From the stainless steel plates of traditional Cantonese eateries to custom-made tableware for fine-dining tasting menus, Kenny Leung sees his restaurant as a balance between tradition and innovation, preserving the roots of Cantonese cuisine while reimagining it for a modern audience.
Leung serves as the executive chef of YAO, which opened in 2024 in New York's Financial District. As the flagship restaurant of August Gatherings, the group began its journey in New York's Chinatown more than a decade ago before expanding downtown. Today, its modern Cantonese flavors are reaching an increasingly international audience.
"We want to enrich the depth and complexity of traditional Cantonese flavors through contemporary ingredients and techniques. At the same time, we hope to stay true to its roots while making it more accessible and relatable to today's diners, including international guests," Leung told China Daily in a recent interview.
The chef, who began learning to cook in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, at the age of 15, now leads a kitchen where traditional Cantonese wok hei and open-flame cooking are combined with modern equipment such as immersion circulators, combi ovens and dehydrators.
"Modern Cantonese cuisine is not about overturning tradition but about building on it—introducing new elements while preserving its foundations," he said.
"There is tradition, but no single authentic version. In every era, dishes are shaped by the tastes, ingredients and aesthetics of that time. In that sense, what we call tradition is itself continuously evolving," he added.
As one of China's eight major culinary traditions, Cantonese cuisine originated in Guangdong and is known for its emphasis on fresh ingredients—from seasonal vegetables and live seafood to roasted meats such as goose and duck. It is prepared with a focus on light and balanced flavors, and the restaurant offers a modern interpretation of this culinary tradition.
In addition to its a la carte menu, the restaurant offers a tasting menu titled Tang Jia Yan and serves as an overseas platform for the preservation and promotion of Siqian intangible cultural heritage cuisine. Rooted in Siqian, a historic town located in the city of Jiangmen in Guangdong, with more than 1,800 years of history, the cuisine is presented through both fine dining and a more accessible contemporary format.
For Leung, innovation and preservation carry equal weight. He continues to develop new dishes while training apprentices to ensure the craft is passed on.
"I hope more local American diners can understand the flavors of Cantonese cuisine and the ingredients behind it," he said. "Cantonese cooking requires experience, timing and daily attention to ingredients. We are not focused only on short-term profit, but on sustainability and long-term development. We hope to preserve and carry Cantonese cuisine forward through our generation."
For 29-year-old New Yorker Delaney Masal, who has been to China and widely experienced its cuisine, the restaurant offers a distinctive lens through which to understand Cantonese food in New York. As dishes arrived at the table, she reached for her phone to film the presentation.
"The flavors are very traditional," she said, "but they're also taking into account the American palate. Having a Cantonese restaurant in the city means finding this balance between honoring a culinary tradition and making it legible to a new audience."
She described this balance not as a compromise, but as an invitation to bring people of different backgrounds to the same table.
"It's like there's a backstory that's cultural, that's historical," she added. "The similarities we see, and the differences we see—it's really just a beautiful way to share culture."
Jerald Braddock Jr, a New York resident, said his experience dining in both China and Chinese restaurants in the US has shown him the growing popularity of regional Chinese cuisines, especially among younger diners.
"Growing up, having these different types of dishes, I feel like it has expanded my palate even more because now you're bringing the roots of China over to America. So it gives an opportunity to embrace more, not just even the food, but the people who engaged (with it)," he said. "A shared meal does help bridge conversations a lot more than people think."
"Nothing has made me more comfortable than braised pork from China," he added.
Many first-time guests often leave with a similar impression of Cantonese cuisine, the owner observed.
"So this is what Chinese food really is? This is what Cantonese cuisine is like?" said Thomas Tang, co-founder of August Gatherings, in an interview with China Daily.
"The phone eats first," he said. "People experience food visually before they taste it. French and Japanese cuisines have developed highly refined visual presentations. I believe Chinese cuisine, especially Cantonese cuisine, has always had the same potential, with thousands of years of culinary culture and highly sophisticated techniques."
Beyond the food itself, cultural heritage remains central to the brand, he added.
The Chinese name of August Gatherings, "Fuyao", symbolizes abundance during the August harvest season, when families gather to celebrate prosperity and a good life.
The group's flagship restaurant builds on this original name, retaining its final character, "yao", in its new concept to carry the tradition forward. In Chinese, the character also refers to precious jade, symbolizing something rare, beautiful and valuable, and reflects an ongoing pursuit of culinary excellence.
"We are operating in the US," he said. "But the name, philosophy and cuisine are always rooted in our Chinese culture."
