For Lau, the process of art and design is not far off from that of cooking. “You think of a concept and then you start grabbing things around you—be it paper, food or whatever—and you create something with it. With design, texture and colour are considered. It’s the same with food, only there’s the dimension of taste too.”

Now, over a decade into her culinary career, Lau is internationally known for her impressive artistry, illustrating her creative finesse at Tate with exquisitely executed haute cuisine. It is at Mora and with Ān, however, where she delves deeper into one of her favourite subjects of study: soy.

“It was the texture that really excited me,” says Lau, beaming. “I’ve never encountered an ingredient that can be so versatile in terms of texture. From a liquid, it can be creamy and soft or hard like meat. We really couldn’t come up with another ingredient that can do that. It was our ‘aha’ moment.

“The sustainability side drew me in too. During Covid, I realised how spoiled we were, shipping everything in from all over the world. Then it suddenly became a huge problem and we had to source everything locally.

“Plus, soy is something that is very interesting to develop,” she adds excitedly.

As she begins to speak more quickly, Lau’s quiet demeanour dissolves slightly, revealing an intensely inquisitive mind. “I read about this professor who genetically reengineered soybeans to replenish soil,” she says, referring to Lam Hon-ming from The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Life Sciences, who developed a stress-tolerant soybean that can grow on dry, nutrient-deprived lands. Not only does the crop enrich the soil but it also enables farmers to increase yield and therefore income. “In agriculture, you usually need to allow soil to rest after you farm something, but his research means you can use soybeans [for crop rotation or to be grown alongside other crops] to fertilise and restore soil. If we have a pandemic with animals one day, we will need to lean on this.”

A form of cultural pride, her epicurean crusade to “make tofu great again” is only beginning. “There’s still so much to explore,” Lau says when asked about other soy endeavours she might have. “I’m going to be working more on food development and then we’re going to have a pop-up at Landmark [the luxury shopping complex in Central] for our soy milk in February. Then I hope to create something more casual, a grab-and-go kind of thing.” 

This impassioned outline of future plans is a far cry from Lau’s early professional style. “At the beginning, I was working on my own a lot instead of as a team, and I wouldn’t be able to communicate. I’m quite shy. I still am with greeting guests ... it’s a bit embarrassing. Growing up in a Chinese household, we didn’t really talk much, so it’s hard, but I’m better at it now and will work on it some more.”

Lau admits that she initially found it tiresome to be asked repeatedly about her gender. “It was never what I intended but being a ‘female chef’ became a thing. Now [I feel that], being a woman, I do have a mission to do well, so in a way, it pushes me. And I do want others to see that, oh, she has a daughter and has a normal life, and she can have her own business and be a chef.

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“I think a lot of people think of me as serious because my cuisine is quite meticulous, but I have a fun and crazy side that comes out after a few drinks,” she says, laughing as if replaying a memory in her head. “Then, there’s the spiritual side of me, which I’ve explored more recently.”

Lau, who is a firm believer in the benefits of daily meditation, further sees the spirituality inherent in food. “We take an ingredient and we play with it, transferring energy, and then we give it to someone to eat. That’s why some people say that when you’re not happy, and on a low frequency, you’ll incorporate that into the food and it won’t taste good.

“Sometimes when I want the food to taste really good, I will talk to the food in my mind ... and I imagine a pink light,” she pauses, and asks if this sounds too “woo woo” before continuing. “I think about that light going into the dish before I serve it. It makes me feel good and I just hope the person on the receiving end can feel that too.”

As for what the future might bring, “I want to create better dishes, explore more local ingredients and different flavour combinations,” she says. “I also want to make Hong Kong proud of its cuisine and for the city to do better. I feel quite sad that a lot of people have left. Over the past ten years, we have developed the foundations and now we will keep building on that. “I’m really focused on my daughter too. I just want to nurture her to be the best person she’s meant to be. She’s six, enjoys cooking and has a very picky palate. I make her lunchboxes twice a week and she gives me a review every time.”

Her long list of goals seems to grow as she speaks, and she adds enthusiastically: “It would be great to create something where everything is made from scratch—from the table, cutlery, glass and chairs—and serve it all outdoors, very naturally. I also want to do one crazy dinner with live music and performances. It’s not something you can do every day because you will go crazy, but maybe before I retire ...” which, she clarifies—and Hong Kong gourmands will breathe a sigh of relief—“is not any time soon.”

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Lau shared this recipe, which can be easily replicated at home, so Tatler readers can taste her “exploration of soy”.

Ingredients

Apricot kernel soy milk

• 45g (approximately 31⁄2 tbsp) sweet apricot kernels
• 8g (approximately 2 tsp) bitter apricot kernels
• 200ml water 225ml soy milk 2.5 tbsp sugar

Steamed pudding

• 400ml Chinese apricot kernel soy milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• Seasonal fruit compôte (shop-bought, or make it yourself with fresh/frozen fruit cooked with sugar)

Method

1. Make Chinese apricot kernel soy milk: place kernels in a non-reactive container and fill with water to soak overnight.
2. Place the water and kernels—which should have softened—into a blender and blitz on a high setting until the mixture is smooth.
3. Pass the mixture through a fine strainer into a saucepan, then add soy milk and sugar. Gently warm through until the sugar is completely melted.
4. Make steamed pudding: strain egg yolk and white through a fine strainer into the soy milk mixture. Stir gently to combine, being careful not to create any foam.
5. Steam at 80°C (or high heat setting) for 45 minutes until set.
6. Allow to cool, top with fruit compôte and enjoy.