Chinese restaurant in London first to win two Michelin stars outside Asia
2021-02-04 | CGTN
A. Wong, a London-based restaurant celebrating the richness of China's gastronomy in its unique dishes, has been awarded its second Michelin star, making it the first Chinese restaurant outside Asia to ever receive two of the coveted symbols of excellence.
A. Wong restaurant in Pimlico, London, now close under lockdown. /A. Wong
Chef Andrew Wong admits it's "a bit of an odd time" to be celebrating amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a third national lockdown in the UK, but he says that, regardless of the current situation, his team is "super excited and super happy" to have been recognized.
"We're incredibly proud – proud of ourselves, proud of the whole team, proud of all our suppliers and proud of every Chinese restaurant that has come before us," he says.
Andrew Wong in his restaurant, which he opened nine years ago. /CGTN
Wong believes that without the hard work of the Chinese restaurants that came before his, prestigious recognition such as that of the Michelin guide would have been impossible to achieve.
Among these Chinese restaurants, Wong can also count the ones opened by his family in the UK: "My grandparents first had a restaurant in a very, very small town in the Midlands, and we're talking about the 1970s. And then they came down and they had a restaurant in Chinatown and then my parents opened this restaurant in 1985," he says.