A pioneer of Chinese fine dining, Danny Yip is behind The Chairman, which was crowned no. 1 on the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2021 list—the first Chinese restaurant to earn the honour. It was also the first Chinese restaurant to reach the top 10 in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in the same year. For this achievement, and for “changing how Cantonese cuisine is perceived on the world stage”, Yip was also given the Icon Award—Asia from the Asia's 50 Best Academy in 2024.

The Chairman seems an unlikely candidate for the honour: located in a Sheung Wan back street, it’s a low-key, family-style restaurant with unflashy decor, a short wine list and a generally unpretentious feel. Instead of bells and whistles, the focus is firmly on the food, putting a twist on tradition with a creative menu of updated Cantonese classics, and placing the emphasis on ultra-fresh ingredients—the restaurant even has its own Hong Kong farm.

Yip originally worked as a restaurateur in Australia, setting up a group of Asian restaurants in Canberra including Chairman & Yip, which he left in 1997 but which still exists today. He then departed the restaurant business, declaring that he couldn’t make real money from it, and set up Tradeeasy, an international trading platform for small and medium-sized companies. The lure of the F&B trade proved too much, to the ongoing delight of discerning Hong Kong diners.