The Chairman: A Modern Classic Of Cantonese Cuisine In Hong Kong

The Chairman has become one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated destinations for Cantonese cuisine, but its story began with an unconventional restaurateur rather than a classically trained chef.

Founded in 2009 by Danny Yip, a former accountant and technology entrepreneur who developed his culinary skills while living in Australia, The Chairman was created around a simple idea: exceptional Cantonese cooking should begin with exceptional ingredients.

Yip works closely with longtime head chef Kwok Keung Tung, and together they have developed a style that respects traditional Cantonese techniques while creating entirely new recipes around seasonal produce.

The Chairman quickly developed a devoted following and made history in 2021 when it became the first restaurant in Hong Kong to take the No. 1 spot on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. After relocating to The Wellington on Wellington Street in Central in 2022, the restaurant continued its ascent, reaching No. 1 on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026.

 

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The menu at The Chairman is driven by seasonality, freshness and restraint, with seafood sourced from Hong Kong markets and many sauces and preserved ingredients prepared in-house.

Its most famous dish is the steamed fresh flowery crab with aged Shaoxing wine, fragrant chicken oil and flat rice noodles, a signature that combines sweet, delicate crab with the deep aroma of aged wine and savory chicken oil.

Other signature dishes have included Chairman-style thick-cut char siu, made with a specific cut of pork and finished with rose syrup, as well as camphorwood-smoked goose, steamed grouper fish head with fermented chilli and salted lard, and congee with poached slipper lobster, geoduck and shrimp oil.

The restaurant’s approach is distinctly Cantonese: rather than relying on elaborate presentations or heavy seasoning, the cooking is designed to reveal the natural character of the ingredients.

The Chairman also deliberately avoids luxury ingredients such as shark’s fin, sea cucumber and bird’s nest, choosing instead to focus on what it considers more interesting and sustainable ingredients.