Travel the Malay Archipelago on a plate

KEVIN Wong’s story is a familiar but welcome tale told by an increasing number of young chefs in Singapore today. And it usually involves slogging their way up from the bottom, earning the attention of acclaimed chefs and even becoming a head chef themselves, before finally stepping out on their own. In the last couple of years, the Malaysia-born, Singapore permanent resident has been high on the radar of the local food and beverage (F&B) scene as a promising young chef to watch. At 29, he was already accomplished as the head chef of the one Michelin-starred Meta, under chef-owner Sun Kim. Then, he came in a strong third at the S Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition in 2021, representing South-east Asia. On top of that, he also made it to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for his work at Meta.

On Oct 1, he will add ‘chef-owner’ to his resume when he takes on the reins at Seroja, which captures the flavours of the Malay Archipelago within its 2,700 square foot space at Duo Galleria, a shopping mall next to the Andaz hotel.  While it doesn’t exactly mean a faithful rendition of the ethnic cuisines of the region, it’s the spirit of it that Wong hopes to evoke. “I want to celebrate the people and cultures we can find here, and collaborate with traditional and modern farmers, as well as artisan craftsmen, to make it work,” he says. 

His solo debut may have come sooner than expected, having met his prospective partners in Kuala Lumpur in 2021, after the S Pellegrino competition in Milan. “I was having a casual conversation with them about my dreams, what I would love to cook and do next. They helped to make things happen step by step.” His partners are restaurateurs with eateries in Malaysia, and Seroja would be their first project in Singapore.