Chef puts a new spin on Cantonese flavors in New York

From the stainless steel plates of traditional Cantonese eateries to custom-made tableware for fine dining tasting menus, Kenny Leung sees his restaurant as a balance between tradition and innovation, preserving the roots of Cantonese cuisine while reimagining it for a modern audience.

Leung serves as the executive chef of YAO, which opened in 2024 in New York's Financial District. As the flagship restaurant of August Gatherings, the group began its journey in New York's Chinatown more than a decade ago before expanding downtown. Today, its modern Cantonese flavors are reaching an increasingly international audience.

"We want to enrich the depth and complexity of traditional Cantonese flavors through contemporary ingredients and techniques. At the same time, we hope to stay true to its roots while making it more accessible and relatable to today's diners, including international guests," Leung told China Daily in a recent interview.

The chef, who began learning to cook in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, at the age of 15, now leads a kitchen where traditional Cantonese wok hei (the smoky freshness of stir-fry) and open-flame cooking are combined with modern equipment such as immersion circulators, combi ovens and dehydrators.

"Modern Cantonese cuisine is not about overturning tradition but about building on it — introducing new elements while preserving its foundations," he said.

"There is tradition, but no single authentic version. In every era, dishes are shaped by the tastes, ingredients and aesthetics of that time. In that sense, what we call tradition is itself continuously evolving," he added.

As one of China's eight major culinary traditions, Cantonese cuisine originated in Guangdong and is known for its emphasis on fresh ingredients — from seasonal vegetables and live seafood to roasted meats such as goose and duck. It is prepared with a focus on light and balanced flavors, and the restaurant offers a modern interpretation of this culinary tradition.

In addition to its a la carte menu, the restaurant offers a tasting menu titled Tang Jia Yan and serves as an overseas platform for the preservation and promotion of Siqian intangible cultural heritage cuisine. Rooted in Siqian, a historic town located in the city of Jiangmen, with more than 1,800 years of history, the cuisine is presented through both fine dining and a more accessible contemporary format.

For Leung, innovation and preservation carry equal weight. He continues to develop new dishes while training apprentices to ensure the craft is passed on.

"I hope more local American diners can understand the flavors of Cantonese cuisine and the ingredients behind it," he said. "Cantonese cooking requires experience, timing and daily attention to ingredients. We are not focused only on short-term profit, but on sustainability and long-term development. We hope to preserve and carry Cantonese cuisine forward through our generation."

For 29-year-old New Yorker Delaney Masal, who has been to China and widely experienced its cuisine, the restaurant offers a distinctive lens through which to understand Cantonese food in New York. As dishes arrived at the table, she reached for her phone to film the presentation.

"The flavors are very traditional," she said. "But they're also taking into account the American palate. Having a Cantonese restaurant in the city means finding this balance between honoring a culinary tradition and making it accessible to a new audience."

Jerald Braddock Jr, a New York resident, said his experience of dining in Chinese restaurants in the US has shown him the growing popularity of regional Chinese cuisines, especially among younger diners.