Yong hails from the sunny island nation of Singapore, which he considers the gastronomic capital of the world. After spending his formative years at home, Yong proceeded to start his undergraduate degree at Imperial College London, where he did not pick up a British accent. There, he worked on Cu-catalyzed Ullman type coupling under the tutelage of Dr. Robert P. Davies. Upon graduation, Yong returned to Singapore, spending a year at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, before leaving home again to join the MacMillan Lab at Princeton for his doctoral studies. In his free time, Yong is an avid sports fan, and counts football (the one with the World Cup), basketball and tennis amongst his favourite sports. He also enjoys travelling, especially long road trips. Every now and then, Yong also enjoys a spot of rock climbing.