Executive chef Jayson Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant sees his Michelin kitchen as a ‘battlefield’
- A childhood spent helping out at his parents’ street food stall taught the Hong Kong native how to connect with both his team and guests
- Tang has no ‘signature dish’ at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong’s one-Michelin-starred restaurant, where he works according to diners’ tastes
Growing up, executive Chinese chef Jayson Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong used to lend a hand at his parents’ dai pai dong, or street food stall, selling milk tea, sandwiches and other traditional Hong Kong breakfast delights.
Tang vividly remembers how his father took great care to look sharp, dressing in a long-sleeved shirt and trousers even on hot days, and how extremely particular he was with the produce delivered to the stall daily.
“If the materials were not good or not up to his standard, my father would just stop offering the dishes that contain those ingredients on that day,” recalls Tang, clearly bemused. “If the beef was not up to scratch, for example, we’d return them to the supplier and tell the customers that we’ve stopped serving any food items with beef.”
This non-negotiable level of quality control has evidently rubbed off on Tang, as today he helms a 35-person team in the kitchen at Man Ho, a one-Michelin-starred restaurant serving Chinese cuisine prepared with both traditionally authentic methods and innovative approaches.
“I spend most of my time at work teaching my team members how to select good materials and how to tell if they are bad,” Tang says. “I, too, have become very strict, so if the vegetable leaves are not of acceptable quality, for example, I will not serve them.”
Regular communication with his team of cooks is the essence of Tang’s leadership style in Man Ho’s kitchen, which he affectionately refers to as a “battlefield”.
