Cover Chef Ang Song Kang announces closure of Chef Kang’s Private Kitchen on October 10 (Photo: Courtesy of Ang Song Kang)
Chef Ang Song Kang announces closure of Chef Kang’s Private Kitchen on October 10 (Photo: Courtesy of Ang Song Kang)
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Before the doors shut on October 10, the eponymous founder and chef Ang Song Kang, will serve his acclaimed signatures for only two tables a night
Averaging month-long wait lists, Chef Kang’s Private Kitchen is touted as one of the hardest tables to book in Singapore. But while the one-Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant is a force to be reckoned with in the local culinary sphere, it will soon be a thing of the past and into the history books.
Even with fervent fanfare, the lack of a successor ultimately precipitated chef Ang Song Kang’s decision to hang up his knives in exchange for some well-deserved time for himself and his family. The decision did not come on a whim for Ang when he shared with Tatler Dining that he “thought about it for over two years.”
Above Chef Ang Song Kang, who is also affectionately known as Chef Kang, is also a fine wine connoisseur
Chef Ang Song Kang, who is also affectionately known as Chef Kang, is also a fine wine connoisseur
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“I can feel that I am getting older and I don’t have the same stamina as before, I knew it was time for me to take it slow and enjoy life a little,” he relents. For the uninitiated, Ang is a prolific Cantonese chef, rich with experience garnered from cutting his teeth in traditional Cantonese kitchens over three decades. Each night, only three lucky tables, merry with hungry diners and loyal patrons, are being served.
Ang is known for his insistence on using the freshest ingredients, preparing them with finesse and his utmost respect for traditional Cantonese cooking. One of his signature flair dishes, also the most memorable, is the exemplary slow braised marble goby soup. It arrives bubbling hot in a stone pot, swimming with large chunks of fried fish that are irresistibly moist and flaky, while the collagen-rich broth, naturally sweetened with vegetables, drinks creamy but never unctuous.
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Other close runner-ups are the Cantonese-style steam patin fish, skilfully coaxed off its delicate flavours in tandem with superior soy sauce and chunky pork lard; the lusciously charred tender roast meats, especially the caramelised barbecue pork; and the ultra-addictive strips of prawn paste pork belly. Speaking on his fondest pinnacle moment during his career, he reveals that “it was the day [I] got my Michelin star back in 2017 and have maintained it until today.”
Ang now looks forward most to “things he hasn’t had time to do in the last 30 years”, such as going on holiday together with his wife, where they plan to visit Japan, as well as catching up with old friends and walking his dog. From now till the doors permanently shut on October 10, Ang, in appreciation of all the support throughout the years, will only cook for two tables each night. And it is no surprise that reservations are already beginning to fill up fast.
