Founded in Vancouver · 2008

About Chinese Restaurant Awards

From Vancouver, inviting the world to discover Chinese cuisine.

Chinese Restaurant Awards began with a deceptively simple question: What should we eat?

We believed the best way to understand a restaurant was to begin with the dish itself. That founding idea grew from a Vancouver dining guide into an international platform celebrating the chefs, restaurants and culinary stories shaping Chinese gastronomy across Canada, the United States and Asia.

How the Awards Are Decided →Contact the Awards →

One founding idea · A growing world

The journey so far

2008

Vancouver

The Signature Dish guide begins.

CANADA

A national guide

Recognizing Chinese dining across the country.

U.S.

A new chapter

Discovering distinctive voices in American Chinese dining.

ASIA

Beyond borders

Exploring Chinese gastronomy outside Mainland China.

Why we exist

Great taste opens the door.

From regional traditions and neighbourhood institutions to refined dining rooms and new creative voices, we invite people to experience Chinese cuisine with curiosity and depth.

Discover

Guide diners towards restaurants, dishes and stories worth seeking out.

Recognize

Give deserving chefs, restaurateurs and culinary leaders a wider platform.

Connect

Create meaningful exchange between generations, cultures, cities and communities.

Leadership

Leading the Awards forward

Bringing together brand leadership, culinary judgement, cultural storytelling and memorable experiences.

Chief Executive Officer

Rae Kung

With experience at leading international agencies in Hong Kong and collaborations with luxury and lifestyle brands across Canada and Asia, Rae Kung brings a global perspective to culinary storytelling and cultural advocacy. Named one of Western Canada’s Top 10 Foodies by Western Living in 2019, she creates platforms that bring chefs and their stories to wider audiences, foster dialogue across borders and present the continuing evolution of Chinese food culture with sensitivity and imagination.

Chief Operating Officer

Jacob Ung

A former marketing leader for global automotive brands, Jacob Ung brings experience across brand, business and cultures, together with a genuine curiosity about people and ideas. A seasoned traveller from Richmond, British Columbia, he sees the table as an entry point into a city’s history, culture and way of life. As Chief Operating Officer, he combines this perspective with a deep appreciation for the heritage, diversity and human stories carried through Chinese cuisine. In 2025, he received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his contributions to Canada and his community.

Governance note

Jacob served as a Taste Advisor for the 2025 and 2026 Awards. The 2026 voting process concluded in June, before his appointment as Chief Operating Officer in August 2026. His votes were submitted during the official voting period and remain valid; his advisory role ended before he joined the organization’s leadership.

Vice President, Gala & Events

Amy Venhuizen

Amy Venhuizen has built her career at the intersection of real estate development and lifestyle curation. As a Director at Vancouver-based Sunwins, she has overseen high-rise residential projects and collaborated with notable talent to create distinctive dining, hospitality and lifestyle experiences. Her approach brings architectural vision and thoughtful programming together, informed by extensive travel and her roots in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where she studied at Lakehead University.

Vice President & Chair of Judging Panel · CANADA

Lee Man

A founding judge of the Awards and a prominent Canadian food critic, Lee Man has devoted years to exploring Chinese cuisine and the signature dishes that define great restaurants. He contributes regularly to Vancouver Magazine and Montecristo Magazine, with work also appearing in Wine Access, the Financial Times and Time Out. His perspective has been featured by the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times and Eater.

Where it began

The founding vision

A shared belief that Vancouver’s Chinese dining culture deserved thoughtful, credible and wider recognition.

Co-founder

Craig Stowe

Known for producing high-profile events including Luxury & Supercar Weekend and Diamond Rally, Craig Stowe co-founded Chinese Restaurant Awards with Stephen Wong in 2008. By bringing respected critics together around a credible recognition programme, he helped elevate Vancouver’s Chinese culinary scene and strengthen the city’s reputation as a global destination for Chinese gastronomy.

Co-founder

Stephen Wong

A respected food and wine authority and author, Stephen Wong helped bridge non-Chinese-speaking audiences with the depth of Vancouver’s Chinese dining culture. His books include HeartSmart Chinese Cooking and New World Noodles. Through his writing and advocacy, he brought greater visibility to Chinese restaurants and shaped a broader understanding of the city’s culinary landscape.

A legacy programme since 2013

Chinese Master Chefs

Skill, creativity and passion are essential for any great chef, but mastery asks for something more: the ability to uphold tradition, deepen a craft and inspire those who follow.

Since 2013, Chinese Master Chefs has celebrated exceptional culinary journeys while giving emerging chefs and the dining public opportunities to learn from these masters. Milestones include the 2014 Gold Medal Dinner at Four Seasons Vancouver and the 2022 MASTERS Finale at Paradox Hotel Vancouver.

Discover Chinese Master Chefs →

Beyond the guide

Programmes that bring the mission to life

Dining, travel and community initiatives create places for chefs, diners and cultures to meet.

Community impact · Since 2015

Scotiabank Feast of Fortune

Chinese Restaurant Awards has worked with St. Paul’s Foundation to support Feast of Fortune and its vital fundraising. More than 40 award-winning and New Wave chefs have contributed their talent to the gala, reflecting the restaurant community’s generosity. The partnership now supports medical research at the new St. Paul’s Clinical Support and Research Centre on the Jim Pattison Medical Campus.

Discover Feast of Fortune →

Culinary collaboration · Since 2014

DINING by the Awards

From the 2014 Chinese Master Chefs Gold Medal Dinner and 2016 Paris × Vancouver to the continuing DINING and Dim Sum Gala series, these events bring established masters and emerging chefs together to exchange ideas, collaborate and explore new possibilities for Chinese cuisine.

Past editions: 2018 · 2019 · 2022 New Wave · 2022 MASTERS Finale · 2023

Explore signature dining events →

Chinese Restaurant Awards Chinese Master Chefs Dining by the Awards Gala 首本名菜中華食肆大獎饗宴殿堂名廚

Taste City Shanghai Hangzhou Suzhou Hong Kong Taipei

Culinary tourism · Since 2017

Taste City Series

Launched with Taste Hong Kong in 2017, the series takes culinary storytellers beyond familiar dining routes to experience regional flavours, local culture and emerging trends from the inside. Its journeys have included Hong Kong, Taipei, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou and Ningbo—connecting Canadian audiences with the people and places shaping Chinese dining across Asia.

Explore the journeys: Hong Kong 2017 · Hangzhou & Shanghai 2018 · Hong Kong & Taipei 2018 · Shanghai, Hangzhou & Suzhou 2019

Discover Taste City 2026 →