Hong Kong’s ‘abalone king’, chef Yeung Koon-yat, on working his way up from sleeping on tablecloths
- The 88-year-old, also known as Ah Yat, is a co-founder of the three-Michelin-starred Forum Restaurant
- He traces his path from Guangdong province during the Sino-Japanese war to cooking his signature dish for presidents and royalty
Tell us about your childhood. “I was born in Zhongshan [Guangdong province] in 1932. When the Sino-Japanese war erupted [in 1937] the situation got so bad that my two younger sisters starved to death. When I left Zhongshan, in 1949, for Hong Kong, I had only HK$50 in my pocket. I was 16 years old and felt I needed a change of scenery and a chance at a better life.”
How did you get into the restaurant industry? “When I arrived here, life was very difficult because I didn’t know anyone, but I wasn’t worried. I got a job at Tai Wah Restaurant [in Kowloon] as an entry-level worker. I was just happy to have a job.
“When I started, the environment wasn’t like it is now, where you can choose to do whatever you want. I did whatever needed to be done. It was tough. I would start around 11am and finish around 1am. The restaurant was quite large, serving wealthy customers. We washed vegetables, served customers, washed dishes and then after work we had to move the chairs and tables.
“Afterwards we would spread out tablecloths to sleep on and use others as pillows. There weren’t any dormitories at the time – many of us slept in the restaurant. In the morning, we folded the linen nicely again and put it back in the closet. I made about HK$30 a month and we could eat staff meals in the restaurant. After the dinner service, we would have midnight snacks.”
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What was the kitchen like? “When I was transferred into the kitchen, I followed the chef and prepared ingredients for him, working 13 hours a day. Nowadays people get holidays, but we didn’t. It wasn’t fair, but we still had to work.