Meet the chef: Terry Wong of Canton Blue
A year after The Peninsula opened its doors, we sit down with the head chef of its flagship Cantonese restaurant to discuss bringing authentic Asian cuisine to London
When The Peninsula opened in London last September, it was a Big Deal. The Asian hotelier’s first foray into the UK market, the hotel occupies one of London’s most prestigious addresses in Belgravia, and is just a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace, the Royal Parks, and Knightsbridge. Alongside its 190 Peter Marino-designed suites, the other stand-out offering was always going to be the food – and it hasn’t disappointed.
Boasting three restaurants – one being Claude Bosi’s two Michelin-starred Brooklands, and the second The Lobby, which serves all-day international dishes – it’s Canton Blue that stays true to the brand’s Asian roots with a Cantonese fusion menu celebrating Chinese cuisine. Inside, East meets West both in terms of the interiors, courtesy of Henry Leung, and the food, inspired by the spice routes taken by 19th-century trading ship, Keying.
For head chef Terry Wong, working at The Peninsula was a lifelong dream. Hailing from Hong Kong and having cut his teeth at the world-famous Hakkasan group – working both in London and at its San Francisco outpost – Wong was drawn to the Belgravia hotel like a moth to a flame, and his onboarding can only be described as a culinary coming-home. His carefully curated menu takes its cues from both childhood and family-favourite recipes, as well as classic Cantonese flavours, to form delectable dishes of shrimp wonton soup, wok-fried wagyu tenderloin, black truffle tofu and, of course, Peking duck with all the trimmings. Don’t miss the dim sum set menu for five brilliant courses that deliver plenty of bang for your buck.
A year after it’s opening, we sit down with Wong to discuss being at the helm for the first time, redefining Cantonese cuisine in the capital and his favourite dish on the menu.
I grew up in Hong Kong, which is still home to me. At 16 years old I relocated to Manchester, to stay with my uncle and pursue my studies, and my family then followed when I was 18.
Cooking has always been something I enjoyed, even from a young age. I have always loved cooking for people, especially for my mum and uncle who were big fans of my ginger sauce chicken wings and my crispy noodles with king prawns.
Visits to local food halls in Hong Kong, especially Tai Po Hui Market and Cooked Food Centre. It’s quite a simple dish, but the steamed black beans with pork ribs and rice have always stuck in my mind. I had never tried anything so delicious and would regularly beg my family to go back!
Technically, my culinary career started way before any formal work as I used to cook for my younger sister every night. I then worked in my uncle’s Cantonese restaurant, Mei Mei, in Liverpool’s Chinatown and helped here and there for a bit of pocket money, but I loved being in the kitchen and ended up working up the ranks to commis chef before moving to London.
Honestly, Hakkasan has been instrumental in my development as a chef. I think Hakkasan as a brand comes with an expectation of quality, so to be a central part in managing the kitchen and maintaining this quality was important. I learnt to be adaptable, and to truly fall in love with the food I was sending out because the calibre of produce we used and dishes we created was so high. Also, it allowed me to elevate all the skills I had honed throughout childhood and past experiences, which was so exciting.
Being from Hong Kong, The Peninsula is a name that carries incredible prestige and was always a brand I aspired to work for. To be a part of translating The Peninsula brand to a London audience through our fine dining Cantonese restaurant was an opportunity I could not pass up.
So many things: childhood, home, dishes I cook for and have been cooked by family, all combined with the elevated skillset I inherited from over the years. I envision Canton Blue as a taste of home away from home for our Cantonese guests, whilst for London, it’s an open door to our home. We achieve this through following traditional Cantonese cooking style and the very best ingredients to ensure that we are delivering the same calibre of cuisine than would be expected of a Cantonese restaurant back in Asia. With this base comes the ability to experiment and play around with flavours and plating to offer a truly unique experience.
Such a tricky question, but I think my favourite restaurant is an unassuming one: Panda’s Kitchen in Harrow. It’s one I think about both when I’m in and out of London. Although it’s not very central, their Sichuan chilli chicken is worth the journey, even double the journey.
Executive chef Padam Raj Rai from Rai restaurant in Fitzrovia. I am so impressed with how he uses burnt charcoal to give a unique, smoky flavour to salmon belly. It’s something I’ve never seen before.
The Blue lobster with ginger and spring onions – it’s a standout dish. The lobster is extremely fresh, with succulent meat that just melts in your mouth. We fry the lobster first and then finish it off in a flavourful supreme soup.
Visit peninsula.com
Read more: Meet the chef: Harry Faddy of Dear Jackie
