Are there any Hong Kong foods you miss when overseas? 'I miss Chinese carbohydrates - rice, dumplings and noodles. I even travel with jasmine rice when I go to Canada and when I go to the Philippines, I take Chinese snacks and sauces.'

Do you bring back any foods to Hong Kong when you travel? 'I usually bring back about 20kg of food. When I went to France, I came back with mustards, sauces, cheeses.'

What's your favourite restaurant in the world? 'Schwartz's on St Lawrence Avenue in Montreal. It's famous for its smoked meats. I don't eat meat now, but I did when I was a kid. We always go whenever we visit Montreal. It has grilled steaks, pickles, rye bread, cakes, fabulous French fries. The whole place is great.'

What other places do you like to visit for food? 'As a vegetarian, Thailand and India are good. As a foodie and gourmand, I love Paris and New York, but my favourite is Paris. When I'm there, I eat like the end of the world is coming but I lose weight. Maybe it's all the walking or maybe I'm just meant to be drinking wine and eating cakes all the time.'

What do you eat for comfort food? 'Soup. I have soup every day. My favourite is pea soup but I also love Chiu Chow sour cabbage soup with white pepper.'

What junk foods do you like? 'Candy. All other junk foods I can't stand. I don't like fried foods; they make me physically sick. I'm not big on ice creams. I especially love chewy mint candies, but any candy will do. I'm like the Statue of Liberty for candy: all are welcome.'

What's your most dependable dinner-party dish? 'The cheeseboard. I never make the same dish over and over again. I like trying different things, seeing what's fresh in the market. I have the most fun selecting cheeses and creating a good combination.'

What's the most difficult aspect of your job? 'It changes over time, but now it's trying to keep up with the creative side of the business; keeping my hands in the kitchen and in the food process.'

What's the best aspect of your job? 'It's the satisfaction of seeing a job done well. As simple as that sounds, I hope it's true for everybody in the business. It should be the reason we go into the business.'

Describe the perfect meal. 'Good friends with a large measure of laughter, a healthy portion of delicious food and an accent on learning. I think nothing goes better with food than laughter. If the food is great, it's a high; and if the discussion or people at the table make you stop and think and enhance your knowledge - what could be better than that?'