“Because we have an open kitchen I have to hire people with good looks,” says Sam Leong, when he explains what he looks for in a chef for the new restaurant, Forest – a partnership he has with Resort World Sentosa(RWS).

Opened less than two weeks ago, the restaurant is the first one bearing his name after his two-year break from the restaurant scene.

The dishes at the restaurant are largely Chinese, such as Wok-fried Lobster with Green Chives and Mapo Tofu with Fresh Sri Lanka Crab Meat and Steamed Rice. Although there are the occasional Japanese and Thai influences, such as Hot and Sour Seafood Broth with Hokkaido Sea-Urchin and Oven baked Lemon Grass Chicken Leg.

Western concepts have also seeped into his menu, as shown in the Soft Barley Infused Porridge Risotto with Barbecue-roasted Duck and Ginseng, Drunken Chicken with HuaTiewChiew Sorbet and Pan-seared Wagyu Beef, Sea-Urchin and andFoie Gras.

Sam calls the foreign ingredients “garnishes” (yes, he is talking about the pricey foie gras) as 80 per cent of the dish remains Chinese. Having said that, these foreign ingredients, he feels, are important elements to bring Chinese cuisine to the next level. He then turns to this writer and says, “Did you eat the lap mei fan with foie gras just now? Wasn’t it…” he stops short of completing his sentence, closes his eyes, tilts his head backwards and continues, “Mmm…”

Sam Leong, it seems, doesn’t aspire to be a crusader of authentic Chinese cuisine, but a creator of simply good Chinese food.

To backtrack a little, the chef hails from cze char dishes as his father was a chef well-known for such street cuisine in Kuala Lumpur. But since his Tung Lok days, the younger Leong has moved on to avant-garde dishes like wasabi prawns and coffee pork ribs. Now, he is pushing the boundaries even further at Forest. “If I cook what my father cooks, I won’t be the Sam Leong I am today,” he says.

Taking Chinese food to international stage, he adds, does not stop at creating new recipes.

“The background music in a Chinese restaurant has changed from the noisy ‘dong dong chiang’ to something nice, slow and soft.” The kitchen, he adds, does not have to be enclosed and humid with the extractor humming at the background, but an open concept that allows guests to take a closer look at the chefs in action. All these are featured at Forest.

Have we mentioned that the restaurant’s name is “coincidently” the same as Sam’s wife? In fact, she is prominent in various chapters of his culinary career. The most recent was two years ago, when he quit Tung Lok after serving there for 10 years.

“For the last 20 years, I’ve been going to work at eight in the morning and I only finish at midnight. I am lucky to have an understanding wife. But now that my kids have grown up and I’ve done my part as a man to support my family, I want to spend some time with myself and my wife.”

Now that he has partnered up with RWS, as part of their celebrity chefs cast, it doesn’t mean that he is done being lovey-dovey with his wife. One of Sam’s conditions to the resort group was to include his wife in the partnership. “Or I’ll be back to square one again,” Sam says.

Mrs Leong (we could have referred to her as Forest, but that will confuse you) will hold cooking classes at the establishment as well as contribute ideas towards the menu, especially, she says, in the area of herbs and spices. Before getting married to Sam, she worked as a professional cook.

Sam and Forest (wife) will be dividing their time between Forest (restaurant) and his own cooking school, which is, again, romantically named Sam.Leong@Forest .