Chinese Restaurant Awards Presents New Wave Discovery:
Rising Star Chefs from Asia and Canada Unite for a One-Night-Only Dinner in Hong Kong
On April 9, 2026, Asia’s culinary scene will gather for an inaugural event on the global stage. Chinese Restaurant Awards’ Rising Star Chef Award recipients from Asia and Canada – featuring Jayson Tang of Hong Kong’s Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, Anderson Lee of Montreal’s Oncle Lee & Oncle Lee Kǎo, and Steven Che of Vancouver’s upcoming Haisan restaurant – will come together at Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong.
Curated under the Chinese Restaurant Awards’ New Wave Discovery Series, the evening brings these chefs to a single kitchen to celebrate contemporary Chinese cuisine through talent, heritage, and creative cooking.
“New Wave Discovery is about recognising chefs who are not only technically accomplished, but culturally influential,” explains Rae KunG, CEO of Chinese Restaurant Awards. “By bringing Rising Star Chef awardees from Asia and Canada together in Hong Kong, we are creating a platform where heritage meets movement. We want to show how Chinese cuisine continues to evolve globally through dialogue and a new generation of chefs shaping what comes next.”
Founded in Canada in 2008, the Chinese Restaurant Awards is the world’s longest-running awards organization devoted exclusively to Chinese cuisine. For over a decade, the Awards has documented excellence across regions, identified emerging culinary talent, and built an international platform that reflects the depth, diversity, and ongoing evolution of Chinese gastronomy.
Supported by Lee Kum Kee Sauce, China Eastern Airlines, Eatfish.ca and GoCanada.com, this intimate, one-night-only event marks the Chinese Restaurant Awards’ first official live showcase in Asia, following its expansion into the region last year with the Elite 15 ASIA and chef awards programs. The dinner represents a significant step in the Awards’ Asia strategy – transforming recognition into real-world engagement through destination-based culinary experiences.
Across a collaborative multi-course menu, each chef will present signature dishes while sharing the stories of their roots – from Hong Kong and Macau to Vancouver and Montreal’s evolving Chinese traditions. Personal heritage will be combined with premium Hong Kong ingredients, Lee Kum Kee signature sauces and condiments and iconic Canadian seafood, resulting in a beautiful menu that reflects both place and perspective. The evening offers diners a rare front-row seat to the next generation of Chinese culinary leadership.
PARTICIPATING CHEFS
- Chef Jayson Tang
Executive Chinese Chef, Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong
Rising Star Chef Awardee 2025 – ASIA
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Jayson Tang’s culinary journey began in his parents’ dai pai dong, where his immersion in local dining culture ignited a lifelong devotion to Cantonese cuisine. A graduate of the Chinese Culinary Institute, he refined his craft under leading masters including Paul Lau of two-Michelin-starred Tin Lung Heen. At just 29, Tang became the youngest executive Chinese chef of a five-star hotel in Hong Kong. Today, he leads Man Ho Chinese Restaurant at JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong—ranked No.13 on the Elite 15 ASIA 2025 by Chinese Restaurant Awards—where his cooking reinterprets Cantonese classics with restraint and precision, honouring tradition while shaping its contemporary future. - Chef Andersen Lee
Oncle Lee & Oncle Lee Kǎo, Montreal, Canada
Rising Star Chef Awardee 2025 – CANADA
A defining new voice in Canadian Chinese cuisine, Andersen Lee brings a distinctly Montreal perspective shaped by global fine-dining experience. Trained initially in French gastronomy, Lee is a recipient of the 50 Best BBVA Scholarship, with stages at Odette (Singapore), Core by Clare Smyth (London), and Quintonil (Mexico City). A pivotal experience at Mister Jiu’s in San Francisco redirected his focus toward Chinese cuisine as personal and cultural expression. At Oncle Lee and Oncle Lee Kǎo, his cooking is unapologetically individual—layered, confident, and rooted in identity rather than fusion. - Chef Steven Che
Haisan (Opening in June), Vancouver, Canada
Rising Star Chef Awardee 2024 – CANADA
Macau-born and Vancouver-based, Steven Che is known for his narrative-driven approach to cooking, shaped by early training at three-Michelin-starred Maaemo in Oslo. While currently recognised for his sourdough pizza concepts, Che’s fine-dining work explores memory and heritage through reimagined Chinese dishes, ranging from Dungeness crab congee to sourdough scallion pancakes. His cuisine reflects a belief that food is storytelling, positioning him as one of Canada’s compelling new voices in contemporary Chinese cooking.
Together, the three chefs will create a menu that embodies the spirit of the New Wave Discovery Series – a platform dedicated to identifying chefs whose work highlights where Chinese cuisine is heading next.
Event Details
Date: April 9, 2026 Thursday
Venue: Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong (Level 3, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong)
Time: 6:30pm reception | 7:15pm DINING commences
Reservations
HKD 2088 +10% service charge per person
Early bird HKD 1888 +10% service charge per person – Book before February 28th –
Bookings must be for a minimum of two seats.
This is a privatized event. Reservations are available via Man Ho Chinese Restaurant’s WhatsApp: +852 6840 1309.
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ABOUT CHINESE RESTAURANT AWARDS
Founded in 2008 in Vancouver, Canada, the Chinese Restaurant Awards is the world’s longest-running restaurant awards devoted to Chinese cuisine. Established to heighten public appreciation of Chinese dining and foster cross-cultural exchange, the Awards is guided by a team of culinary and marketing professionals united by a deep passion for Chinese gastronomy. Over the years, it has built a legacy of influential events and collaborations that showcase the diversity, creativity, and excellence of Chinese restaurants. In 2025, the Awards embarks on a pivotal new chapter, expanding beyond Canada to celebrate exceptional restaurants and culinary talent across Asia, defining a new era as an emerging global voice in Chinese gastronomy.
Chinese Restaurant Awards | www.chineserestaurantawards.com
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