Hong Kong is often called a gourmet paradise. The city has a long history of fusing eastern and western cuisines and combining them with extremely high tandards for tradition, quality and freshness. And, in a city that boasts seven million people who know what truly fine food is, a restaurant has to be good,  or it won’t survive. It is this foundation of culinary excellence that Barrie  estaurateur Maggie Cheng brings to her restaurant Green Mango Tree Thai Fusion.
“People in Hong Kong work maybe six days a week. So on their day off they go to restaurants. It’s a very important part of our culture. And the people there are very sophisticated. They can get any kind of cuisine and almost every kind of ingredient is available. When I was growing up there I was always cooking  nd saying that I was going to have my own restaurant some day.” When Cheng opened Green Mango two years ago, along with her brother Roger and sister Polly, her culinary heritage was foremost on her mind. She was thinking about her native city’s proximity to some of the world’s most exotic, and delicious, cuisines. “Hong Kong is very close to both Thailand and Vietnam. I used to go to those countries on holidays all the time. So when I opened the restaurant I wanted to bring those flavours to Barrie.” Her menu weaves a delicious tapestry of Thai and Vietnamese dishes, from pad thai and mee tho (a Vietnamese rice  oodle dish) to lemon grass short ribs and bo loc lat (pepper beef tenderloin).  heng’s devotion to freshness is evident in every bite. “I have to have the best quality,” she says. “We make all our own sauces and stocks here.” The coconut  hicken soup is a perfect illustration of her high standards; it’s like drinking picy velvet. Homemade chicken and shrimp stock sets the foundation for coconut cream and a hit of Cheng’s fi ery housemade sambal, an intoxicating blend of  hili, garlic and her own secret blend of aromatics. Similarly she has chosen to outfit the restaurant with refi ned minimalism. Cream coloured walls feature abstract art bought in Thai markets and room dividers of painted bamboo. The dishes – unusual oblique bowls, triangular plates and mini serving woks –highlight the colourful ingredients on the plate. New to the restaurant is the dim sum menu, available on weekends. “There isn’t much dim sum in Barrie,” says Cheng. “In China, people have it in the late morning, kind of like brunch.
We have all the most popular dishes like char siu bao (barbecue pork buns) and har gao (shrimp dumplings) and siu mai (pork and shrimp dumpling).”
Cheng recently opened a second Green Mango Tree in Collingwood, and although the
two locations keep her busy, she is never too tired to keep refi ning her menu. In the spring she took one of her frequent trips to Asia; this time to Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong to take some cooking classes and look for new recipes. “I never stop doing research. When I have time off I’m always
trying new dishes and every time I go on holiday I bring something back.”
GL:What is your favourite ingredient?
MC:I really like fresh lemongrass and lime leaf. They add citrus fl avour in a very natural way. I don’t like using harsh ingredients like vinegar. Fresh lime juice is a much better way to add acidity to a dish.
GL: Yum cha, or drinking tea, is very important in Chinese culture. What is your
favourite kind of tea?
MC: Soon I will be serving in the restaurant a very special green tea infused with fl owers. There is nothing like it in Barrie. The taste and fragrance of the tea is just wonderful.
GL:What are your favourite things for the table?
MC:I don’t like to be too traditional. I purposely chose dishes that are unusual
and highlight the food. Thailand is very close to Hong Kong so each time I go back I goto markets for new things for the restaurant. Our pepper beef tenderloin is served in little woks that I brought back from China. Our salt and pepper shakers and placemats are from Thailand.