Derek Choong
Biography
Chef Derek was born in Penang from a Nyonya family, Malaysia. He began his career in the F&B industry at the age of 17, and became a sous chef of a clubhouse at the age of 23. At the age of 29, he was the head chef at Red Rock Hotel, overseeing kitchen operations for the coffee shop, banquet department and wedding banquets in the hotel. Derek moved to Hong Kong after marriage and opened a small restaurant called “Nyonya Coming” in Sai Ying Pun. His Nyonya cooking had drawn attention from foodies in Hong Kong. He also shared cooking experience and experience in VIU TV's programme about non-local cuisines and demonstrated cooking on the VIU TV Girls Talks program “Cooking Girls” for 10 episodes.

In addition to authentic Nyonya dishes, Derek also has a modern Nyonya fusion menu that offers a wider range of dining options for different occasions.
Experience Highlights
Personal Chef (2018 - Present)
Head Chef & Owner, Nyonya Coming, Hong Kong (2014 - Present)
Chef de Cuisine, Red Rock Hotel, Penang, Malaysia (2007 - 2014 )
Sous Chef, Star Club, Penang, Malaysia, Sous Chef (2001 - 2005)
Cuisines
Nyonya, Malaysian
Spoken Language(s)
Cantonese, Mandarin, English
Chef's Note
In case there is any inconsistency between the translation of the English and Chinese dishes above, the Chinese shall prevail
Welcome to request changes of certain food ingredient in the set menu; additional charge may apply depending on the request.
Please hire waiter(s) if there is no domestic helper to do table service, otherwise I may not accept the order. If there is no domestic helper taking care of the table service.
I am pet friendly
I will arrive 1 hour prior to the dining time.
I may bring my kitchen assistant depending on the situation.
I cannot leave later than 9:15pm
For induction/ electric stove, at least 2000W is required

In case there is any inconsistency between the translation of the English and Chinese dishes above, the Chinese shall prevail
Photos shared by Gourmets
Highlighted by Gourmets:
Tasty food (2)Fresh ingredients (2)Friendly chef (2)Efficient service (1)Value for money (1)Presentable chef (1)Highly recommended (1)Memorable experience (1)Kids Friendly (1)
Showing 5 review(s) submitted by Gourmets who booked Chef's service:
Leo H

Chef Derek and his wife arrived perfectly on time and they both had a wonderfully warm and friendly demeanour. We immediately were very excited for the meal that we would be having later that night.

They immediately went to work and within 20 mins, the kitchen and the house had a wonderful aroma of lemongrass throughout.

Our dinner flow was slightly complicated that night as we had 3 young children that had to early before the adults and Chef Derek had no issues at all accommodating for that. Chef Derek had prepared a great meal for the kids where he made sure there was no spiciness to make it child friendly.

After the kids were fed, we moved onto the main event for the 7 adults.
We started with a welcome drink that was lemongrass based but we felt was maybe a bit on the sweet side for our tastes, so maybe ask to reduce the sweetness if you aren't into that.
The starters were a squid and mango salad which was very nice and spicy and a flower crab meat soup that had large pieces of coconut meat that worked really well with the flower crab.

Then the main courses came out and they were all winners. Curry chicken, Pork Belly (Tau Yu Bak), Pineapple prawn, Whole Grouper in banana leaf with amazing homemade sambal.

The real big winner for us though was the Rendang Curry Ox Tail, this was such a unique dish as we normal have beef rendang with just normal beef cubes but having oxtail meant that the beef was incredible tender and flavourful.

To finish off the meal we had asked to try his signature laksa from his restaurant Nonya Coming and we were not disappointed. Full of flavour and definitely some of the most authentic you can find in Hong Kong. Note that this laksa is the curry version that you find in Sinagpore/Malaysia and not the rather more unique Asam Laksa, which is more a sour broth based soup that you find specifically in Penang.

We then finished off with two desserts of Black Sticky Rice with coconut milk and also a Kaya Kuih, both very good too.

I highly recommend chef Derek and this meal but I would say that the amount of food was massive. We only had 7 adults and I would say that it could have fed at least 10 adults very comfortably. So do take that into consideration if you are to book this menu.

Menu selected:　Nyonya Private Home Banquet
Clare C

we had an amazing party night with Chef Derek and Angela, they prepared us traditional Nyouya foods which are delicious, fresh and colorful =). Thank you so much to Chef Derek, Angela and Mobichef for the arrangement.

Menu selected:　Nyonya World
Elaine W

Menu selected:　Nyonya Hokkien Prawn Mee
Sam W

星期天的下午, 這次邀請了Derek 為我們掌廚. DEREK個性十分陽光, 也很有幽默感, 為整個飯局帶來不少歡樂. 他也很用心的講解了整個娘惹菜的來由, 學到不少東西. 份量很足. 味道也不錯, 值得推介.

Menu selected:　Nyonya World
Naja K

Derek 同 Angela 人很好，十分有善，Derek 陽光味道濃烈！那天食物都很好食，特別是 Laksa, 好多海鮮好足料！甜品好正 榴蓮湯丸 同 榴蓮芝士蛋糕，蛋糕質地鬆軟好味！

Menu selected:　Modern Nyonya Fusion Cuisine