The executive chef at French fine dining restaurant Le Pan in Hong Kong shares his love of local Singapore fare, and the hawker stalls and cooked food centres he visits to indulge in it when he’s back home
Originally from Penang, Edward Voon left Malaysia when he was just a teenager to seek work in the kitchens of Singapore. Here, he found a position at the Mandarin Oriental, which proved to be the start of a successful culinary career that would take him to Hong Kong where he worked as private chef to billionaire businessman Pan Sutong.
Following that, Voon finally fulfilled a dream he’d had for a while, to open his own restaurant, Le Pan in Hong Kong's Kowloon Bay. While his focus here is on contemporary French cuisine, Voon nevertheless has a deep affinity for the food of Singapore.
“I love the diversity of cultures and flavours that we have in Singapore, and of course the hawker stalls, which the Singapore Government has maintained and promoted as tourist attractions. It’s like eating in the dai pai dongs in Hong Kong––a fast-track to understanding the local food culture,” says Voon, who highlights some of the hawker stalls he heads to when he’s home and the ones he makes sure any visitors he’s with have to try.
See also: Hawker Food In Singapore: How Young Chefs Are Ensuring Its Survival
What do you miss most on the food and drink front when you are away from Singapore or haven’t been back for a while?
The palate-tingling flavours and powerful aromas of ferocious curries and fiery chilli dishes. I grew up with these, and while you don’t generally find them in fine-dining environments, I like to use the bold ingredients of my childhood in nuanced and unexpected ways in my contemporary cuisine at Le Pan in Hong Kong. And believe it or not, I’ve been away so long now that I also miss the rain—Singapore’s daily downpours are intense, invigorating and inspiring!
What is the first dish you eat when you return and where do you go for it?
It’s a toss-up between Hainanese chicken rice and bak chor mee. I head to the food centre in Hill Street, which is near my home there. You cannot beat the buzz of spicy food washed down with cold beer in the balmy night air.
See also: Tastemakers Share Their Favourite Local Food In Singapore And Where They Get It