New Wave Discovery: Rising Star Chef Awardees ASIA x CANADA 2026 – April 9 – Hong Kong

ASIA x CANADA

april 9, 2026
HONG KONG

— Presented by the Chinese Restaurant Awards, April 9, 2026 marks an unprecedented moment in Asia’s culinary landscape. For the first time, Rising Star Chef Award awardees from Asia and Canada will gather in Hong Kong. Curated under the Awards’ New Wave Discovery Series, the evening brings these chefs to a single table to celebrate Chinese cuisine through talent, heritage, and cultural innovation.

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 milestone in the Awards’ Asia strategy—transforming recognition into real-world engagement through destination-based culinary experiences.

From Hong Kong and Macanese roots to the Pacific West Coast and Montreal’s Chinese traditions

The three Rising Star Chef awardees—Chef Jayson Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, Chef Andersen Lee of Oncle Lee & Oncle Lee Kăo, Montreal, and Chef Steven Che of Haisan, Vancouver—will draw on their personal heritage and culinary philosophies, uniting exceptional Hong Kong ingredients, iconic Lee Kum Kee sauces and condiments with signature Canadian produce to compose a seamless and inventive dining experience.

JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong Man Ho Deep fried fish maw stuffed with shrimp mousse

Man-Ho-Chinese-Restaurant-Hong-Kong-JW-Marriott-2

Man-Ho-Chinese-Restaurant-Hong-Kong-JW-Marriott

April 9, 2026 Thursday

Reception at 6:30 PM | DINING at 7:15PM

HOSTING VENUE Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong
Level 3, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong

– SOLD OUT –

Please note: No dietary modifications due to the curated menu.

OFFICIAL SAUCES AND CONDIMENTS

As the Official Sauce & Condiment Partner, Lee Kum Kee supports this exclusive event by inspiring the new generation of chefs and strengthening the global culinary community. Beloved by consumers and chefs alike, Lee Kum Kee’s range of more than 300 sauces and condiments sparks creativity in kitchen everywhere, inspiring professional and home chefs to experiment, create and delight. For more information, please visit www.LKK.com

OFFICIAL AIRLINE

China Eastern Airlines supports the journey by transporting the chefs through Shanghai and Hangzhou—two of Mainland China’s most influential culinary capitals—before continuing on to Hong Kong, offering an immersive and impeccably curated exploration of regional Chinese cuisine and contemporary dining culture.

SUPPORTING CANADIAN SEAFOOD HARVESTER

EatFish.ca is a longstanding seafood harvester and dedicated supporter of the Chinese Restaurant Awards, backing both award-winning and emerging chefs. With decades of experience exporting premium British Columbia seafood worldwide, their fresh, sustainably harvested products have become a trusted choice for the Awards’ gala dinners and culinary presentations.

EXCLUSIVE MEDIA PARTNER

GoCanada.com supports the Awards with its authority in elevated travel and lifestyle storytelling. Through its new OUTBOUND platform highlighting Canadian adventures worldwide, and with over 2.4 million followers on Instagram @Canada, the platform will share the Canadian Chinese chefs’ journey and this exclusive Rising Star Chef awardees event globally.

Rising Star Chef CANADA x ASIA Chinese Restaurant Awards

Hong Kong x Montreal x Vancouver Awardees

Chef Jayson Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant, JW Marriott Hong Kong

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 of Oncle Lee & Oncle Lee Kao, Montreal,

Chef ANDERSEN LEE
Executive Chef, 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 (Kǎo ranked No.24 on Elite 30 CANADA list in 2025), his cooking is unapologetically individual—layered, confident, and rooted in identity rather than fusion.

Chef STEVEN CHE
Executive Chef, 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 widely recognised for his sourdough-driven 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 most compelling new voices in contemporary Chinese gastronomy.