Brother sets up battle of taste buds

The younger of two brothers who run the high-end Fook Lam Moon chain of restaurants opened a new establishment in Wan Chai yesterday just blocks from the flagship shop, stirring fresh rumours of sibling rivalry.

Chui Wai-kwan's restaurant on Tonnochy Road is aptly named Seventh Son. He is the seventh in the family of Chui Fook-chuen, founder of the flagship shop on Johnston Road that has long been known as the "tycoons' canteen".

His restaurant is separate from the family chain, whose two local outlets are run by fifth brother Chui Pui-kun under an out-of-court settlement that ended a three-year legal feud last year.

Seventh Son opened with a high-profile guest list that included brother-in-law Education Secretary Eddie Ng Hak-kim and former executive councillor Edward Leong Che-hung, a Fook Lam Moon regular.

"Competition is good for any industry. It's the only way improvements can be made," Chui Wai-kwan said.

"I can't say whether my restaurant will be better than Fook Lam Moon, but you can be assured that the same high standards will be maintained."

He had brought over some of the staff, including chefs, from Fook Lam Moon and would apply the culinary skills of his late father at the new establishment, he said.

He declined to comment on the court battle, but when asked if he had invited his older brother to the opening ceremony, he responded with a resounding and indifferent "no".

In November 2009, Chui Pui-kun filed a defamation lawsuit against Chui Wai-kwan, accusing the younger brother of circulating libellous letters among company shareholders and directors.

Both then filed petitions to take over each others' shares.

The case ended when the family announced in January that Chui Pui-kun would take charge of the Johnston Road flagship, which opened in 1972, and the Kimberley Road branch in Tsim Sha Tsui that started five years later.

Chui Wai-kwan has control of the chain's seven outlets on the mainland and in Japan.