Growing up poor, Chef Wong started washing dishes in dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong to help his parents support the family. It was around that time that he developed an interest in the fine art of dim sum making. Dim sum (點心) directly translates to ‘touch the heart.’ It refers to the tiny bite-sized dumplings, buns or wraps that are steamed, fried, or baked and are traditionally eaten over brunch in teahouses and restaurants throughout the world.
Originating from mainland China, these delectable treats have become synonymous with Hong Kong cuisine and part of the nation’s identity. It was in Hong Kong that the practice of eating dim sum evolved into a social event known as ‘Yum Cha.’ ‘Yum Cha’(飲茶) which means drinking tea is a ritual enjoyed by young and old all over the world. During ‘Yum Cha,’ restaurant patrons drink tea whilst partaking in a wide range of small bites, both savoury and sweet.
As an apprentice, Chef Wong started by learning how to prepare the tasty fillings that gave each dim sum its distinctive taste and name. He quickly discovered that he had a good palate with the ability to deliver the same consistently tasty outcome every time. ‘What inspired me was the smell of my mother’s cooking in the kitchen,’ Chef Wong said. ‘We were not rich and could not afford expensive ingredients, but my mother always made every dish taste delicious. At 16, when he had to leave school to earn a living, Chef Wong chose the food industry over other professions. It did not take Chef Wong long to graduate from prepping ingredients and cooking the filling to shaping the dim sums. Dim sum shaping is an art form that requires precision, an eye for detail, a steady hand and speed. Nowadays, dim sums can be mass-produced in factories, frozen and dispatched to restaurants to be steamed, fried, or baked. During Chef Wong’s time as an apprentice cook in Hong Kong, dim sums were hand-shaped: a laboriously time-consuming task requiring many hours of standing on your feet from dawn until service around midday. Chef Wong was good and quickly gained a reputation in the restaurants’ circle. During that time, Chef Wong worked in top dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong’s honing his skills and learning from some of the world’s best dim sum masters.
In 1984, still in his twenties, Chef Wong emigrated to Australia. He quickly found a job as a Yum Cha chef in Shark Fin Inn in Melbourne. Established four years earlier, the Shark Fin Group was a fast-growing chain with a reputation for serving iconic Chinese cuisine. Yum Cha is a ritual that has become commonplace in multicultural Australia and a favourite pastime on weekends and public holidays. Today, yum cha is enjoyed by all races. In the eighties, Chef Wong was one of the few Hong-Kong trained Yum Cha chefs in the country. His reputation in cooking authentic Hong Kong dim sum brought him fame and a loyal following of restaurant patrons who followed him to whichever restaurant he was working in.
Life was good for many years. Chef Wong was one of Melbourne’s Top Yum Cha chefs working in some of the city’s finest Yum Cha restaurants. He got married, started a family, and bought a home. He could easily have owned a business and hired a chef to do the cooking, but he chose to work in the kitchen instead. He was once asked why he chose to remain in the kitchen. Chef Wong’s reply: “I have spent every day of my working life, doing my best to bring unforgettable moments and pleasure to people. That is my definition of happiness.”
In 2019, fate dealt a cruel blow when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. His failing health and the surgeries that followed meant he had to retire from a job that had been his passion. Recovering from cancer, Chef Wong found that retirement did not suit him. It was time to pass on his craftmanship to others; to keep the legacy of authentic Hong Kong dim sum making alive. One morning, Chef Wong got up at dawn, put on his chef’s apron and started making dumplings. At the time the world was going through an unprecedented event in the form of a global pandemic that quickly resulted in massive shutdowns across every industry. The food service industry was one of the worst-hit as tough social distancing laws prevented people from dining in restaurants. Chef Wong started taking orders at home. It started as a hobby with 1 or 2 orders a week but quickly escalated into a thriving online business. Chef Wong was back.
Dim sum is comfort food. When you share it with family and friends as you do during a Yum Cha meal, dim sums become something special. In the lockdown, dim sum evoked happy memories. Cooking Chef Wong’s lovingly made tiny morsels and eating it in the comfort of their homes gave customers a sense of connection with family and friends and happy memories of pre-COVID days.
Chef Wong is one of Melbourne’s most popular dim sum brands. Chef Wong’s dim sums bring Yum Cha into your home. Our authentic Cantonese-style and restaurant-quality dim sums mean you can enjoy the best of Hong Kong dim sum in the comfort of your home. Lovingly made with the best ingredients, hand-shaped by the master craftsman himself and brought straight into your home for your convenience. Hungry? Ready to bring Chef Wong into your home for some mouth-watering dim sums? Order from our menu here.
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