Chef Andrew Wong, mentor chef at Baoshuan reinvents the most popular international cuisine in India
Chef Andrew Wong is the mentor chef at Baoshuan, the Chinese rooftop restaurant at The Oberoi, New Delhi. Born and brought up in London to a family of restaurateurs, Andrew worked both in the kitchen and front of house of his family’s restaurants, yet was encouraged to pursue an academic career.
He left school to study chemistry at Oxford University and later read anthropology at the London School of Economics.
At the age of 22, Andrew’s father died, and he returned home to help with the Wong family’s four restaurants. Determined to assist with and build on the family business, Andrew enrolled in a London culinary school where he specialised in classical French cookery and culinary science.
Technically accomplished but dissatisfied with his knowledge of true Chinese cuisine, he left London in 2010 with the intention of working in and travelling around China. Andrew began studying at the Sichuan Culinary Institute, then gained practical experience in banqueting and the specialised techniques of Chinese roasting. From here, he moved to Beijing where he learned the ancient skill of cooking traditional Peking duck. With his next move, to Hong Kong, he learned how to make their famous Cantonese dim sum.
Fascinated by how food in China differed so dramatically according to region and culture, Andrew returned to London and opened the restaurant A. Wong in 2012 with his wife Nathalie; the “A” in homage to his parents Albert and Annie.
Since opening, Andrew and his now team of chefs have introduced diners to the cross-cultural delights and incredible variety of Chinese cuisine. A. Wong is now regarded as an exemplary of authentic Chinese cuisine in London.
Andrew released his debut book A. Wong in 2015. In October 2017, he received a coveted Michelin star.
The menu at Baoshuan has been designed by Andrew as an innovative take on traditional recipes and a rich exploration of China’s tremendous culinary diversity.
You studied chemistry and social anthropology… What prompted you to pursue cooking?
I worked in my family’s Cantonese restaurant in London as a child. However, I resented helping out in the restaurant as I didn’t want to be a chef. That was my motivation to study hard. However, fate had other plans. At the age of 22, my father passed away and I had to return from university to help my mother with the restaurant.
But I had never learnt to cook and so I enrolled in a London culinary school. I continued my studies at the Sichuan Culinary Institute and later travelled to Beijing and Hong Kong to practise and develop my skills.
Upon my return to London, I opened my own restaurant A. Wong, an acclaimed Michelin-star restaurant which is now considered one of the city’s finest, specialising in modern Chinese cuisine.
You grew up studying varied subjects. What did you like the best about this phase in your life? Any learnings or experiences that you would like to share with us?
Learning varied subjects during my growing up years was immensely enriching. Social anthropology gradually became that subject that helped me better understand the journey of food through cultures and communities. Chemistry, on the other hand, as dry or complex the subject may sound, gave me the sense of being tactfully innovative and experimental; almost worked like a catalyst to my appetite for creativity.
Chinese cuisine is considered to be the most popular international cuisine in India. What is a popular myth about it that you’d like to bust?
Chinese food is perceived to be heavy that uses a lot of oil and involves a lot of frying. However, traditionally Chinese cuisine is known to be light on the palate and not overbearingly heavy. It is a celebration of textures, flavours. It uses a number of healthy proteins and numerous kinds of vegetables prepared through various techniques including roasting, poaching, steaming and the like.
What would you sum up your experience with Baoshuan at The Oberoi, New Delhi as?
The whole experience has been great. The team at The Oberoi, New Delhi, are all fantastic, from the chefs in the kitchen, the front of house staff and the troop of people working back of house, everyone has been so welcoming and warm. It has been especially enjoyable learning about how Chinese food has translated into another culture, it is always fascinating to see the way in which food travels and climatises.
You have been referred to as ‘the man behind the most trendsetting Chinese restaurants in London who is known to push the boundaries of classic gourmet dining’. Could you speak about a few dishes from Baoshuan that seem to have been built on the same philosophy?
Baoshuan is a ‘story-telling restaurant’. The modern reincarnation of all the Chinese classics on the Baoshuan menu strive to tell diners a story about history, provenance and more. All our dim sums are contemporary and crafty but they stem from 4,000 years of history in dim sum. This includes the like of the duck puff, chilli scallop and prawn dumpling, steamed shanghai hedgehog, mushroom bun and carrot puff.
Our signatures such as the steamed seabass with black bean sauce, yunnan style sliced lamb with mint and Oberoi garden herbs; all of them have been developed based on the same culinary philosophy.
Tell us something about your signature dishes like Peking Duck London 1960, scallop and prawn dumpling, Xinjiang and hand-pulled dan dan chicken and how they have been received by diners in the capital.
The Peking Duck, London 1960 is our own interpretation of the famed Peking duck from the Forbidden City and has been on Baoshuan’s menu since its inception. The meat is marinated overnight, steamed and then fried at a high flame making the meat tender and moist while the skin is crisp. The dish is served traditionally with pancakes and plum sauce. The chilli scallop & prawn dumpling, uniquely blush pink in colour, is a steamed chilli prawn dim sum served on a bed of scallops, garnished with crispy chilli and micro greens on top.
The ancient process of slowly pulling out a mass of dough into hundreds of strands of noodles is magical. Here at Baoshuan, Masterchef ChuanXi Sun pulls perfect strings of noodles and serves the dan dan noodles with Sichuan-style chicken.
What is in store for diners at Baoshuan?
We are incredibly excited to welcome our guests to exciting new additions on the menu. Guests can experience the true essence of Baoshuan through our infinity brunches. The infinity brunches hold a special place in our hearts at Baoshuan. We truly believe it is the best way to celebrate the tradition of sharing plates and experience a variety of flavours and textures that exist in China.
Are there any dining or restaurant trends at the moment that you feel are ready to retire?
Food, by its very nature, goes through changes as it travels through geographies. Few changes pick up popularity and subsequently fade. But that is the natural journey of food.
Preparations that lack value and thought ought to die out sooner. Recipes that stem of micro cuisines, have regional narratives, get the basics right for the correct taste and texture stick on.
