Simpson Wong

Chef Simpson Wong is a contemporary chef, adept at integrating many global influences. The restaurants he's spearheaded include: Chomp Chomp, Wong, Cafe Asean, and Jefferson. Simpson Wong is a native of Malaysia, who has traveled and studied the cuisines across Europe and Asia. He’s a self-taught chef, who learned much of what he knows from helping his mother prepare meals for his father’s timber company. His family grew their own fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Wong worked as a banker and a United Nations liaison in his early professional life, while dreaming of opening a restaurant. He educated himself about the culinary arts during his off-hours, obsessively recording notes in his journals from cookbooks, four-star restaurants, and sidewalk vendors. In 1996, he opened Cafe Asean, a West Village restaurant that serves Southeast Asian fare. Cafe Asean has been open for over 18 years. Chomp Chomp is Wong's latest offering, a restaurant that serves upscale and affordable Singaporean food in the West Village.

RECIPE: Simpson Wong's Hah Zheung Gai (Shrimp Paste Wings)