Translating for the palate

Balancing act

At Estuary, the direction of translation changes again. The techniques, service and structure are rooted in French cuisine, but the food is reconsidered through the palate Cheng developed in Asia.

Clear broths, fermentation and extracted oils help him balance indulgence with restraint. Cheng is not re-creating the French food he learned decades ago, but reconsidering it through his years of immersion in Chinese culinary culture, one that nourishes through ingredients.

Food critic Xiong Wei, also known as Teddy Xiong, believes Cheng's greatest achievement at Estuary is his balance of abundance and boundaries. "The most outstanding characteristic of his cooking is that it is generous yet light, following a path that combines nourishment with indulgence," Xiong says. "You finish feeling satisfied, but neither greasy nor uncomfortably full."

For Xiong, the fish maw best captures Cheng's cultural fluency. "It perfectly embodies Vicky's idea of bringing together charcoal grilling, the ingenuity of fermentation and the river-and-sea character of the (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao) Greater Bay Area," he says.

Estuary may mark a return to Cheng's French roots, but it is not the end of his journey. After more than two decades in kitchens around the world, he continues to search for new ways to let different culinary languages speak to one another. Like the meeting waters that gave the restaurant its name, those languages continue to reshape each other.

For Cheng, cooking is not a search for a final answer but an ongoing conversation between cultures.