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Ricky Yan Yixin, Dining Room Chef of Ocean Park’s Neptune’s Restaurant, took part in the Chinese Cuisine World Championship (Individual Competition) 2018 in late November, winning the Silver Award in the Professional Group – Chinese Hot Meal category.
Often dubbed as the Oscars of the Chinese cuisine arena, the Chinese Cuisine World Championship is organized by the China Cuisine Association. It is the only international cooking competition for Chinese cuisine authorized by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) that upholds certified judges and sets global standards for competition rules.
Under the theme of “Craftsmanship; Creativity; Contemporary; Globalisation of Chinese Cuisine” (匠心．創新．時尚．中餐國際化), the championship this year was divided into two groups, Professional and Young Chefs. Chefs from each group pitted their skills in four different categories - Hot Main Course, Cold Main Course, Chinese Starch Course and Fruit and Vegetable Carving.
Chef Ricky Yan competed in the Hot Main Course category where participants were given 90 minutes to complete two courses featuring beef and vegetarian dishes. More than 160 professional chefs from across the globe participated in the championship. Following an intense day of competition, Chef Ricky Yan received a high score for his dishes of Braised Wagyu Beef in Aged Vinegar Served with Black Soy Bean Tart and Moral Mushroom, Bean Curd and Assorted Vegetables with Winter Melon Roulade, Served with Sweet Corn Puree and Crispy Purple Potato, and was awarded the honour of the Silver Award.
Chef Ricky Yan joined Ocean Park at the beginning of 2018 and has been responsible for the operation of Neptune’s Restaurant’s Chinese cuisine department and the design of new seasonal dishes. Chef Ricky has 12 years of culinary experience and has worked in a number of Michelin-starred restaurants, specializing in Cantonese cuisine. Trained by Master Chef Chan Kwok-keung, consultant of Ocean Park and Head Chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant, he takes the cuisines of Beijing, Huaiyang, Sichuan and Cantonese to the next level by creatively pairing different seasonal ingredients and cooking concepts.
Award-winning dishes:
Braised Wagyu Beef in Aged Vinegar Served with Black Soy Bean Tart is a fusion of eastern and western flavours featuring a special selection of Japanese wagyu beef and crispy black soy bean tart. Gently pan-fried to retain the juiciness of the beef, Chef Yan braises the wagyu beef, celery, carrots and garlic for 15 minutes before topping it with Italian balsamic vinegar and Zhenjiang vinegar. The sweet and sour taste of the vinegar blends perfectly with the fatiness of the beef, while retaining its juiciness and tenderness. The crispy-baked black soy bean tart is topped with pan-fried Chinese salted black beans and yardlong beans, fusing western and Chinese cooking methods. Served with a blend of steamed sweet potato, pumpkin and apple as well as sides of fried preserved vegetables, Chinese kale and pan-fried cherry tomatoes with plum powder as garnish to enrich the overall flavour of the dish.
Chef Ricky Yan uses ingredients with different flavours and textures for his second award-winning dish, Moral Mushroom, Bean Curd and Assorted Vegetables with Winter Melon Roulade, Served with Sweet Corn Puree and Crispy Purple Potato. The outer layer of the roulade is made with thin-sliced winter melon, with bean curd and spinach as the first inner layer. The second layer moral mushroom is stuffed with bean curd and truffle sauce, mixed with a bean curd paste of soy milk, egg white and goji to enhance the rich savory flavour. The core of the roulade features baked mushroom with soy milk egg white and thin pumpkin slices. The winter melon roulade is steamed for 15 minutes, accompanied by sweet corn puree and crispy purple potato as garnish to present a delicious contrast of colours, flavours and textures.
Ocean Park guests can now enjoy these two award winning dishes at Neptune’s Restaurant on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays for a limited period!
“The cooking method for Chinese cuisine is very diverse. I hope to break away from geographical boundaries and utilize cooking concepts from around the world to create new and unique Chinese cuisine,” said Chef Ricky Yan. “The Braised Wagyu Beef in Aged Vinegar Served with Black Soy Bean Tart dish uses wagyu beef from Japan and a special blend of Italian balsamic and Zhenjiang vinegar, together with western-styled crispy tart shell and fried beef with Chinese salted black bean, the combination of these western and eastern ingredients complement one another and make a delicious fushion dish. The vegetarian dish Moral Mushroom, Bean Curd and Assorted Vegetables with Winter Melon Roulade, Served with Sweet Corn Puree and Crispy Purple Potato also features a variety of Chinese ingredients cooked in a Western style. Moulds are used to neatly arrange the food in different layers to ensure a gorgeous presentation.”
Chef Ricky Yan has previously won a number of cooking competitions in Hong Kong and at international level. He was crowned champion at the Guangdong, Hong Kong & Macau Professional Culinary Competition 2015, at the World Championship of Cookery in Taipei 2016 and at HOFEX 2017. He was also a top 80 finalist at the World Master Chefs Competition for Cantonese Cuisine 2017 and received a silver award.
