Nigel Ng has spent the past several years adjudicating on how other chefs and cooks make Asian dishes like green curry, ramen and – most famously – fried rice, as his alter ego Uncle Roger. He’ll place himself on the other side of the pass in April when he opens Kawan by Uncle Roger, a pan-Asian restaurant in Chinatown.
Kawan translates as “buddy” or “friend” in Malay, and to launch the restaurant Ng has buddied up with Keng Yew (co-founder of London restaurants like Dozo and The Eight) and Malaysian chef Daren Liew (Nanyang Blossom, Sanhao). And Ng is no stranger to the restaurant game – he has several Uncle Roger-branded diners in Malaysia.
While Ng was born and raised in Malaysia, his restaurant will embrace a range of Asian cuisines – as well as Asian British fusion dishes – reshaped to cater to local tastes and produce. Naturally, there will be fried rice. MSG – which Uncle Roger calls “The King of Flavour” – will star in the enigmatically titled Ultimate Uncle “MSG” Bao. Other dishes are similarly opaquely named: think Wasabi Boom Boom Sausage and Sarawak Pepper Belly Delight. British influence enters the menu in items like the Uncle’s Classic Crispy Puff Chicken Wellington and the Haiyaa Touch Fish’n’Chips.
Ng shot to prominence in 2020 with a video reviewing Hersha Patel’s egg fried rice technique on BBC Food, and, as Uncle Roger, has since given his take on Asian dishes by chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Martha Stewart. The Uncle Roger character is based on an old-school Chinese uncle, and he embodies the character with an exaggerated Cantonese accent and stereotypical opinions and behaviours.
“[I] can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on,” Ng said in a statement. “Oh, and my Uncle [Roger] says he hopes Jamie Oliver pays a visit.”
Kawan by Uncle Roger opens in April at 12 Macclesfield Street, W1D 5BP.
