“I enjoy cooking with people who share the same passion for food – cooking is about friendship. He has been sending his guests from Hong Kong to me and I have been sending guests from Singapore to him,” says Wong, who is a Singapore permanent resident.

“For this four-hands dinner, we would like to create a menu that is very collaborative. Instead of me doing Seroja food and him doing Whey food, we want to collaborate on a menu that is co-created just for the event.”

Still, for insights into what a Seroja-Whey tie-up might yield, it is worth delving into the culinary philosophy of the former, which spotlights the diversity of cultures and culinary traditions of the Malay archipelago.

Responsible practices the restaurant incorporates include using line-caught fish, sourcing produce from farms that use crop rotation or other sustainable methodologies, and composting food waste – which the team uses for its herb garden on the roof of the Duo Galleria building, where the restaurant is located.

But that is not all. On the night of the Michelin guide announcement, a visibly emotional Wong – who was trained by chef Franck Putelat, of two-Michelin-star La Table de Franck Putelat in Carcassonne, France, and has also worked in three-Michelin-star institutions Coi and Benu in San Francisco, California – also won the Young Chef Award.

This accolade recognises a chef under the age of 36 for his or her “exceptional talent and great potential”.

“We were quite shocked because we had not been open for long and did not expect anything. But that is even better because we did not expect anything but we won big,” says Wong, reflecting on the fairy tale evening.

A Port Klang native, Wong was most recently the head chef at Sun Kim’s one-Michelin-star contemporary Korean restaurant Meta, before he struck out on his own with Seroja.

During his time at Meta, the culinary wunderkind represented Asia at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition in 2021, ultimately clinching a spot in the top three during the international finals in Milan, Italy.

It was during this competition that he dug deep into his experiences as a chef and discovered his affinity for regional flavours – and this has evolved to form the gastronomic ethos behind Seroja.

“When I went overseas I didn’t learn recipes – rather, I gained insights into the perspectives of the chefs. For example, in France they use simple ingredients that showcase their culture, terroir [or environment] and geography. In California, chefs in the Bay Area use lots of nice vegetables that are grown locally,” he says.

Closer to home, he speaks highly of his former boss, chef Kim of Meta.

“He cooks Korean food and expresses his culture in Singapore even with the use of local ingredients. It is only by working with chefs around the world that I have learnt to really appreciate where I am from and gained the maturity to express the cuisine from my region regardless of where I am,” he adds.

In Seroja, he matches Hokkaido or Scottish isles scallop slow-cooked in garlic oil with a trio of sauces made from torch ginger flowers, lily bulbs with tamarind and palm sugar, and podi dal with lentils and spices.

“This dish is inspired by the diversity of Singapore and Asia, and showcases how we migrate and assimilate cultures across borders,” he says. “This is the beauty of our region that we can have Chinese, Indian and Malay food all at the same time.”

Another highlight is the percik beef short ribs, which are based on an old style of slow cooking or basting a whole cow either slowly over a wood fire or by burying it underground. This is usually served during celebrations.

At Seroja, the dish is served with heirloom or wild rice – depending on what its Sarawak suppliers are able to source – and a selection of lauk pauk, which means “side dish” in Malay and typically includes a seasonal salad.

“This rojak represents our food culture and eating habits and has evolved over the months but the soul, DNA and spirit is always the same,” he says.

Still, by his own admission, it took him a while to find his stride in creating dishes for Seroja. “Our cuisine tends to be strongly flavoured with spices and sauces and is meant to be eaten with rice so it works well in an à la carte format,” he says.

The restaurant’s first week, he recalls, was a “disaster” – not because the food was bad but because he had to get accustomed to the multi-course concept.

“I liked every dish we had and the diners enjoyed the food but I felt everything was too heavy. So instead of creating good dish after good dish, we focus on creating a menu.”

This includes serving more seafood dishes, as these tend to have lighter flavours and incorporate more herbs instead of strong spices. He has also been experimenting with serving food at different temperatures to introduce an element of “tension and release”, he says.

To prepare for the pop-up collaboration, Wong planned to visit Hong Kong for a leisure trip ahead of the event, to allow himself time to try out local food and familiarise himself with Hong Kong palates.

“My goal is to just be curious and explore the city, especially the markets and cha chaan teng,” he says. “I would like to learn more about Cantonese and Chinese cuisine.”