These Singaporean women are making waves in Hong Kong’s culinary scene

The restaurant industry demands hard work and commitment, and most professional kitchens are dominated by men. Chef Theign Phan, 43, heads up the Grand Majestic Sichuan restaurant in Hong Kong, and commands a Chinese kitchen of men with heavy woks.

Phan shared: “In spite of physical limitations, I find solutions on how to make it work. I can’t carry the massive stock pot on my own, so I ladle the stock in steps, or I use a smaller wok and fry in several batches instead of using a big one, mastering consistency.”

Eunice Lau, chef-owner of Dough Beings credits collaboration to overcome the physical challenges. “I mix my cream in an industrial-sized 40L mixer. We are a bunch of women and teamwork makes us efficient. We’ve had our fair share of obstacles starting from construction to running an industrial kitchen. We drew our floor plan, and role played the entire process before designing our kitchen ourselves!”

Dough Beings is the brainchild of entrepreneur sisters Eunice and Esther Lau, both in their 30s, who pride themselves on creating deliciously fun creations from end-to-end, which includes the packaging design and photography in addition to the research, development and creation of the product. Eunice runs the kitchen, and Esther handles the business side of things.

“We both come from a visual arts background, and we love experiments and making all our ingredients from scratch. I started my ‘mother yeast’ from my liquid sourdough, and it has been growing for five years now. We are balancing lactic and acetic acid right now, it’s an ongoing science project for us,” shared Eunice, who did her professional training in two Michelin-starred Taillevant in Paris and worked with MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) and one-Michelin-starred chef Frederick Simonin where she mastered making lemon tarts and petit fours.

Like Phan, Astoria Koh, 37, rose through the ranks with relentless hard work prior to leading the pastry team at three-Michelin-starred Caprice Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong.

Koh echoes the joy in the process of pastry and creation at Dough Beings. “I love the hands-on nature of the work and find it incredibly satisfying to see finished products from raw ingredients.”

Phan is an old Rafflesian, with a degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin. Before finding her footing in the professional kitchen, Phan had a late start in a culinary career. “I began by working jobs in the F&B industry in my early 20s including a couple of years at Singapore’s Pelican seafood restaurant.”

Phan credits her ex-principal Mrs Carmee Lim at Raffles Girls School for her progressive thinking and a guiding force. “All of us were taught the world was one of equal opportunities, regardless of gender. You can do whatever you want, just make sure you do it well,” she said.

Koh spent the last decade working under the mentorship of chef Guillaume Galliot. “Frankly, I never thought about my gender in my career, or how it has limitations. I have been very lucky to work with chefs who focus on the quality of my work, not my gender. I’ve always been treated as an equal in the kitchen. My chef is constantly pushing me to take the reins, to get comfortable expressing myself in the kitchen and through my desserts.”

As the dining scene evolves, we have seen the rise of more female chefs across Asia, however Phan remains a rare breed. “You rarely see a female chef in a Chinese kitchen, and I’m always being challenged. I don’t run my kitchen like a true Chinese kitchen, we treat everyone with respect, it’s collaborative, not hierarchical,” she said.

Six years ago, Phan packed her bags and took up an opportunity to work in Hong Kong with the Black Sheep restaurant group. “I always said I wanted to be a chef, and nobody took me seriously. My parents are typical Asians and wanted me to focus on getting a degree first.”

Koh did not have grand ambitions, but always had a keen eye for details and a passion for creation. “I’ve always envisioned myself working in a cake shop, and never imagined I'd end up working in a Michelin-starred restaurant, let alone lead the pastry team in a three Michelin-starred one in Hong Kong.”

Her love for baking began in childhood and she started working part-time jobs in bakeries when she was 16. After completing a diploma in interior architecture and design at Temasek Polytechnic, Koh decided to study pastry at Le Cordon Bleu Sydney. She started as a pastry cook at Janice Wong’s 2am:dessertbar, with stints at now-closed two-Michelin-starred The Tasting Room by Galliot in Macao and L’Atelier de Robuchon in Singapore before arriving at Caprice as pastry sous chef in 2018.

As the only Singaporean on the Caprice team, Koh is very grateful for the opportunity to lead and inspire other young women chefs.

Phan echoes her sentiments. "I'd love to mentor the next generation of young chefs as they navigate the challenges of a culinary career and show all the young women who love being in the kitchen that it’s possible – it starts with us.”

For the Lau sisters, the idea to start Dough Beings came about when borders were closed during the pandemic and they were stuck in Singapore for a couple of months, unable to return to Hong Kong. The sisters learnt many family recipes from their Hainanese grandmother, and it was through food and family meals that brought the entire family closer together.

“It's such a cliché but it’s the crux of how we started. Our goal is to create experiences around food. We want everyone to enjoy the whole tasting experience – taste, flavour, texture, presentation,” said Eunice.

Growing up in Hong Kong, Esther and Eunice studied at the Singapore International School, and both graduated with degrees in Marketing and Communications. After graduating from Manchester University, Eunice left for Shanghai to work in a test kitchen, making scones and waffles. That propelled her to go to Paris to pursue a culinary path at Le Cordon Bleu and she stayed for three years.

Dough Beings runs a tight ship with low overhead and has a regular client base for both their regular breads, pastries and “Bombas” – bombalone, an Italian doughnut. They also create custom edible creations for luxury retail clients like Richard Mille, Piaget and Roger Vivier. To date, they have done wildly delicious bomba fillings from the popular confinement food pig trotters’ vinegar to the Peranakan dish ayam buah keluak.

Cooking is in the Lau family’s genes. Their grandmother ran a cafeteria at the airport and their grandfather used to be a chef at Tanglin Club.

“We started quite conservatively with crowd-pleaser flavours before gaining confidence to be more experimental. We collaborated with chef Barry Kwek of one-Michelin-starred Whey and buah keluak was a new ingredient we discovered.”

Driven by curiosity that in turn guides their creativity, the sisters worked out how to incorporate ingredients and many savoury dishes into bread and pastry, unlikely pairings that enhanced their flavours and this also differentiated them in this competitive industry.

Koh on the other hand shared that her “greatest work challenge is consistently coming up with new ideas, dishes and flavour pairings that is fit for a three Michelin-starred French restaurant that aligns with chef’s vision and passes the taste test.”

These women are passionate about honing and perfecting their crafts, finding creative and fun ways to continue their growth trajectory. Phan added: “Using a wok is about technique, we shouldn't use brute strength with a wok. If I’m tired, I hold the wok to my waist while I scoop so it acts as a lever. I’m not very tall so I adjust things in the kitchen so that I’m comfortable. We don’t always have to do it like the boys, we can do it our way, and even do it better.”

It is admirable that these Singaporean women overcame challenges to carve out successful careers in Hong Kong known for its competitive edge in food and gastronomy and are thriving today despite the uncertain global economic climate.

As Phan confidently said: “It begins with us to change the narrative. We should not tell ourselves no before even trying.”

“I don’t have decades of experience in this Chinese cooking field, but I am equipped with the science of cooking and a discerning palate,” she continued. “Like playing tennis, if you don’t have strength for a backhand, you use both hands. You learn to pivot.”