Chef
Jason Liu
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- New York City, New York, United States
i. Biography
Jason Liu is the owner and chef of LING LONG in Shanghai, China, a position that puts authorship and accountability on the same line. He is also partner and co-founder of Soft Swerve in New York, United States, a second track in the same career that extends beyond the kitchen and into dessert retail.
The Climb
The early record is not a straight hospitality apprenticeship, and that matters. Jason Liu began as an instructor at Immigrant Social Services, Inc (2008), then moved through finance, sales, and investment roles that demanded discipline, client work, and a steady read on detail. He was a Fall Intern at Morgan Stanley (2011–2012), a Branch Intern at Scottrade (2011), and a Sales Associate at Keller Williams Real Estate (2012). Those roles sit far from a restaurant pass, but they show the range of working formats he moved through before landing in food and beverage ownership. The same pattern of stepwise accumulation continued at Leveraged Commentary & Data (LCD), where Jason Liu moved from Research Analyst (2012–2013) to Sales Analyst (2013–2014) to Financial Analyst II (2014–2015). The sequence reads as incremental, not abrupt: a build in responsibility, precision, and commercial fluency. He then became Registered Private Wealth Associate at Merrill Lynch (2015–2016), extending that finance background into another role built on trust and detail. Jason Liu is partner & co-founder of Soft Swerve (since 2016), a role that has run alongside his work in hospitality and helps define the broader shape of his career.
Today
LING LONG is the current center of Jason Liu’s work in Shanghai, where he holds the owner and chef title. In that role, his name is attached to both the business and the day-to-day standard, with the restaurant’s direction folded into his own responsibilities. Soft Swerve remains the parallel venture in New York, and he continues there as partner and co-founder. His own description of that business is blunt and unsentimental: “Soft Swerve was Mike’s doing. I am not as creative as he is in that department!” The line puts the credit where he thinks it belongs, and leaves room for a practical kind of humility.
Signature
Jason's signature dishes include purple yam ice cream, ube and coconut swirl, Thai iced tea ice cream, Ube Purple Yam, and Black Sesame. The list points to a dessert language that is direct in flavor and built around recognizable ingredients, with purple yam and black sesame carrying the core of the menu’s identity.
In Their Words “Soft Swerve was Mike’s doing. I am not as creative as he is in that department!”
Recognition
His current Shanghai title adds the chef-owner chapter: LING LONG.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Jason
What is Jason Liu's current role?
Jason Liu is Owner and Chef.
Where did Jason Liu work before?
Earlier in their career, Jason Liu worked at Immigrant Social Services, Inc, Morgan Stanley, and Scottrade.
Where did Jason Liu train?
Jason Liu trained at City University of New York-Baruch College - Zicklin School of Business, Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.
