Chefs dish up Sāmoan and Chinese fusion

A Wellington restaurant is serving up a contemporary celebration of traditional foods that are loved by both Pacific and Asian cultures.

The event, Dragons is my Uso, is part of the annual food festival, Wellington On A Plate.

Dragons restaurant assistant chief executive Eric Kong says it all started with conversations with Te Papa’s senior curator of Pacific cultures Sean Mallon, and yum cha.

“Sean’s a regular customer of ours. He gets the same two items every single week; dim sum, and some pork wontons.

“Over tea and good food, we’ve always gone down the rabbit hole of history and he’s always enlightened me on social issues and past events such as the dawn raids, politics, the indentured labourers in China that went over to Sāmoa that worked on cocoa plantations and all sorts that have built up that community and influenced quite a lot of the cuisine.”

Dragons Restaurant will be hosting a special Sāmoan collaboration, as part of the Wellington on a plate festivel. Photo/Facebook

Mallon said the sold-out event on 16 August will be an homage to how Chinese food culture has merged with Sāmoan food fare.

“You’re not coming to your to'ona’i, you’re coming here to have something that’s very different.

“The inspiration is the 100-plus years fusion of Samoan and Chinese cuisine, that's just one way into the longer history of relationships between Chinese people and Sāmoans.”

Mallon’s mother and aunt, Iutita Mallon and Litia Lefaoseu, were involved as home chefs in the menu creation, inspired by growing up in the village of Iva on Savai'i, and Mallon's uncle Wong Ah Soon who immigrated from China.

The menu has been led by Dragons chef Jessica Tang, and Mallon said diners will experience some familiar dishes with a twist.

“Every family makes “the best” sapa sui, and you have arguments over whether it’s beef, chicken or pork, or some kind of combination, and of course, Eric and his colleagues here at Dragons were horrified at the amount of soy sauce we use. So that would be one of the highlights on the menu, but reimagined and reappropriated from a Chinese point of view.”

Kong said there is an appetite for more Pacific offerings in the capital, as nearest offering is Samoa’s Finest in Porirua.

“There is a demand for Sāmoan cuisine. We have the population to cater for it and I think Sāmoan food is actually beautiful, so there is a lack of it in the market.”

Watch the full interview on Pacific Mornings: