Two For Tastes: Alan Wong & Brian McKenna in a Kitchen Showdown

On January 25th and 26th chefs Brian McKenna and Alan Wong, of ROOMbeijing and the Hatsune empire respectively, will take each other on in the kitchen for an evening of creative cooking and playful sabotage. Each event will feature eight never-before-seen and never-to-be-seen-again dishes, and a live broadcast of their creations. Agenda caught up with the two chefs to learn more about the inspiration for this event, and what kind of rotten tricks you can expect from them in the kitchen.

Tell us a little bit about your upcoming event. What’s the concept, and what was the motivation behind it? M: Fun Fun Fun! That’s the whole idea. Well, that, and the togetherness of restaurant owners. Alan and I have been talking about it for years, and now we’ve finally found time to do it.
W: Basically, we’re putting on a dinner where Brian and I will each make four dishes in each other’s restaurants over the course of two nights. We wanted to do something unheard of – working in each other’s kitchens – and we wanted to have some fun. The dishes we will be creating at these events are not something that’s found on our current menus, and they will never be seen again. Brian and I have been talking about doing a private dinner together for some time now, but were both too busy last year with our operations. I’ve been so busy with business that we spent less and less time in the kitchen – this event, for me, is about picking up my sushi knife again and letting the demons out.
One of the things we wanted to show is that in the restaurant community, we’re not all in competition with one another, but rather that we work to help the other succeed. We should all be sharing ideas, tricks of the trade, and fine wine. Most of all, we want to encourage people to stop thinking of the trade as a business, and to have more fun with it.

How did you meet the other person, and what was your first impression of him?
W: I met Brian while he was at Blu Lobster, where a couple friends and I dined at the chefs table in the kitchen. We were floored when he presented us with a 14 course meal followed by a nine course dessert. I knew from the first time I tasted his creations that he is one of the most highly skilled and inventive chefs in the world.
M: Like Alan said, we first met in my kitchen at Blu Lobster. My first impression of him was that he was a cool guy, and at this time I didn’t know he was from the industry. When I got to know him better, I learned that he was not just a cool guy, but a super talented and very successful restaurateur. What’s more, he’s a very laid back guy who is fun to be around, and a great supporter of hospitality in Beijing.

One of you has a very traditional culinary background, the other one doesn’t. How has your particular background influenced your working together? W: I personally hope to absorb some of his culinary talent by working with him, and for him, I believe he will gain some experience working in a Japanese kitchen. I’m gonna make him create a signature roll for our secret menu.

How do your culinary stylings complement one another, and have you butted heads on anything?
W: We do come from different backgrounds, but our creativity and passion for making food are the same. During the event his molecular cuisine will meet my fusion Japanese. It’s going to get ugly in the kitchen, and I can’t wait!
M: Well, I was going to answer that Alan is keeping everything top secret… (laughs)

Any chance you’ll give us a clue to what we can expect?
W: I can’t tell you what we’re working on, but I can say that all the dishes will be served family style, and just like magic, they will only be performed once. We have no plans to repeat the event or even include the new creations in the menus.
M: Alan has agreed to become “the real naked chef.” I’m not sure what he means by it, but the ladies will love it… and some men I guess.

Well, if you’re not going to tell us what’s being served, how about a joke?
M: A dietician was once addressing a large audience in Chicago. “The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Vegetables can be disastrous, and none of us realize how many germs are in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all, and we all eat it. Can anyone here tell me what lethal product I’m referring to? You, sir, in the first row, please give us your idea.” The man lowered his head and said, “Wedding cake.” (laughs)

Between the two of you, you run some popular restaurants. Do you still go out to eat, drink and play, and if so, where do you go? M: Yes! I love going out for food and drinks! For food, Alan will kill me if I don’t say Hatsune, so of course I go there. I do a lot of work with Da Dong and love it there. Sadler, Lei Garden,… and there are so many great local restaurants in the CBD. For drinks, I like Glen, Molly Malone’s for a taste of home, and d lounge.
W: During the day you’ll find me in the snowboard park at Nan Shan, and at night, you can generally find me in Sanlitun. Other than my own restaurants and ROOMbeijing, I like Modo, Bei, Mare, Blue Frog and Lei Garden. I get stupid at Xiu, Centro, and occasionally at Suzie Wong’s.

