15-year-old in Malaysia cooks 8-course dinner for family on Chinese New Year
A video of a boy cooking an eight-course Chinese New Year (CNY) dinner for his family has gone viral.
In the video, the 15-year-old chef showed how he headed to a traditional market at about 8am to purchase ingredients.
He began cooking when he reached home at about 9am.
The teenager started out by making egg tarts from scratch, followed by some prep work for other dishes.
He somehow even found time to prepare lunch — a beautifully arranged plate of chicken rice.
8-course Chinese New Year dinner included abalone & roast pork
He continued preparing the rest of the dishes after lunch and ended up serving the grand feast at about 5.30pm.

Source: @ricardolmao_ on Instagram
The eight-course meal includes:
- Egg tarts
- Smashed cucumber salad
- Red braised pork belly
- Poached chicken
- Crispy roast pork
- Braised abalone with broccoli
- Mongolian beef
- Cantonese steamed fish.
The video has since garnered over 1.9 million and 2.1 million views on TikTok and Instagram respectively.
Viewers commended his ability to cook up a storm at such a young age, calling him “impressive” and “every girl’s dream”.
Malaysian boy picked up cooking from mother during Covid-19 pandemic
Despite being just 15 years old, Ricardo Leonel Lau has already mastered quite many dishes.
The Star reported that Ricardo picked up cooking from his mother as a pastime during the Covid-19 pandemic. As he spent more time preparing food with his mother, his passion for cooking grew.
Besides cooking, Ricardo can also bake and prepare desserts.

Source: @ricardolmao_ on Instagram
As his skills became more refined, Ricardo started sharing his recipes on social media in 2021.
“Initially, my social media presence was modest, but over time, I gradually gained more followers and views,” he told The Star.
He first gained popularity when he posted a video of a 14-course meal that he cooked for his family last Christmas. The video has garnered over 588,000 likes on Instagram at the time of writing.

Source: @ricardolmao_ on Instagram
Ricardo believes that cooking is a form of creative expression and it brings joy to others.
While the 15-year-old is still studying to fulfil his dreams of being a doctor, he has pondered about being a chef and content creator.
He told The Star that cooking is currently a hobby that he takes quite seriously, but he will continue to see what is in store for him.
MS News has reached out to Ricardo for more information and will update this article when he gets back.
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Featured image adapted from @ricardolmao_ on Instagram.