Modern masterpieces
By combining contemporary plating skills with the artistry of trompe l'oeil, chef Yeung Wai-kit at the Michelin-starred restaurant, Fu Chun Ju, is helping to paint a new chapter in Cantonese cuisine, Li Yingxue reports.
In 1650, the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) ink-painting masterpiece, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (Fu Chun Shan Ju Tu), was divided into two sections to save it for posterity after it was partly damaged by fire.
And at Fu Chun Ju, chef Yeung Wai-kit similarly seeks artistic inspiration to create culinary masterpieces on the plates of his contemporary Cantonese restaurant－much to the delight of his customers.
Fu Chun Ju was awarded one Michelin star in the inaugural Michelin Guide Beijing two months ago, even though it had been open for less than a year. Yet for Yeung, it was actually his third year at the restaurant because he had already spent two years developing its menu.
"When I joined the restaurant in 2017, it was still under construction, but I knew the concept for the design would be about art, so I designed the entire menu to pair with the decor," he says.
From the wooden menu covers to the poetic names of the dishes to the plates they are presented on－Yeung took two full years to perfect every detail.
Yeung was born in Qingyuan, Guangdong province, in 1976. He moved to Hong Kong with his family at age 13. He has been making Cantonese cuisine for around 30 years. Five years ago, he started to learn about Huaiyang cuisine, and now his menu is a fusion of the two styles.
