My Perfect Weekend with chef Mathew Leong of two-Michelin-starred Re-Naa in Norway

Who: Singaporean Mathew Leong is the head chef of Re-Naa, a two-Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant in Stavanger, Norway. It is the only establishment in the country with two stars.

The 28-year-old left for Norway at the age of 21, and, in 2021, became the youngest chef to represent Singapore in the finals of the biennial Bocuse d’Or, the world’s most prestigious culinary competition. He is now gearing up for the 2025 edition.

“I get Sundays and Mondays off, and I work through the rest of the week. I like to go for a run around my neighbourhood Lervigbrygga in Stavanger when I’m free because it’s a very nice place that’s next to the sea, and you can see the fjord and mountains across the sea.

It’s quite important to keep fit when you have to stand and cook for many hours a day. I don’t normally cook at home because, at work, I’m standing in a smoky kitchen for 16, 17 hours a day.

I do cook when my girlfriend, who is Singaporean, visits me. She comes over twice or thrice a year and stays for about a month each time.

I make whatever she feels like having. The other day, it was snowing, so I made wonton soup.

For the recent World Cup final, I planned to make French cuisine since France was in the final, but I ended up making chicken rice because I had such a craving for it that day.

When I go out with my girlfriend, we usually walk around, catch a movie, have some coffee – I can do that all day. The last movie we watched together was Top Gun: Maverick, which we loved.

We eat in restaurants too. I’m the easiest customer because I’m in this industry. I don’t opt for fine-dining restaurants usually because I work in one and I see such cuisine all the time.

I visit Michelin-starred restaurants only on my travels or to learn something because every country has something different to offer. In Vienna, Austria, I ate at Michelin-starred restaurants for lunch and dinner, and was very impressed by Silvio Nickol Gourmet Restaurant, which has two stars.

Esora, a Japanese restaurant in Mohamed Sultan Road in Singapore with one star, is also fantastic. It served a muscat grape with ginger for its opening dish when I was there, and I noted down the combination because it was so good.

I’m Cantonese, and I like Cantonese and Japanese cuisines because they are very clean. The flavours don’t overpower and the focus is kept on the ingredient.

I go back to Singapore two or three times a year. Long Beach Seafood in Dempsey is always where I have my first family dinner when I’m back. Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck at Paragon mall is also a favourite for family dinners. Summer Pavilion and Lei Garden are both great for dim sum.

J.B. Ah Meng in Geylang has such great hawker food. The burnt beehoon and white pepper crab there were the best. Every single dish was tasty.”