The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry | A Sydney Food Blog

New podcast – Ambrose Chiang, Momofuku Seiobo

August 24th, 2014  |  Published in Latest, Podcasts  |  2 Comments

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Ambrose Chiang’s love of food started early on – at the age of six, he was already handling big knives and other serious kitchen hardware in his family’s kitchen in Hong Kong. Later, he moved to Australia, and after battling early alarm-clock starts and hill sprints, he moved on from the world of football to the world of hospitality – which proved just as gruelling as any contact sport, particularly when working at Cafe Sydney, where you could be juggling 600 covers a day.

In this podcast, he also talks about returning to Hong Kong, where he landed a job at Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental – and being a witness to the city’s unique dining culture; Hong Kong had a colourful food culture, but eating out might not necessarily be about enjoying yourself, as it turned out, and diners sometimes had surprising habits.

At age 22, he’s landed some notable achievements, such as being the youngest state finalist in the Electrolux Young Waiter of the Year competition (he talks about what it’s like to serve Nick Hildebrandt and other industry heavyweights for the contest) and he currently works at Momofuku Seiobo, one of the best restaurants in Australia, and in Ambrose’s opinion, also home to the best ramen in Sydney (sorry guys, it’s also available as a staff meal, but you can enjoy vicarious servings of it via Ambrose’s Instagram).

You can listen to the podcast on iTunes or download it via RSS or directly. And big thanks to everyone who has kindly spread the word about this podcast or left a rating or comment in the iTunes store – it means a hell of a lot.

Portrait courtesy of Ambrose Chiang

2 Comments

  1. Intrigued to hear about these HK dining stories! Definitely a fast-changing city!

  2. Lori says:

    Really enjoyed this latest podcast. I loved the anecdote about how he got the $$$ wine switched around with the “cheap” $100 bottle. For one so young, Ambrose sounds like he has a wise head on his shoulders. Very entertaining, thanks!

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Hi, I'm Lee Tran Lam. When not blogging with my mouth full, I'm usually writing, presenting Local Fidelity on FBi radio, making zines, producing podcasts or continually breaking promises about how I really am gonna get through my book pile one day.

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This is a blog about eating and drinking in Sydney, Australia (with the odd cross-border or off-topic detour). BYO appetite.

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