Food To Remember

LEONG CHEE YENG JADE RESTAURANT

WHEN CHINESE NEW YEAR COMES around, chef Leong is in a reflective mood as he feels the need to pay tribute to people who have helped him in the past. One of them is Chan Chen Hei, founder and ex-executive chef of Chef Chan's Restaurant.

Chef Leong fondly remembers his first days on the job as a junior cook stationed at the banqueting department of Pan Pacific Hotel in 1989. Life was tough as he carved vegetable "sculptures" from day to night, even bringing work "home" when business was good. One day, he approached chef Chan, then the Chinese executive chef of Hai Tien Lo, and asked if he could learn to cook. Without hesitation, chef Chan told him to 'report' for work every evening at 8pm and trained him from the basics, practising until the last guest had left. Sometimes he had to dash for the last bus home but he recalls those career-forming days with deep gratitude.