Ms. G’s chef Dan Hong opens up on his life, career and secret recipes

Dan Hong is one of Sydney’s brightest and most dynamic young chefs, so it’s no wonder his dishes have earned him a cult following.

Head Chef Dan Hong at Mr Wong, 3 Bridge St, Sydney. Picture: Craig Wilson

GROWING up around his mum’s Vietnamese restaurants Thanh Binh in Cabramatta and Newtown, Dan Hong developed a love of food and cooking at an early age.

“When I was growing up, I took it for granted about how well I ate,” he said.

“Growing up in a Vietnamese family and for most children who grow up in ethnic families, a lot of the culture revolves around the food.

“I really enjoyed cooking, I always cooked at home as my mum was always cooking at the restaurant,” he said. “I thought I would give it a crack – I always loved eating.”

The very cool Mr Wong's restaurant in the CBD.

Hong began his career in the family business before joining the kitchens of elite restaurants including Tetsuya’s, Marque, Longrain and Lotus.

With mentors including Martin Boetz, Martin Benn, Mark Best and Justin Hemmes, Hong emerged as one of Sydney’s brightest young chefs and is now the culinary brains behind Ms. G’s, Mr Wong, El Loco and Papi Chulo.

Hong said he was influenced by travelling and eating – from fine dining to food courts and the even the frozen food aisle.

Dan Hong at Mr Wong's .

Fried chicken with a Korean flavour.

In his new book Mr Hong, he takes readers through his life, career and 95 of his favourite dishes including Vietnamese, Chinese and Mexican cuisine.

It features his much-loved Lotus cheeseburger, mini pork banh mi, grilled king prawns with kombu butter, roast duck, Korean fried baby chicken and Stoner’s Delight, the top selling dessert at Ms G’s.

Lotus ice cream sundae

Dan Hong's mini pork bahn mi

Hong said all the restaurants he now worked in were all based on the philosophy that everything had to be delicious.

Kanye West certainly found that to be true on his recent Sydney visit — he dined at Mr Wong twice before returning with his wife Kim Kardashian.

Listing his top cuisines as Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese, he said he also loved French, Singaporean, Laotian, Thai and American food, stating they take junk food “to the next level”.

“Thai food is one of the most complex plates there is,” Mr Hong said.

“We’ve got it really good in Sydney, I really love the Sydney scene.”

Grilled King Prawns with Kombu butter

Fried chicken with Kim Chee sauce.

He said his biggest challenge was when Merivale CEO Justin Hemmes, who also owns The Ivy, approached him with the desire to open a Mexican restaurant, El Loco in Surry Hills.

“At first it was weird, I was so busy doing Ms. G’s,” Mr Hong said. “We had only been open a month or so and I was like: ‘What?!’

“I said, ‘I will do it but I know nothing about Mexican food’.”

Justin Hemmes in his new restaurant in Manly Wharf’s Papi Chulo.

After a research trip to LA where he ate his way through a truckload of tacos, the menu at El Loco evolved into “the kind of food you want to inhale with one hand, while holding a margarita in the other”.

Although it is by no means authentic, it has a blend of textures including Asian flavours and the ideals of Mexican cuisine including freshness, spice, richness and contrast.

Mr Hong is out now published by Murdoch Books and priced $49.99.