Chef Jay Teo goes full circle with his progressive Asian restaurant

Roast pork belly, barbecued stingray and char siew are some of the favourite dishes of Jay Teo. He is the chef-owner of progressive Asian restaurant Full Circle by J.man. The restaurant opened in August at Thye Hong Centre in Leng Kee Road.

At his place, these local dishes are presented unconventionally. For instance, The roast pork is served like a Korean bossam. Diners wrap the glistening meat and pickles in lettuce leaves with lashings of coriander pesto and tangy fish sauce caramel that enhances the sweetness of the pork. Teo’s memories of barbecued stingray, on the other hand, come alive through red snapper slathered with laksa rempah. This is then grilled in banana leaves.

From Modern Australian to Progressive Asian

The 32-year-old says, “I love eating Asian food and gravitate towards those flavours. The best way to showcase my identity is through the food that I have memories of.”

Teo puts a lot of himself into his restaurant, whose name encapsulates his career journey. Previously, he was the head chef of now defunct modern Australian restaurant Cheek by Jowl, owned by chef Rishi Naleendra, who nicknamed him “J Man”.

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Melding culinary cultures across Asia on a plate

In October 2020, Teo left the restaurant, which was rebranded to Cheek Bistro, to become a culinary arts…