I’ve been a fan of Chef Simpson Wong for over a decade, frequenting his West Village restaurant, Café Asean, for Southeast Asian comfort food. Chef Wong’s new eponymous restaurant is not purely Asian but a harmonious mix of Eastern and Western seasonal ingredients and flavors. For example, I adore his lobster egg foo young. The lobster tail stays soft and tender while cooked in a small cast iron pan with onions, leeks, garlic and two eggs. The dish is served with the egg whites set but the yolks still runny, mixing beautifully with the warm tomato sauce and chili flakes. It’s topped with chopped scallions, fried shallots, minced dried shrimp, shrimp crumble and grated salted egg yolk — a key ingredient that adds a slightly gritty texture and savory flavor. A slice of toasted rustic bread accompanies this perfect comfort food!

Photography Credit: Erik Swain