Chef Andrew Wong says he hopes to challenge preconceptions about Chinese food

Venture: Andrew Wong’s new restaurant opened this week
(David Cotsworth)

Andrew Wong said he faces bigger challenges than other Michelin-starred chefs because of the stereotype that Chinese cuisine is “cheap, fast food”.

The chef’s modern Chinese restaurant A Wong in Victoria was awarded the coveted star last year.

As he opened his second venture, Kym’s, Mr Wong told the Standard: “We continually challenge preconceptions that Chinese food is cheap, fast food — and that the people who make it are below-par chefs. I can’t really blame them. It’s what people are used to.

“It is a challenge that we faced in A Wong and that we will continue to face.” He also said opening a restaurant in London was “tough in general”, as diners in the capital are increasingly “very knowledgeable”. “You can’t serve bulls***,” he said. “When my dad opened his restaurant in the Eighties, you could put a Chinese man and wife in a shop and pass anything off as Chinese food. That’s what some people still think Chinese is but with foodies … it is an open world now. People come to A Wong after being in Shanghai and order specific things they ate there.”

Kym’s opened on Tuesday in the Bloomberg Arcade — a growing destination in the City that is already home to Indian fusion venue Brigadiers, Ekte Nordic Kitchen, Caravan City, Vinoteca City and Koya City. The 120-cover restaurant over two floors focuses on Chinese roasting and will champion lesser-known gastronomic regions of China.

It will emulate the Chinese hawker, a type of food market common in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia that sells inexpensive street foods. Mr Wong said: “A Wong was about celebrating Chinese cuisine and this is about a specific cuisine and celebrating the intricacies of roasting … it is a real art. I think a lot of people think it’s pretty straight forward, but their knowledge is very specific.It is a celebration of the skills and Chinese culture.”

He added: “I am really excited to be in this area, which is a bit off the beaten track but that is coming along now.”

Regional Chinese food - in pictures

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19 Bloomberg Arcade, EC4N 8AR, kymsrestaurant.com

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