Dylan Tan’s CV is strong. In Singapore, the Malaysian chef served in kitchens at the Shangri-La hotel, he earned Morton’s The Steakhouse Michelin Guide-success in Shanghai, and led culinary strategies for Pizza Express across Hong Kong.
He’s also operated four independent restaurants over Malaysia, Singapore, and Shenzhen across a 20-year-long period. With all four venues shuttering for various reasons, Dylan gave himself “one more shot” in opening his fifth restaurant – and possibly his last.
“After accumulating all this knowledge and experiences, I really wanted to give myself one more chance to try it on my own,” Dylan shares.
“In the past three years, Hong Kong’s F&B trends and customer expectations have changed,” inspiring Dylan and co-founder Carmen Yau to latch onto the city’s latest trends: modern pasta bars. The trend-catchers opened The Spoon in December 2025.
Restaurants like La Volta, Twist Pasta Bar, and Zozzona had catalysed the trend of pasta bars launching in Hong Kong last year, serving handmade bowls of pasta with flavour profiles reflecting the taste of Italy or destinations closer to home in Asia.
Yet, as Dylan and Carmen were readying their pasta bar concept, planning a menu of affordable pasta dishes and meaty mains, Dieci by chef Paolo Olivieri opened its doors opposite from The Spoon on Gough Street. This required a change of identity for Dylan’s creation.
“We took a step back and brought a twist of pasta with my Malaysian background. From a customer perspective, we may look the same like any other pasta restaurant, but this is how we differentiate ourselves from the rest.”
From their opening weeks before Christmas, the duo billed The Spoon as a “neighbourhood Italiano-Asian pasta bar,” but a Malaysian-Italian fusion is a much more concrete term in describing the branding and identity of the restaurant. The storytelling element was essential to ensure The Spoon didn’t become just another pasta bar opening in the city.
“The story of having a Malaysian [chef] running an Italian restaurant doesn’t fit with the customer. We wanted our philosophy to be in the brand. The customer in Hong Kong is no longer selective of what cuisine they are looking for, they just want good food, service, and vibes.”
Take a look at the pasta bar’s menu and the fusion clash of Malaysian spices and Italian know-how presents itself in a riveting fashion.
“With the wagyu bolognese ragu bianco pappardelle, I replaced the tomato sauce with curry paste and powder and lemongrass to replace celery and carrots for the curry coconut cream sauce. This is not about adapting Italian cooking methods, just changing the ingredients to fit within this philosophy.”
Their best-selling pasta, the seafood brown butter tomato rigatoooooooooni, uses longer-than-usual rigatoni strands that soak up a Malaysian-inspired seafood bisque sauce. The dish is more sweet than your traditional version with a caramelised butter and sweet tomato mix. “35% of our pasta orders are this rigatoni dish,” Dylan notes.
Less Asian-inspired but still punchy, The Spoon’s ‘bruschetta’ and ‘small plates’ menu sections also present a certain Malaysian-ness with the foie gras & kaya pate and pickled plum cherry tomato with stracciatella and red chilli oil.
With the main dishes on the menu, Dylan’s Malaysian identity comes sprouting through.
“Having worked at Lawry’s [The Prime Rib] and Morton’s [The Steakhouse] in China, I have learnt that it is important to have proteins on the menu and for the customers to taste my philosophy through the protein, infusing my Malaysian ingredients within.”
The Malay style sambal striploin and baked bak kut teh short rib both bring Italian bistecca staples to a new space. Striploin and short ribs typically make for good accompaniments with pasta, but with a smack of sambal and white pepper from the respective recipes, the taste of Malaysia exudes throughout.
Nearly two months after opening, the queue for tables within the open-air kitchen restaurant can stretch almost two doors down Gough Street.
“We are thankful to have opened The Spoon on Gough Street,” Dylan shares, “it is a real community neighbourhood.” In recent months, new entrants to the street with MIUS, Kyanbasu by Mt. Yotei, and Kuke Shokudo have bolstered the reputation of the micro-foodie neighbourhood.
“We are hoping that by opening on Gough Street, we can host crossover collaborations with other restaurants!”
Before menus come clashing together with even more cultures, Dylan has launched his second menu as the restaurant quickly builds a loyal fan base demanding new dishes and changes.
Book yourself into The Spoon today for a taste of Malaysia and Italy together.
