April 30, 2021
Chef Paul Lau Ping-lui, chef de cuisine at Tin Lung Heen restaurant, in the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong.
South China Morning Post
When did you come to Hong Kong? I was born in Guangzhou and in 1977, at the age of 14, came here with my family because it was easier to make a living, although we started out living in a wooden hut. Soon after we arrived, I started working at Lung Yu Chinese Restaurant, in Jordan, where I cleaned the bathrooms, washed dishes and made tea for the chefs.
How did you learn how to cook? I watched the chefs cook, especially the ones who had flair. After they left for the day I had to clean the kitchen, but not before I tried my hand at cooking their leftovers with the wok. I finished cleaning around 1am.