Cheong Yew

The Climb

Cheong Yew is chef and restaurateur of Three Uncles, where he has been since 2019. At Three Uncles, the work is rooted in continuity rather than reinvention: a roast-meat tradition carried through repetition, precision, and respect for the roast. In a city that often rewards novelty, Yew’s practice sits in the steadier discipline of keeping a method intact.

Today

Since 2019, Yew has worked as chef and restaurateur at the London restaurant. He describes its roots plainly: "We are three Hong Kong born childhood friends, chefs and restaurateurs who emigrated to the UK over 20 years ago." That line places the restaurant inside a shared history of migration, friendship, and long-term kitchen work, with Hong Kong and London joined through the same practical craft.

Signature

Cheong's signature dishes include Cantonese Roast Duck, Crispy Pork Belly (Siu Yuk), and Char Siu Pork. These are Siu Mei staples that depend on timing, patience, and exact control of heat and seasoning. In Yew’s hands, they read as part of a broader roast-meat lineage built on crackle, lacquer, and balance, with the work of the kitchen showing through in the final cut.

In Their Words Taken together, the quotations describe the ground of the practice: Hong Kong roast-meat culture in the 1970s, and the long afterlife of that knowledge in a London kitchen. The mention of the famous roast meat cafes near Wan Chai market points to an early, practical education in Siu Mei—one shaped by the sight of skilled chefs, the rhythm of the chopping block, and the discipline of serving roast meat at speed.

Recognition

The clearest recognition is the restaurant’s direct link to Hong Kong Siu Mei memory and method. Yew says: "Siu Mei brings back treasured memories for us; growing up in Hong Kong in the 70s we would visit the famous roast meat cafes near Wan Chai market and watch the skilled chefs chopping delicious chunks of roast duck and char siu pork." That reference names the tradition plainly: a roast-meat style carried forward through method, recollection, and the decision to keep its flavour and ritual intact.