James Wong made his debut as the new head chef of Four Winds, located inside of Horseshoe Casino, in late March.

Wong, a Hong Kong native, will bring Cantonese cuisine to Four Winds in the future.

“Cantonese is mostly sautéed with all fresh ingredients,” Wong said. “My special dish is ginger and garlic lobster or steamed fish with soy sauce. Peking duck, we sell a lot of because it is so good. We season it overnight so that the duck is nice and tender and juicy.”

Wong said Cantonese food is healthy because most of the food is steamed or sautéed rather than fried.

Though for the debut, Wong stuck to the basic Chinese food offered currently on the Four Winds menu. For sampling, he provided chicken on a stick, sesame chicken, fried jumbo shrimp and chicken wings.

A simple California roll was also available for tasting but is only offered at the buffet. For dessert, rice treats with stripes of chocolate, a cream-filled chocolate-covered doughnut and a tart filled with custard and fruit were also part of the spread.

“I learned to cook from my dad. For the last three generations we have been cooking,” Wong said. “My dad came to the United States as a head chef to help my uncle in Mandeville.”

Wong learned to cook at the Mandeville restaurant Trey Yuen, which is widely known in south Louisiana as one of the best Oriental restaurants by Louisiana Life magazine.

“It’s not my first rodeo [as a head chef],” Wong said. “I just love the city over here and working for Horseshoe Casino. I’m happy to get the opportunity to bring this restaurant to the next level. I want everyone to come here and the first thing they want to eat is our Asian food.”