37

Wing

Hong Kong

Traditional French meets modern Chinese from one of Hong Kong’s finest

On the Pass

Vicky Cheng

What’s the story? Vicky Cheng never imagined he’d open a Chinese restaurant. After spending his early career training in traditional French fare and aspiring to the likes of Daniel Boulud, whom he worked for in New York, it wasn’t until he returned to his birth city of Hong Kong a decade ago that he started to take notice of Cantonese cuisine. Even then, he built his reputation plating modern European food at the likes of Liberty Private Works and Vea.

Shaping his style: Appearing on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking every year from 2019 to 2021, Vea is where Cheng started developing his unique blend of Cantonese and French cooking, learning the fundamentals of the food of his heritage and introducing diners to ingredients such as fish maw, sea cucumber and abalone.

Doubling up: Cheng then opened his flagship, Wing, in 2021, one floor directly below his former kitchen at Vea and he now shuttles between the two each night. Wing is his personal interpretation of the eight great Chinese cuisines, grounded in tradition but with touches of modernity sprinkled throughout. Half of the elegant restaurant is dedicated to private dining rooms.

What will I eat? The seasonal tasting menu is updated regularly depending on what Cheng finds at the local market, which he visits each morning. Many dishes show off the knife skills expected from Chinese chefs and may include smoked eggplant in Cheng’s sour sauce, or delicate and bouncy rolls of Alaskan king crab cheung fun. This is food best enjoyed in groups of four or more.

Drink different: The wine list contains marquee French labels, but ask the sommelier for advice on the right Chinese wine or baijiu, a distilled liquor, to go with the meal.

Contact