Regional category

Tung Lok Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year

Chef Vichit Mukura, Sala Rim Naam, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok (Tung Lok Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year)
Executive Chef of Sala Rim Naam, the signature Thai restaurant of the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, Chef Vichit Mukura has a wealth of culinary experience, having been in several establishments as a chef specialising in Thai, Chinese and international cuisine. Chef Mukura’s interest in the culinary arts began back when he was just a small kid, where he helped his mother prepare curry paste by pounding chilli. Now, at Sala Rim Naam, his exquisite Thai menu has been served to royalty, Heads of State and celebrities. He has also cooked for ex-Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

Chef Yong Bing Ngen, Majestic Restaurant (Tung Lok Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year)
The reigning Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year, owner and executive chef Yong Bing Ngen of the Majestic Restaurant has led the team in the kitchen of his esteemed restaurant to great heights, clinching several accolades, such as Luzerne Asian Restaurant of the Year 2010 and the 2007 Wine & Dine “Best New Restaurant” award. His menu of modern Cantonese cuisine, bound to leave any gourmand screaming for more, includes Majestic Restaurant’s trademark crispy wasabi prawns, crispy durian ice-cream, peking duck served with pan-fried spice foie gras and oven baked sea-perch in a fine Champagne sauce.

Chef Duangporn Songvisava, Bo.lan, Bangkok (Tung Lok Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year)
After graduating with a master degree from the University of Adelaide, Chef Duangporn first job came in the form of a hotel waitress and later a Commis III. It was after Duangporn flew to London and served as a chef de partie in Nahm, a Thai restaurant operated by Michelin-starred chef David Thompson, where her culinary adventure started. Under the tutelage of Chef Thompson, Duangporn gained invaluable philosophy of Thai cuisines and brought it back to Thailand and created Bo.lan, a 60-seat dining restaurant where gourmand would find long lost Thai cuisines reinvented for modern taste.

Chef Millind Sovani (Tung Lok Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year)
Chef Milind Sovani is the celebrated face of Indian cuisine in Singapore and south East Asia. Modern high end Indian cuisine and chef Milind are synonymous to each other. He and the "song of India" restaurant in Singapore are iconic figures on the culinary scene. Born & brought up in Mumbai, he has practically done it all in the span of 25 years as a chef. He has been the chef to two prime ministers of india, served innumerable heads of states and headed large 5 star hotels as executive chef & director of F&B.

Chef Foong Wai Loong, Xin Hwa (Tung Lok Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year)
Chef Foong Wai Loong, the head chef of renowned Xin Hwa Restaurant of Mandarin Oriental, Jakarta is a Malaysian citizen with seventeen years of culinary experience in the hospitality industry. He started his career as an apprentice at the age of 14 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he built a strong foundation before moving to Singapore where he worked at some of the best Chinese restaurants in the city where he was able to work with Singapore celebrity chefs Daniel Koh and Eric Neo.

Chef Ronnie Chia, Tatsuya Japanese Restaurant (Tung Lok Asian Cuisine Chef of the Year)
His is a story of passion and overcoming the odds. Perhaps this has contributed to his success, his relentless drive and incontestable desire to create exciting morsels from the finest possible ingredients. Best known for his lack of compromise towards excellence, Chef Ronnie began his passionate affair with wondrous food of great intricacy nearly three decades ago, it has been a curious journey to the very top of the list of great Japanese restaurants. Today his restaurant is featured on almost every list of Singapore's finest dining experiences, usually at the top, and having secured his reputation as a master of the art, Chef Ronnie Chia's slight smile is well deserved.