Cantonese cuisine has long been the most popular style of Chinese cooking abroad, thanks in large part to a mass migration from Guangzhou in the 19th century, when the first Western Chinatowns took root. Now, some of the region’s top Cantonese chefs are introducing the world to contemporary Cantonese fine dining rather than cheap Chinese takeaway staples.
At the heart of this global movement is a delicate balancing act: keeping the traditional soul of Cantonese cooking intact while adapting presentation and ingredients to suit local palates.
In 2019, Jiang by Chef Fei at the Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou became the first restaurant in the city to earn two Michelin stars. The restaurant has maintained its stellar reputation even as Chef Fei – the culinary moniker of Huang Jinghui – has expanded further afield. Huang began his journey as an apprentice at age 16 and has specialised in Cantonese and Teochew cuisine for more than 30 years. His exclusive partnership with Mandarin Oriental has taken his cuisine global, with Chef Fei lending his name and expertise to restaurants at the group’s hotels in Shenzhen, Beijing, Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta.
“To this day, my restaurants are still Cantonese to the core,” says Huang, who emphasises wok hei (“the breath of the wok”), precise knife skills, and the preparation of seasonal ingredients as the essentials of Cantonese cuisine. But, he adds, “To popularise the cuisine, we must consider a destination’s cultural background and expectations.”
When designing dishes, Huang relies on creations that “showcase the ingredients’ core profile”, ensuring classic double-boiled soups and steamed dishes remain prominent on his menus. Even his deep-sea scampi tartare with caviar, which sounds very Western, is rooted in traditional Teochew raw-marinated crustacean dishes, but elevated with fine cold-water scampi – a perfect example of a traditional dish subtly tweaked for international guests.
Since 2015, chef Lee Man-sing has led this expansion. Over a 40-year career that began at a humble cha chaan teng, Lee has risen to the top of the culinary world. Today, he enjoys the challenge of crafting Cantonese dishes that win over foreign guests, actively using their feedback to develop new recipes.