The Hong Kong-based chef shares the places he goes to find his favourite local flavours in Singapore, and explains how he is recreating them in Hong Kong at new restaurant Can Lah
For more than 30 years, Singaporean chef Francis Chong Wui-choong, has honed his culinary skills, particularly when it comes to delivering the true flavours of his native cuisine. With 20 years under his belt working at the historic Long Beach Seafood Restaurant (UDMC) in Singapore, he can claim expert knowledge of some of Singapore’s most beloved national dishes, such as chilli crab and black pepper crab.
Yet despite gaining such a high reputation in his homeland, Chong decided to leave to bring crowd-pleasing Singaporean favourites to Hong Kongers, launching Can Lah restaurant in April. Here, he delivers Singaporean and Malaysian delights characterised by strong, spicy flavours. One of his highlights is the classic crab bee hoon. “It is the best-selling dish so far,” says Chong. “The soup base has been boiled for eight hours with tons of fresh ingredients including red-spotted sea crabs and chicken. The soup base is so sweet and milky, even better than Singapore’s! There’s a limited quantity prepared and served each day as the ingredients––and even the amount of water used––are precisely calculated.”
The crab bee hoon and other dishes at Can Lah serve to deliver a taste of home for the chef, who has struggled to find truly authentic flavours of Singapore in Hong Kong. But Singapore remains best for his favourite local fare and there are plenty of places that he yearns to return to when he’s next able to go home. Here, he shares his top picks.
See also: Where Do The Top 20 Chefs In Singapore Go For Their Hawker Fix?
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?
Francis Chong (FC) For drinks, I miss kopi the most. Part of my routine is to have a cup of coffee before work every morning. For food, I miss the vast selection of breakfast food in Singapore. As a multi-ethnic society, you can easily find a variety of Asian cuisine there, such as nasi lemak, char kway teow, or Hokkien mee. All of these are common breakfast dishes that I long for.
What is the first dish you eat when you return and where do you go for it?
FC Once I am back in Singapore, the dish that I crave is crab bee hoon. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction. There are two restaurants that I rate, one is East Treasure Chinese Restaurant, and the other is Mellben Seafood, both of which are famous for their crab dishes.