REBEL AnD DEMon: R & D AT 241 spADinA Very soon after Chong won the title of MasterChef, he partnered up with Demon Chef Alvin Leung to open R & D in Chinatown. The name has two layers of meaning. first, it stands for rebel and demon. Leung is obviously the demon, while Chong is the rebel who broke away from the norm and left a career path he spent four years in study. it also stands for research and development—what a coincidence that they were both engineers before becoming chefs. eG: When the restaurant opened, Chinatown was not as gentrified as today. Why did you choose to open there? To be honest, we were just in love with the space. it had everything we were looking for: a massive space with tall ceilings, beautiful wooden floors, an open kitchen and a basement with walk-in coolers. We knew we could transform it into something magical. We were not too worried about the location itself since we felt that if the food was good enough, people would travel for it. it was also great being so close to all the Chinese markets! eG: There are many great Chinese eateries in the GTA. What makes yours unique? it’s true that there are many great Chinese eateries, but not a lot of fusion ones. R&D is an approachable restaurant for people to explore the tastes of Asia. We do not claim to offer authentic Asian cuisine. Rather, we like to use premium ingredients and add an Asian twist to it, or take Asian classics and add a modern spin. for example, we make our char siu with iberico pork, the wagyu equivalent of pork. or, we take a classic like peking Duck and brine it for 24 hours, dry-age it for two weeks, slow cook it for three hours and then baste it with hot oil to crisp the skin. eG: if you had not won the $100,000 from MasterChef Canada, would you still be a restaurant chef-owner today? Absolutely not, but it is not all about the money. if i didn’t win, i would not have the title of being Canada’s first MasterChef. The notoriety and title alone have opened many doors for me, jumpstarting my career. for example, i don’t think i would have a working relationship with Michael Bonacini and Alvin Leung, let alone a joint business. Also, if i lost, i don’t think i would have the mental fortitude to pursue this career. i mean, i still have imposter syndrome now. How would i feel if i didn’t win? 唐人街上的「叛逆與魔鬼」 eG：你贏得廚神頭銜後不久，就與「惡魔廚師」梁經倫合 作在多倫多的241 Spadina Ave開了一家餐廳，名叫R&D。餐廳名 是什麼意思？ 為什麼選擇在唐人街開餐廳？ R&D是「Rebel & Demon」的簡寫，是「叛逆與魔鬼」的意 思。梁經倫是「惡魔」，我是「叛逆」，因為我脫離了常規，花 了4年讀化學工程，卻沒有選擇那條職業道路。 唐人街當時還沒有完成翻新，所以與其它傳統餐館相 比，R&D似乎有些特立獨行。老實說，當時讓我們喜歡並作出決 定的是空間——高高的天花板、漂亮的木地板、開放廚房，空間 寬闊，地下室還有個步入式冷庫，一切都正合我們心意。 我們並不太擔心位置本身，因為我們覺得如果食物足夠美 味，就能吸引食客，再加上「惡魔廚師」梁經倫的名氣很大。 eG：是什麼讓R&D在大多倫多地區眾多的中餐館中脫穎而 出？ 大多倫多地區確實有許多出色的中餐館，但融合風格的卻不 多。R&D並不標榜自己提供正宗的亞洲美食，我們只是使用優質 的食材，並為其添加一些亞洲風味，或者將亞洲經典菜肴進行現 代改良。例如，我們使用最高級的黑毛豬豬肉製作叉燒；或者拿 北京鴨來醃製24小時，風乾2周，再慢燉3小時，最後淋上熱油使 鴨皮金黃酥脆。 eG：如果沒有從《廚神》比賽中贏得10萬元，你是否會做廚 師開餐廳？ 絕對不會。錢不是決定性的因素，但如果我沒有贏，就不會 有「加拿大首位廚神」的頭銜。「廚神」為我在烹飪事業上打開 了許多大門，例如，與Michael Bonacini和梁經倫建立關係，甚 至與他們有生意往來，如果我輸了是不可能發生的。而且我覺得 我應該缺乏足夠的精神力量，在比賽失敗後仍然堅持去追求廚師 這條職業道路。你相信嗎？我到現在還有種幻覺，覺得自己是在 冒名頂替！ E L I T E G E N • S p r I N G • 2 0 2 4 49
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