HK-Born Dim Sum “Chief Chef” From Crystal Jade Becomes Chee Cheong Fun Hawker

Speaking to us in a mixture of Mandarin and Cantonese, Yiu Man talks us through his impressive resume: back in Hong Kong, he worked at the likes of Hotel Miramar in Tsim Sha Tsui (now rebranded to The Mira Hong Kong) as a dim sum chef. Before that, he started out at no-frills tea houses when he was only 13, right after primary school. “Last time, everyone came out to work first. We weren’t so lucky to get a [full] education before working,” he shares.

Thereafter, he made his way to Singapore with his wife, and found a job in 2001 as executive dim sum chef at Crystal Jade, overseeing dim sum production at various outlets. He stayed for five years before going over to Yauatcha in London for a year as head chef.

“But who knew I was so lucky to get my [Singapore] PR [status approved when I was in London]. I discussed it with my wife, and I knew that if I gave it up, it’d be very difficult to get it again,” he shares. The couple decided to return to Singapore to raise their daughter (a grad who’s now working in marketing here). He returned to Crystal Jade Culinary Concept Holdings as chief chef, where he continued to oversee dim sum production for another eight years.

His most recent appointment before becoming a hawker was as dim sum head chef at Select Group (whose concepts includes Hong Kong Sheng Kee Pau and Pho Street) for three years. In 2021, he decided to call it quits: “I’ve been working [for others] for 46 years, so for my last few years before retiring, I wanted to try working for myself.” Being a hawker was ideal, as it’d give him full control over his working hours, he says.

Yiu Man decided to become a cheong fun hawker after decades preparing and tasting the dish. He waves his hand offhandedly when we ask if he has fears of being crowded out by other HK-style chee cheong fun hawkers, some of whom are expanding aggressively. “Cooking is all about skill. You can’t just hire people and teach them, then expect them to cook it well,” he scoffs.

His steely demeanour cracks somewhat when it comes to his wife, a long-time homemaker who now takes orders and plates the rice rolls after he’s cooked them. He chides her when she sprinkles the shallots over the congee a little messily – but gently, and she boxes him in the arm in return.

“He needed my help, so of course I helped – but it’s hard and tiring. At the start, I was very flustered and kept making mistakes, but it’s better now,” chirps Pik Yung.

Despite his stall being only around two-months young, the stall already boasts a constant steam of customers throughout our late morning weekday shoot.

According to the longtime chef, he doesn’t have any grand expansion plans a la his ex-Crystal Jade colleague-turned-hawker’s chain, Chef Kin HK Wanton Noodle – at least for now. “I’m not sure yet – maybe I’ll work for a few years and then retire. Just because you want to hire someone, doesn’t mean you can find someone [suitable]. They must be willing to learn and improve,” he declares.

Apart from four handmade cheong fun options, he also sells Hong Kong-style glutinous rice and century egg congee. They used to sell radish cake as well, but removed temporarily from the menu as it was simply too much work, Pik Yung tells us. The prices here range from an affordable $2.50 to $4.

According to Yiu Man, the cheong fun recipe he uses is an adaptation from the one he used at Crystal Jade. The batter consists of just rice flour and potato starch, which he stirs and spoons onto a wet cloth placed over a steamer. It’s covered for a spell to cook halfway, before he adds the toppings: char siew from a supplier, in this instance. It is then transferred to an oiled, stainless steel countertop, where he bundles up and slices the cheong fun.

He insists that we try the cheong fun sans condiments first, with just the umami soy-based sauce and nothing else. “This is how we eat it in Hong Kong. I only discovered that people eat cheong fun with this when I came to Singapore,” he says, pointing to the fried shallots, spring onions and chilli on the counter.

So we oblige. The rice rolls aren’t exactly restaurant-quality, as they’re marred by occasional rips in the sheets – despite already being a little thicker than what you’d get at some dim sum restaurants like Crystal Jade Hong Kong Kitchen. Still, they are wonderfully silky and smooth, providing a pleasant canvas for the lean, savoury char siew bits. Delish, especially drizzled with a blend of light soy sauce, shallot, onion, spring onion and sesame oil.

A scattering of medium-sized shrimp – frozen, but still plump – also pairs well with the glistening, nicely QQ cheong fun, though the rolls are a bit too thick between the morsels of seafood.

And despite Yiu Man’s reticence about adding chilli to his cheong fun, his savoury, robust chilli is awesome. It has a well-balanced heat and a concentrated shot of umami from dried shrimp and fermented black beans. One of the best chilli crisps we’ve had at a cheong fun specialist — he should sell this by the jar.

Stir-fried wood ear (black fungus), julienned carrots and shimeji mushrooms provide an interesting interplay of textures and light nutty, vegetal flavours in this veggie roll, but we prefer the tastier char siew version.

When we don’t immediately order this simple dish, Yiu Man wags his finger at us and declares, “This is a classic. If you go to Hong Kong and don’t get this, it’s like you didn’t go to Hong Kong.” The ‘plain’ cheong fun isn’t actually plain, since the same housemade rice rolls (sans fillings), are now served with a trio of sauces – sweet sauce, reddish hoisin sauce and a blend of peanut and sesame sauce, with a garnish of sesame seeds.

The sauces intermingle artfully over the plate of cheong fun, making for a very pretty dish. Tastewise, it’s similar to the hoisin-and-soy drenched Singapore-style chee cheong fun, but sweeter, with a fragrant layer of nuttiness. Worth trying if you’re a fan of sweeter cheong fun.

Thai fragrant rice is cooked with pork shank for two hours, yielding velvety, comforting chok. Not the richest congee we’ve had, nor the punchiest, but it packs a mellow sweetness that blends well with the funk from the wobbly century egg strewn on top. The chewy slices of pork also add some heft to the bowl.

The hawker uses the long-grain, slender si miao rice produced in Zengcheng, a city in China’s Guangzhou province, for this dish. He claims that using this grain is crucial to achieving HK-style glutinous rice with distinct grains that have a good bite. That, and plenty of “technique and practice”. “Not everyone can make this,” he declares proudly.

But is it any good? Yes – the chewy grains are well-seasoned, with occasional bursts of umami from the accompanying slivers of earthy shiitake mushroom and salty-sweet lup cheong. There are also some peanuts studden within, adding further textural contrast. This is not your usual hawker centre-style lor mai gai — it’s great stuff, especially with a generous dollop of that lovely hae bee hiam-spiked chilli crisp.

Competently smooth Hong Kong-style cheong fun drenched in an umami sauce — although the rolls are a bit thicker than some of the offerings by other former chefs-turned-hawkers. However, what’s indubitably excellent here is the elegant glutinous rice dolloped with the feisty dim sum shifu’s equally feisty, hae bee-spiked chilli crisp.

Sing Lung HK Cheong Fun is at #01-4757 1 Beach Rd, 190001. Open daily except Tue, 8.30am – 2pm. More info via Facebook and Instagram.

Photos: Aik Chen

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