Nearly 28 years ago, when Tony Choo enrolled in the Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Center, a famous hospitality school, he learned Western cooking.

So how did the 45-year-old wind up being one of the top Chinese cuisine chefs in Beijing's dining world?

"I like the generous and liberal style of Chinese cuisine and the feeling of cooking food in a busy and lively Chinese kitchen," says Choo, who won the Culinary Art Master Award from the Les Amis D'Escoffier Society in 2011, and was crowned the winner in CCTV's Greatest Chef show in 2014, beating Michelin-starred competitor from Italy.