Hawker Chan talks Michelin stars, street food and coming to London

Ailis Brennan14 March 2018

Despite their reputation, Michelin stars aren't all about how white the tablecloths are and how small the portions can be.

No-one proves this quite like Chan Hong Men, otherwise known as Hawker Chan, who became the world's first chef to earn a star for street food back in 2016.

The Singapore-based master of seriously casual dining has come to the UK to serve up his food to hungry punters this week for the very first time at KERB in King's Cross.

Chan told the Standard about life as a hawker, his signature dish and his meteoric rise to international fame.

Since earning your Michelin star, you’ve taken your food around the world – what kind of reactions have you had?

Since the star, I've had the opportunity to travel the world, which I am very grateful for. I have had a very good reaction wherever I have taken my food and I have been very pleased to see how Asian street food has been popular everywhere. I often get people saying to me that they have never tried food like mine before, and this is a very big compliment.

Out of all your dishes, why have you chosen to serve your soya sauce chicken to Londoners?

It's my signature dish and the one I was awarded a Michelin star for. I am cooking it exactly as I would back in Singapore. I want to bring a taste of authentic Singaporean street food to London so that Londoners can enjoy it.

Do you think the meaning of a Michelin star is changing?

I never thought a Michelin star would be awarded to a hawker, so I was very shocked and obviously honoured when this happened. I am really pleased to see that Michelin stars are recognising all different types of cooking and that the skills that hawkers have are being recognised internationally.

What potential does street food have to make an impact on the international restaurant world?

Street food has its own unique quality and it is becoming more and more popular across the world. Often people will go to experience street food for very different reasons to the ones that they will go to restaurants for. Really they are different genres. I think street food is accessible to everyone and this means that it has the ability to break down cultural barriers and bring people together.

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How much has your life changed since getting your Michelin star?

Well I have certainly got a lot busier. I have opened Hawker Chan outlets overseas in Taiwan, Bangkok, Melbourne and soon I'll have one in the Philippines too. I hope one day to open one permanently in the UK too. There are more challenges and pressures now as well: I want to maintain my Michelin star and obviously more people are eating my food, but I have to ensure it stays at the same quality that made it so well known.

Could you ever see yourself working in a fine dining restaurant?

I would love the opportunity to work in a fine dining restaurant at one point in the future, as there are so many aspects of food that I still have to explore. However, I am very busy doing what I am doing at the moment and I love it.

What made you want to cook?

I have been cooking from a very young age. I grew up on a farm so food has always been an important part of my life. Cooking was a skill I learnt from the age of 12 when my parents taught me. I would cook so that I could provide for my family; my parents were busy working so I learnt to cook so that I could feed my younger siblings. Then I started to cook in other people’s restaurants and then I started to perfect my own recipe, the soya chicken. In 2009 I opened up my hawker in the Chinatown complex food complex in Singapore. I was considered the new kid on the block at that point, but word soon spread about my dish.

What do you think sets your food apart from the rest of Singapore’s street food?

I suppose my food is unique as I have a very special way of cooking my chicken. In Singapore everyone holds street food dearly, as often recipes are handed down from generation to generation. I am hopeful that my Michelin star has helped to increase recognition and awareness of Asian street food and will encourage people to take up hawkering. If you have the interest and passion it can be very rewarding.

Chef Chan has come to the UK for the first time with an exclusive pop-up at KERB King’s Cross from the March 14 - 16, in collaboration with Singapore Airlines and Singapore Tourism Board

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