As Executive Chef of the Merivale Group, chef Dan Hong has helped to open some of Sydney’s most exciting restaurants, including the voluminous Mr Wong (pictured below) and Good Luck Eating House. Hong began his career in the kitchen of his family's Vietnamese restaurant chain, Thanh Binh, in the city, before honing his skills at restaurants such as Tetsuya and Marque. Recently, he's been seen exploring the electric food culture of Hong Kong for SBS’s The Streets – Hong Kong. If you’d like to dine just like chef Hong, check out his guide to where to eat in Sydney.
Hi, Dan. What’s your go-to comfort food dish that you like to cook at home?
On my days off, I always light the charcoal BBQ in my backyard and cook a giant steak. I love dry-aged, grass-fed ribeyes. Add a nice bottle of red Burgundy and I’m in heaven. I’m a simple man.
And what about breakfast? A lot of chefs I know seem to skip it…
I also skip breakfast. I’m never hungry as soon as I wake up. I like to train fasted in the morning and have a post-workout protein shake or a couple of boiled eggs if I’m feeling peckish. That’s about it.
What’s a cookbook you always return to?
Hot Chefs, Hip Cuisine [2003, by Melisa Teo and Sandi Butchkiss] was the book that got me obsessed with fine dining. Obviously, I don’t come back to it for the recipes, but this was just so inspiring for me when I was 19 years old. I keep going back for the memories.
If you hadn’t become a chef, what would you have become?
The answer changes as I get older. When I first started cooking, I was obsessed with sneakers, so I had imagined myself owning a sneaker store. Now I would see myself doing something in the wine industry as I love wine. But my true passion is eating. Maybe I could join the dark side and become a food critic or Michelin inspector!
