The Taste of Renewal

Three top chefs reflect on the Chinese New Year flavours that shaped them – from family reunion tables to festive menus rooted in memory, meaning and modern craft.

- BY AMY VAN, PHOTOS: JIJA, POTONG (GASTROFILM), MARINA BAY SANDS

For chefs rooted in Chinese culinary traditions, the festive table becomes both a personal archive and a creative benchmark. From Hong Kong to Bangkok and Singapore, these three chefs reflect on the food memories of their childhoods, the rituals they continue to honour, and how those traditions inform the way they cook today — whether through Yunnan-inspired celebratory menus, painstakingly crafted festive pastries, or Thai-Chinese dishes layered with generations of memory. Ultimately, their cooking carries lineage and discipline, guided by the understanding that tradition, when respected, never stands still.

Vicky Lau

CHEF-OWNER OF TATE DINING ROOM, MORA AND JIJA BY VICKY LAU, HONG KONG

Vicky Lau is Asia's first female chef-proprietor to be awarded two Michelin stars, a distinction her fine dining flagship Tate Dining Room has retained to this day. Her second restaurant, Mora, dedicated to the culinary versatility of soy, holds both a Michelin star and Michelin green star for sustainability. Most recently, Vicky partnered with hospitality group Leading Nation to open Jija by Vicky Lau, a modern Chinese bistro at Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui Hong Kong. Inspired by her travels through Yunnan province, Jija’s menu highlights the region's distinctive produce, from wild mushrooms and cured meats to cheeses and seasonal fruits.

Earliest Memories of the Reunion Table in Hong Kong