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Tatler Asia
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
Exclusive: Wing wins The World's 50 Best Restaurants hospitality award, leading a new era of Chinese fine dining
Vicky Cheng's Wing puts Chinese hospitality at the centre of global fine dining, and the world is finally paying attention Wing, the Hong Kong restaurant helmed by chef Vicky Cheng, has been named the recipient of the Gin Mare Art of Hospitality Award 2025, presented by The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Announced today, on April 23, ahead of the official awards ceremony in Turin on June 19, the accolade celebrates Wing's exceptional service and steadfast commitment to hospitality. This win follows Wing's No 20 ranking on The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list, where it also claimed the Highest New Entry Award. Yet for all the global acclaim, Wing's origins were far more unassuming. The story began somewhat unexpectedly during the pandemic, evolving from an invitation-only, midnight-supper test kitchen at Cheng's debut venue, VEA. 'The whole concept of Wing started when COVID-19 happened,' Cheng recalls. 'I needed the information, I needed the knowledge to learn more about Chinese cuisine so I could continue our Chinese-French concept at VEA.' That pursuit of knowledge transformed an underutilised bar space (below VEA) into Wing, a name symbolising hope, tenacity and perseverance. The original vision, Cheng admits, was more relaxed. 'Believe it or not, it was meant to be a casual Chinese restaurant,' he confesses. The idea of stacking two fine dining venues, one atop the other, felt counterintuitive—until it wasn't. 'It turned out to be the best decision we could have made.' Above Wing's story started as a midnight test kitchen and grew into one of the world's most celebrated Chinese fine dining restaurants What sets Wing apart is the architecture of the experience itself. Cheng has coined his approach 'temperatured hospitality', a philosophy that reaches beyond service choreography to something more elemental: emotional temperature. 'What stays with my guests is a sense of warmth,' Cheng explains. His team's task is to cultivate that warmth, an atmosphere where guests feel anticipated and well looked after. 'We know that we have roughly three hours to make you feel like you're in our world. And you're here to feel welcomed and pampered. You're here to feel like you're in our home.' Delivering that level of comfort requires more than training. It requires the right people. Cheng's 'red apple, green apple theory' governs hiring. 'Thankfully, my team are all red apples,' he says, referring to those who naturally embody Wing's culture of care. The 'green apple' hire will either 'turn red' or simply won't last. 'We'd rather work a little bit harder to keep the red apple mentality than to hire a whole bunch of green apples just because we're short [-staffed].' This shared sensibility creates a like-minded team that can anticipate guests' needs instinctively, whether that means reading body language or preparing an alternative, off-menu dish before a guest even asks. Above Oma abalone and South African abalone Above Sea cucumber spring roll with spring onion For Cheng, such attentiveness is inseparable from innovation. He's wary of tradition calcifying into dogma, a mindset that helped him push forward, even in the face of scepticism when launching both VEA and Wing. 'Traditions are meant to be made, rules are meant to be broken,' he says, drawing comparisons to corporate complacency. 'Nokia, for example, didn't do anything wrong. Except that they failed to do anything at all.' For Chinese cuisine to remain vital, it must evolve. 'People change, our palates change, our ingredients change, climate has changed. So, it's not wrong to look at the possibilities of change while fully respecting cultures.' Part of pushing boundaries involves seeking out and sharing the lesser-told stories of Chinese heritage through its vast and diverse ingredients. Recent trips have fuelled this passion. 'I recently went to Yunnan and I just came back from Guangzhou,' Cheng shares. He finds immense pride in featuring exceptional produce from China itself, often finding it more compelling than imported luxury items. 'I feel more proud, and I feel people are more interested when we present fruits that are from China, more so than the expensive Japanese fruits.' He mentions discovering 'the freshest blueberries from Yunnan and the most delicious mangoes from Sanya.' His Yunnan trip yielded a particularly fascinating discovery: Mu jiang zi , or tree ginger seeds. 'It's kind of like this tender green Sichuan peppercorn', he describes excitedly. 'The pods themselves are soft and floral,' while the bark, intriguingly, is shaved tableside like zest over noodles. 'I've never seen it in Hong Kong. This is just one of the things that I encountered and found very interesting.' For Cheng, discoveries like this aren't just curiosities, they open up a world of possibility. 'I want to learn more, showcase and use more Chinese ingredients and herbs'. This award feels particularly significant in a global dining landscape where French service standards still dominate perceptions of refinement. Cheng hopes this win signals a broader shift. 'I hope we're just the beginning. The ones opening the doors, not only for Wing, but for Chinese cuisine to gain the recognition it deserves.' In Cheng's eyes, true success isn't measured solely by awards or full dining rooms, though he's grateful for both. For him, these accolades are affirmations of a larger mission: to act as a cultural ambassador. He sees Wing as a platform to showcase the depth, warmth and evolving narrative of Chinese cuisine and its inherent hospitality to a global audience. He speaks of this responsibility not just as a goal but 'almost like a duty. It's like an obligation for me to continue'. Above At Wing, Vicky Cheng continues to push the boundaries of Chinese fine dining, blending heritage, innovation and heartfelt hospitality on a global stage Through its warm, 'temperatured hospitality', Wing is serving more than an exceptional dining experience; it's fostering understanding and rewriting perceptions. As Cheng passionately declares, 'It's time for us to shine. It's time for us to express ourselves on a stage where people will listen.'
Korea Herald
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Bangkok's Gaggan reclaims throne as best restaurant in Asia after 10 years
Mingles, country's only Michelin 3-star restaurant this year, lands 5th spot on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Awards Gaggan, the renowned Bangkok restaurant, has been crowned the best restaurant in Asia at Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2025. The rankings of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants are determined through a vote conducted by Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Academy — a group of over 350 influential figures in the food industry, including chefs, restaurant operators, food journalists, critics and regional culinary experts. The Academy selects restaurants from 16 cities across Asia. Gaggan, led by star chef Gaggan Anand, was named the best restaurant in Asia for the second time after a period of mixed results following its 2015 win. 'Our food evolved over the years. We reinvented and reduced our seating to only 14 seats. I gave up all the things that I felt were wrong in food and started doing things that made me happy,' said Anand after winning the award in Seoul. 'We show you 25 courses in 2 hours. I take you away from all the problems of your life, at least during that time. Food is the most humane thing. To be honest, I didn't work so hard in 2015. But the last 10 years, it was very challenging because this title was very heavy. From tomorrow, everyone will judge me again. But this time, I'm ready,' he added. Seoul saw four restaurants make the list, with Mingles taking the No. 5 spot. Chef Kang Min-goo's innovative fusion of Korean and Hong Kong influences earned Mingles the title of the best restaurant in South Korea. Other notable Seoul entries included Onjium, which rose 11 spots to No. 10, and Eatanic Garden, which debuted at No. 25 and won the Highest New Entry Award. This year, Bangkok and Tokyo claimed the top spots with nine restaurants each on the list. Sezanne, a restaurant in Tokyo, ranked No. 4. Known for its neo-French cuisine that marries classic French techniques with exceptional Japanese ingredients, Sezanne received widespread praise at the 2024 awards when it was ranked No. 1. Hong Kong, with seven restaurants featured, had The Chairman, a modern Cantonese restaurant, take the No. 2 spot. The Wellington, known for its artistic ambiance and creative dishes highlighting rare southern Chinese ingredients, ranked No. 3. Wing's chef Vicky Cheng also won the prestigious Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award, an award whose winner is selected by fellow chefs. The event, held for the second consecutive year in Seoul, was organized by William Reed Business Media, a UK-based publishing company, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