Often dubbed as the Oscars of the Chinese cuisine arena, the Chinese Cuisine World Championship is organized by the China Cuisine Association. It is the only international cooking competition for Chinese cuisine authorized by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) that upholds certified judges and sets global standards for competition rules.
Under the theme of “Craftsmanship; Creativity; Contemporary; Globalisation of Chinese Cuisine” (匠心．創新．時尚．中餐國際化), the championship this year was divided into two groups, Professional and Young Chefs. Chefs from each group pitted their skills in four different categories - Hot Main Course, Cold Main Course, Chinese Starch Course and Fruit and Vegetable Carving.
Chef Ricky Yan competed in the Hot Main Course category where participants were given 90 minutes to complete two courses featuring beef and vegetarian dishes. More than 160 professional chefs from across the globe participated in the championship. Following an intense day of competition, Chef Ricky Yan received a high score for his dishes of Braised Wagyu Beef in Aged Vinegar Served with Black Soy Bean Tart and Moral Mushroom, Bean Curd and Assorted Vegetables with Winter Melon Roulade, Served with Sweet Corn Puree and Crispy Purple Potato, and was awarded the honour of the Silver Award.
Chef Ricky Yan joined Ocean Park at the beginning of 2018 and has been responsible for the operation of Neptune’s Restaurant’s Chinese cuisine department and the design of new seasonal dishes. Chef Ricky has 12 years of culinary experience and has worked in a number of Michelin-starred restaurants, specializing in Cantonese cuisine. Trained by Master Chef Chan Kwok-keung, consultant of Ocean Park and Head Chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant, he takes the cuisines of Beijing, Huaiyang, Sichuan and Cantonese to the next level by creatively pairing different seasonal ingredients and cooking concepts.
Award-winning dishes:
Braised Wagyu Beef in Aged Vinegar Served with Black Soy Bean Tart is a fusion of eastern and western flavours featuring a special selection of Japanese wagyu beef and crispy black soy bean tart. Gently pan-fried to retain the juiciness of the beef, Chef Yan braises the wagyu beef, celery, carrots and garlic for 15 minutes before topping it with Italian balsamic vinegar and Zhenjiang vinegar. The sweet and sour taste of the vinegar blends perfectly with the fatiness of the beef, while retaining its juiciness and tenderness. The crispy-baked black soy bean tart is topped with pan-fried Chinese salted black beans and yardlong beans, fusing western and Chinese cooking methods. Served with a blend of steamed sweet potato, pumpkin and apple as well as sides of fried preserved vegetables, Chinese kale and pan-fried cherry tomatoes with plum powder as garnish to enrich the overall flavour of the dish.
Chef Ricky Yan uses ingredients with different flavours and textures for his second award-winning dish, Moral Mushroom, Bean Curd and Assorted Vegetables with Winter Melon Roulade, Served with Sweet Corn Puree and Crispy Purple Potato. The outer layer of the roulade is made with thin-sliced winter melon, with bean curd and spinach as the first inner layer. The second layer moral mushroom is stuffed with bean curd and truffle sauce, mixed with a bean curd paste of soy milk, egg white and goji to enhance the rich savory flavour. The core of the roulade features baked mushroom with soy milk egg white and thin pumpkin slices. The winter melon roulade is steamed for 15 minutes, accompanied by sweet corn puree and crispy purple potato as garnish to present a delicious contrast of colours, flavours and textures.
Ocean Park guests can now enjoy these two award winning dishes at Neptune’s Restaurant on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays for a limited period!
“The cooking method for Chinese cuisine is very diverse. I hope to break away from geographical boundaries and utilize cooking concepts from around the world to create new and unique Chinese cuisine,” said Chef Ricky Yan. “The Braised Wagyu Beef in Aged Vinegar Served with Black Soy Bean Tart dish uses wagyu beef from Japan and a special blend of Italian balsamic and Zhenjiang vinegar, together with western-styled crispy tart shell and fried beef with Chinese salted black bean, the combination of these western and eastern ingredients complement one another and make a delicious fushion dish. The vegetarian dish Moral Mushroom, Bean Curd and Assorted Vegetables with Winter Melon Roulade, Served with Sweet Corn Puree and Crispy Purple Potato also features a variety of Chinese ingredients cooked in a Western style. Moulds are used to neatly arrange the food in different layers to ensure a gorgeous presentation.”
Chef Ricky Yan has previously won a number of cooking competitions in Hong Kong and at international level. He was crowned champion at the Guangdong, Hong Kong & Macau Professional Culinary Competition 2015, at the World Championship of Cookery in Taipei 2016 and at HOFEX 2017. He was also a top 80 finalist at the World Master Chefs Competition for Cantonese Cuisine 2017 and received a silver award.