ROOMbeijing Sun-Wed 11am-2am (kitchen closes midnight), Thu-Sat 11am-4am (kitchen closes 2am). Rm 301-302, 3/F, Park Life, Yintai Centre, 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (8517 2033) 朝阳区建国门外大街2号银泰中心301-302室

Hatsune 1) Daily 11.30am-2pm, 5.30-10pm. 2/F, Heqiao Bldg C, 8A Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (6581 3939) 朝阳区光华路甲8号和乔大厦C座2层 2) Daily 11.30am-2pm, 5.30-10pm. S8-30 (opposite Element Fresh), Bldg 8, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District (6415 3939) 朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯Village南区8号楼S8-30

Bei Daily 5.30-10.30pm. B1/F, The Opposite House, Bldg 1, Sanlitun Village, 11 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District (6410 5230) 朝阳区三里屯路11号三里屯Village1号楼瑜舍地下1层

Blue Frog Daily 10am-2am. S4-30, 3/F, Bldg 4, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District (6417 4030) 朝阳区三里屯北路19号三里屯Village南区4号楼3层S4-30

Club Glen Daily 5pm-2.30am. 1949 – The Hidden City, Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu (behind Pacific Century Place), Chaoyang District (133 1126 1949) 朝阳区工体北路4号院(盈科中心背面)

d lounge Daily 8pm-late. Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu (across from Rock and Roll Club), Chaoyang District (6593 7710) 朝阳区工体北路4号

Da Dong Duck 1) Daily 11am-10pm. 5/F, Jinbao Dasha, Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng District (8522 1234) 东城区金宝街金宝大厦5层 2) Dai- ly 11am-10pm. 1-2/F, Nanxincang International Plaza, 22A Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng District (5169 0329) 东城区东四十条甲22号南新仓国 际大厦1~2楼(立交桥西南角) 3) Daily 11am- 10pm. 3 Tuanjiehu Beikou, Dongsanhuan Lu (southeast corner of Changhong Qiao), Chaoyang District (6582 2892/4003) 朝阳区团 结湖北口3号楼东三环路(长虹桥东南角

Centro Daily 24hrs. 1/F, Shangri-La’s Kerry Centre Hotel, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (6561 8833, ask for Centro) 朝阳区光华路1号嘉里中心饭店1层

Lei Garden Daily 11.30am-2.30pm, 5.30-9.30pm. 3/F, Jinbao Tower, 89 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng District (8522 1212) 东城区金宝街89号金宝大厦3楼

Mare Daily noon-11.30pm. 1/F, E-Tower, 12C Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District (6595 4178/2890) 朝阳区光华路丙12号数码01大厦1层

Modo 11am-11pm. 3/F, Sanlitun Village South(close to Element Fresh), 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District (6415 7207) 朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯Village南区3楼(近新元素)

Molly Malone’s Daily 10am-2am. Legendale Hotel, 90 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng District (6522 7258) 东城区金宝街90号

Ristorante Sadler Daily (closed Mondays) 11.30am-2pm, 6.30-10.30pm. Ch’ien Men 23, 23 Qianmen Dongdajie, Dongcheng District (6559 1399) 东城区前门东大街23号

Suzie Wong’s Daily 8.30pm-late. 1A Nongzhanguan Lu (west gate of Chaoyang Park), Chaoyang District (6500 3377) 朝阳区农展馆路甲1号朝阳公园西门

Xiu Sun-Wed 6pm--2am, Thu-Sat 6pm-3am. 6/F, Park Life (entrance across from the Park Hyatt hotel lobby), Yintai Center, 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (8567 1108 ) 朝阳区建国门外大街2号柏悦酒店6层银泰中心悦生活6层

Article from Agenda, issue 71, Jan 13- Jan 26. To read more from the most recent issue of Agenda, download the PDF here. To find a copy, contact our distribution department at distribution@agendabeijing.com with an idea of where you work, live or play and we'll tell you where you can find one near you.