Thanks to chefs like Wing Li, Thai food doesn’t have to be merely “cheap and cheerful.” Since landing at Toronto’s Linda Modern Thai a decade ago, the Hong Kong-born toque has ushered in an upscale iteration of the ethnic cuisine. It’s based on a culinary style that stems from a passion born in the chef’s hometown of Kowloon in the ’60s, where, as a child, he would dine on simple, rustic Chiu Chow fish ball soup with his neighbours.
At 21, intent on entering the culinary world, he took a job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. “I [was] thinking I cannot waste my time [at culinary] school — there [is] no money,” he says, recalling how he’d wake up early every morning to wash dishes and wait until the chef was in a good mood for a culinary lesson. By 1981, Li had worked under various mentors in China, so he moved to join his grandmother who was living in Toronto’s Chinatown neighbourhood.
But Li soon realized he wasn’t content to settle down in Hogtown. He travelled across the globe, taking a stint at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cyprus before landing at Lai Wah Heen inside the Metropolitan Hotel in Toronto.
In 2005, Li met the Liu family, owners of Toronto-based Salad King and Linda Modern Thai, and soon after he became executive chef of their Modern Thai concept. Located inside the trendy Shops at Don Mills plaza, the 80-seat restaurant melds Chinese, Indian and Malaysian culinary influences with a Canadian twist. Specialties include the Tom Yung Garden Salad, featuring cheddar cheese (usually avoided in the hot Thai climate), topped with croutons and tomato-based tom yum dressing ($7); a local whole Rainbow Trout En Papillote (baked in parchment) with salted lime, minced pork and long bean ($22); sweet Pandan Custard Cakes served with dulce de leche ($8); and signature cocktails.
And although innovation comprises the backbone of the operation, Linda Modern Thai was the first in Canada to receive a Thai Select Premium designation as part of a program introduced by Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce. It recognizes restaurants with authentic Thai food, preparation methods and ingredients.
“Chef Li has a lot of tricks up his sleeve,” explains Alan Liu, GM of Linda Modern Thai. “One of chef Li’s fortes, and you’ll find it with a lot of ‘old-school’ chefs, is they know how to get the most out of the [ingredient], whether it’s through the equipment or cooking skill.”
But, there’s more to Li than guests might notice at Linda. When he’s not whipping up street eats at Thai food festivals or surfing the net for new ideas, the 57-year-old can be found mentoring culinary students, demonstrating the most efficient preparation methods — such as tossing ingredients in a wok using his pinky finger — and cultivating the next wave of chefs. “I’ve [been working] a long, long time, but I never stop upgrading,” he says. “I teach people. When I teach others, I [improve] myself.”
