it still there? I would order the spare ribs with black bean sauce. If I ever make a black bean sauce, it has to taste just like that. A little chilli, not too salty, the beans soaked in water and put in the oven, a little bit garlicky. To this day, I always refer to it as the best Cantonese black bean sauce.
On role models: I used to work in Peking Garden and there was one Cantonese chef who was crippled, with a limp. Yet he could cut and chop so fast. And I said to myself, he’s handicapped and he’s still got a really good skill. That was really inspiring.
On his work ethic: I grew up with Bruce Lee, and all the tacky kung-fu movies and it shaped my mentality. All those guys going up the hill with water and firewood, you got to go through the hard times. Without that, you don’t have the foundation to keep going everyday.
If he had stayed in Hong Kong: I would be a very good technical chef. When I worked in Hong Kong, it was a skills-driven place. Everything was about how to cut things, how to make things perfect. But there was very little creativity. I’d probably have a very good job here but someone would be always telling me what to do and I would have a problem with that.
On opening a restaurant in Hong Kong now: I almost collaborated with Shanghai Tang. When they moved to Duddell Street, they wanted to put in a café. But I realised that Hong Kong is so money-driven. I have a friend, a very good chef who has a restaurant here on Bonham Strand, Fusion 5th Floor. He told me that the cooks here leave a lot, if someone else offered them another ten thousand dollars, they would be out of there. So I’m not sure about opening a restaurant here.
If he weren’t a chef, he’d be: a tailor. I’m fascinated with how they put suits together and how they construct a jacket. I love using my hands. If I weren’t a chef, I’d be a tailor, definitely. If I weren’t a tailor, I’d be a psychiatrist to chefs.
On Top Chef Masters: It is like a sport. It was only about yourself and your performance, not about money or business. I like that, being competitive. Physically, it was tough. They’d film very late at night and by the time you’re finished, it’s 2am and you have to be back at 5.30am. The filming is tiring too, when they say, “Ok let’s do this again. Oh no wait, stop, not ready.” But it’s a great show though the third season was a bit boring.
On restaurants he’s visited this time round: We tried to go to Tim Ho Wan this morning but the line! I was so surprised. This guy must be making a killing.
I visited Yardbird. Matt’s doing a good job. The staff is nice and I like the sake and beers they picked. I love that salad with the eggplant and cucumber and fried shallots, and love the deep-fried cauliflower, the KFC.
Read our interview with Matt Abergel of Yardbird here.
I also ate at Ming Court, it was awesome. I loved the tofu dish. They way he cooks the tofu so thin. He has to turn on the water when he’s cutting the tofu so that it floats.
On why he is in Hong Kong so often: I go to Singapore three times a year so I come through Hong Kong to see my parents. For the past ten years, they keep telling me that they’re dying and that I should come back. My mum always says, “You might not see me next year!”
On future plans: I would love to have a restaurant in Europe, that’d be an interesting challenge. I’d like to show them that Asian food isn’t just cheap and cheerful.
Below, the chef gives us his own snapshots of Mong Kok, taken during his trip here.
