Young Chef Award winner Steve Lee continues to strive for more

Food & Travel

Published: 05 Jun. 2023, 14:54 Updated: 05 Jun. 2023, 22:05

Young Chef Award winner Steve Lee continues to strive for more

Head chef of Hansik Goo, Steve Lee. [HANSIK GOO]

Steve Lee, 31, is one of a growing number of local chefs establishing Korean fine dining as something more than a passing fad in the competitive Hong Kong food scene.

Last month, Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau recognized him as a rising chef in the region with the Young Chef Award. He is the head chef at Hansik Goo, the first Korean restaurant in Hong Kong to acquire one-Michelin-star status.

Lee recalled feeling “shocked and surprised” on the day he learned he had received the Young Chef Award.

“Even as I walked up on stage to get the award, I couldn’t believe it,” he said during a Zoom interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily in May. “I truly appreciate [the recognition] and am very grateful for the chefs’ respect.”

Steve Lee, far right, poses for photos after receiving the Young Chef Award by the 2023 Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau last month. [HANSIK GOO]

One important mentor for the up-and-coming chef is Kang Min-goo, the renowned Michelin-starred chef in Seoul who gave him his current job. Hansik Goo is Kang’s first international outpost restaurant.

Since he was a culinary school student who grew up watching cooking-themed Korean dramas, the idea of working with Kang was “a dream.”

“Chef Min-goo was already famous when I was a freshman [in university] so I had always wanted to work with him — and would constantly tell him so!” he said. The two attended the same school, Kyonggi University in Gyeonggi.

Lee’s persistence paid off when he began working in the front of the house at Mingles, Kang’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant in southern Seoul, then subsequently in the kitchen.

“The most memorable advice from Chef Min-goo came when I told him that I wanted to go to Australia,” said Lee. “He asked me a bunch of questions about Australia, its food and what I wanted out of the experience. But I couldn’t answer him because I hadn’t prepared properly. It sort of hurt [my ego] but it is advice that I still remember to this day and something that I tell junior chefs now as well.”

Spring bites at Hansik Goo[HANSIK GOO]

Lee joined the Bentley Restaurant Group in Sydney, Australia, where he honed his culinary skills for seven years before he got a call from Kang offering him the head chef position at Hansik Goo.

He recalled Kang having more trust in him than he had in himself at the time.

“I was so taken aback by the offer that I replied, ‘You’re serious?! Are you sure?’”

Lee was 29 years old when he assumed the post in 2020.

Inside Hansik Goo, a Korean fine dining restaurant in Hong Kong [HANSIK GOO]

Hansik Goo serves modern Korean cuisine or hansik, comprised of tasting menus and add-ons. Its offerings include classic, traditional dishes such as bibimbap, kalguksu (knife-cut wheat flour noodles), fish jorim (braised fish), samgyetang (chicken ginseng soup) and seolleongtang (ox bone soup), that are elevated with a contemporary twist.

Seasonality and authenticity of the dishes are some of the main focuses of Hansik Goo, said Lee.

One dish on the tasting menu of this year’s spring season was inspired by Lee’s mother.

“Last year, my mother sent me namul [seasoned vegetables] from Korea which I mixed in with rice and ate it and found it mind-blowing upon the first bite,” he said, “which is how our spring season menu namul bibimbap came to be!”

Bomnamul (spring seasoned greens) bibimbap at Hansik Goo [HANSIK GOO]

Cooking Korean food was a challenge for Lee at the beginning because, though he grew up eating and watching his mother cook it, he had only ever gotten training in Western cuisine.

“I really didn’t know how much work went into Korean dishes. I’ve come to appreciate my mother more since cooking hansik! But I am really happy to be able to incorporate my roots into my dishes.

“Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to doing Western cuisine.”

With so much pride and appreciation for the cuisine, Lee said he feels he has become a “hansik ambassador” in Hong Kong.

“Korean food is certainly getting a lot of spotlight right now in Hong Kong because of the heightened interest in Korean music and media,” said Lee. “I feel like [our customers] these days have more knowledge about Korean cuisine and so they understand my dishes better.”

There are 570 Korean restaurants in Hong Kong as of June 4, according to Asia’s food and restaurant guide OpenRice.

Some critics say that the sudden rise of Korean fine dining is a passing trend, but according to Lee, Hansik Goo is looking to retain loyal customers through continuous change.

"When something gets phenomenally big, I know people have concerns about whether it could be maintained," said Lee. "However, one of our missions at Hansik Goo is to keep this attention and fondness for Korean cuisine by continuously pushing the boundaries and evolving."

Fish jorim (braised fish) at Hansik Goo [HANSIK GOO]

Behind his successful career are tenacity and an incredible work ethic. "I feel like every day was a struggle!" he said.

“Each time I moved to a different restaurant in Australia, it was hard. The language was the biggest challenge in the beginning. Sometimes, I wasn’t able to live up to the expectations of the senior staff members. But, I still got up every day, told myself I could do it, and pushed myself harder. I thought to myself that I will show them one day that I can do this, that I can do it better — better than anyone else. I also try to empty the negative thoughts through hobbies like working out, and then bring only positive energy to work.”

Lee was open as to what the long-term future held for him, whether it be working in a different country or a restaurant, but one thing was for sure: it would have to be exciting.

“It’s like what I say to my kitchen team every day before service,” said Lee. “Life is a push. Do something. Let’s go!”

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]