(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-19 15:42

The menu of one of the city's favorite restaurants, Chinoise Story, has recently been updated with a host of new dishes offered by international celebrity chef Sam Leong.

The new menu includes wok-fried prawns coated with lemon cream dressing and mango salsa; braised lobster with fragrant rice accompanied with fresh black truffles; oven-baked shark's fin and many others, all original local cuisine presented with innovative and unique twists.

As Corporate Chef and Director of Kitchens for the Tung Lok Group, one of Singapore's largest Chinese restaurant chains, Leong is the maestro behind the tantalizing dishes at the group's more than 25 restaurants in Singapore, Indonesia, China, Japan, and soon, India and Thailand.

"I just want to take Chinese cuisine onto a higher level and give people a fresh, unique dining experience, that can compete with the gourmet, chic French cuisine," the chef said.

Leong has been dedicated to the culinary cause for the past 27 years.

His forte is in giving traditional Chinese cuisine a modern twist with the use of other Asian and Western ingredients and presentation styles.

The 42-year-old Singaporean chef has won numerous accolades, including the prestigious World Gourmet Summit Awards of Excellence for Asian Ethnic Chef of The Year in 2001, 2002 and 2004; and Chef of the Year and Executive Chef of the Year in 2005.

In addition, two of his cookbooks "A Wok Through Time" (2004) and "Sensations" (2007) were best-sellers in the catering industry.

Leong's first experience of the culinary arts was working for his father Leong Woon Soon - the King of Shark's Fin - a respected chef in his own right who ran their highly popular family restaurant in Malaysia.

"Talent, interest, opportunity and support from the family are the key elements for success," Leong said.

Trained by his father, the then young Leong, began to fall in love with the cooking art and soon developed an attitude for absolute quality, work speed and diligence. With the fundamentals learnt from his father and years of practice, he then grew from a total novice in the kitchen to his present celebrity chef status.

Leong is the proud creator of outstanding signature dishes such as wok-fried crab claw in fresh green peppercorns accompanied with pan-seared radish cake, crispy shrimp dumpling coated with wasabi-gelo, mango salsa and apple compote and steamed fillet garoupa with minced chopped chili and roasted minced garlic.

The list of those who have enjoyed Leong's cuisine includes big names such as former US President Bill Clinton, Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, US President George Bush and Queen Elizabeth II.

"I'm a chef. My duty is to present my best dishes to my guests. Be it political leaders or ordinary guests, they are all the same to me," the chef said.

Address: Jinjiang Hotel, 59 Maoming Road

Tel: 6445-1717