AKin: A nEW fRonTiER on Winter solstice day in 2023, Chong posted a photo of himself and Leung holding a key. The caption read: “Got the keys to the new restaurant today!” This post set instagram on fire and has received more than 7,000 likes to date. eG: We did some online sleuthing and found out that it is going to be a tasting menu-only, fine-dining establishment in Colborne Lane. Can you tell us about the location and timing of your new restaurant? i am excited to be partnering up with Leung again to open our second restaurant. This time, we were happy with both the space and the location. Colborne Lane is a great location for a reservations-based destination restaurant. it is located in the centre of Toronto, (near King and Church), so people from all around the GTA can come. it is also an up-and-coming street: piano piano just opened up next door. We are aiming to open the restaurant in June. We really want to push to be open by that date because Michelin is every september. i haven’t heard of a restaurant getting Michelin recognition in less than three months, so if we open in July or August, we will most likely not receive any recognition for 2024. eG: What will be the name for the new restaurant? it will be called aKin. The word means similar of nature or character, which fits our vision well. We plan to serve modernized dishes with a special twist. for example, we will be doing a new take on the omurice. instead of an omelette, it will be a warm porcini sabayon; instead of a typical gravy, it will be a rich bordelaise. We will be using premium Japanese rice infused with wagyu beef as our rice part of the dish. so in essence it is similar to an omurice, just different. aKin can also mean related by blood. Although Leung and i are not related by blood, we are essentially family at this point. Lastly, the reason the K is capitalized in the name is because my grandfather’s first name is Kin (full name Kin Hung ng). He was a huge inspiration to me. eG: You are expecting your first baby boy in february. How do you expect to juggle between being a father and running two restaurants? Where there is a will, there is a way… Jokes aside, i have an extremely loving and supportive wife who has always understood my long hours. i will be taking a month off work once my son is born and then juggling between the two restaurants while being a father when the time comes. i’m used to very little sleep, so i hope all these years of training will finally pay off! My dad always told me to “work yourself out of a job” and only recently do i understand what he meant. i have since fortunately built a team that i can rely on. if i were still in the kitchen with lots of cooking responsibilities, i would never have the time to open a second restaurant or maybe even do this interview! eG: Any plans to expand your culinary kingdom beyond Toronto? i try not to get too far ahead of myself. if the opportunity presents itself, of course we would consider it. However, my friends and family are in Toronto and i am a very hands-on chef. for now, i am happy with keeping my businesses in ontario, but you never know! With special thanks to scarborough Town Centre (sTC), the largest shopping centre in the eastern Greater Toronto Area, offering a premier shopping experience with 250 stores and over 30 dining options, including flagship stores of sephora, Zara, as well as Michael Kors, Coach, Lululemon and more. Recently, sTC celebrated its 50th anniversary with the arrival of iKEA, its first location within a retail shopping centre in Canada. sTC offers visitors access to every imaginable essential for modern living and is a distinct blend of energy, ethnicity, ingenuity and creativity that is at the heart of this community. 新餐廳aKin即將開業 eG：你和梁經倫合作的第二家餐廳即將開業。何時開 業？為什麼選在Colborne Lane？ 我們合作的第二間餐廳屬於豪華中餐廳，將開在 Colbourne Lane，那裡彙集了不少著名餐廳。這次，我們 對空間和位置兩者都非常滿意。Colborne Lane位於多倫多 市中心，是市民和遊客彙集的地方，這裡還有未來的加拿 大Google總部。 我們的目標是在6月開業，因為米芝蓮評選是每年9 月，如果等到7月或8月才開業，一間營業不到3個月的餐 廳是很難獲得米芝蓮認可的。 eG：新餐廳為什麼取名aKin? 「aKin」這個詞的本意是「相似的、類似的」，我 們想用它來表達一種理念——遵從它的本源，但大膽加以 變化。譬如說我們的蛋包飯，與其說它是個煎蛋捲，不如 說是一個牛肝菌沙巴雍。我們用濃鬱的波爾多醬汁取代了 典型的肉汁，蛋捲裡的米飯是加入了和牛的最好日本米。 因此，從本質上講，這是個與傳統相似但創新滿滿的蛋包 飯。 「aKin」還有一層意思是「血緣相關」。我和梁經倫 儘管沒有血緣關係，但從某種程度上來說，我們現在是一 家人。 在「aKin」 中，K是大寫的，這是因為我外公名字Kin Hung Ng中的Kin，他對我的生活和事業來說意義非凡。 eG：你的小寶寶二月份出生，祝賀你！你覺得自己怎 麼才能既經營好兩個餐廳，又做個好爸爸，如何平衡經營 者和廚師兩重身份？ 有志者，事竟成，哈哈！我有個非常愛我並且支持我 的妻子，她一直理解我長時間工作。在兒子出生後，我會 休一個月假，準備好奔波忙碌兼顧兩頭。好在我早已習慣 了少睡眠的生活，希望這些年練就的功力能發揮作用。 早期的時候做到平衡很難，我爸爸給我的指導是：以 「使自己沒有工作可做」為目標，我直到最近才理解他的 意思。幸運的是，我現在有一個可以依賴的團隊，不必親 自下廚。如果我仍然在廚房掌勺烹飪，開設第二家餐廳就 會是個天方夜譚。 eG：你有沒有未來把餐廳開遍加拿大，甚至世界各地 的想法？ 到世界各地經營餐廳不好說，我試着不要過於超前考 慮。如果機會出現，當然我們願意擴張，只是我的朋友和 家人都在多倫多，我又是個喜歡親力親為的人。我目前專 注于安省。不過，未來的事誰能說得準呢？ 特別致謝士嘉堡購物中心。 這個大多倫多地區東部最大的購物中心有250個商店及 30個餐飲場所，其中包括Sephora、Zara旗艦店，Michael Kors，Coach，Lululemon等，給消費者帶來最佳購物體 驗。這個今年邁入50周年的購物天堂，將迎來Ikea加盟，這 是Ikea在加拿大首次進駐一個零售商場。 訪問士嘉堡購物中心，感受最新生活潮流，將夢想、 活力和創新相互交融，這個社區的心臟把我們緊緊聯繫在一 起。 E L I T E G E N • S p r I N G • 2 0 2 4 51
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