Chef elevates Cantonese cuisine with hands-on approach

Braised fish broth is a traditional dish originating from Shunde in Guangdong province, a city picked by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a Creative City of Gastronomy in 2014.

The fish has to be hand-shredded and braised in the cream-colored soup made with the fish bones.

Hong Kong chef Tam Kwok-fung makes his own version of the fish broth based on the flavors of his childhood in his hometown of Shunde, but he elevates the dish by using wild fresh fish such as grouper and adding fish maw, and by incorporating vegetables like black fungus and adding strips of dried orange peel to enrich the flavor.

"I think the essence of Cantonese cuisine lies in good knife skills and the ability to deal with several ingredients in one dish, unlike Japanese or French cuisine, which sometimes focus on one main ingredient in one dish," says Tam, who has made it his mission to bring Cantonese cuisine to more people around the world.

Growing up in Hong Kong, Tam started working in kitchens by helping out with chores at the age of 17. A year later, he began to learn how to deal with different ingredients such as abalone and fish maw.

He took a decade to learn about making Cantonese cuisine before moving to Beijing to help open up a Cantonese restaurant in 1992. Six years later, Tam was invited to work in Bangkok.

He worked for Cantonese restaurants in the Mandarin Oriental and the Peninsula hotels in Bangkok, during which time Tam got the opportunity to serve many heads of state.

"The experience of cooking for VIPs helped me understand the importance of keeping service in mind," says Tam.

He has kept up this habit to the present day, adjusting his menu to suit the preferences, eating habits, and even the health conditions of his guests.

One change Tam has noticed in recent years in Chinese restaurants is that diners better appreciate the chef's skills and ideas.

"Chinese guests used to come in and just order what they wanted to eat, and the relationship between us was like we were just the cooks who processed the ingredients for them," says Tam.

"But now people choose to visit a restaurant to sample the dishes made by a certain chef, which is more in line with the modern dining experience. We chefs now have more of a chance to present our culinary skills and the concepts we have about food."

In 2004, Tam won the gold award at the fifth World Championship of Chinese Cuisine in Guangzhou. Competing in the epicenter of Cantonese cuisine, Tam recalls many renowned Cantonese cuisine chefs from Guangdong and Hong Kong took part in the event.