'Abalone king' Yeung Koon-yat sees Hong Kong society turning sour

Food has always been central to the life of Yeung Koon-yat. Growing up in wartime Guangdong, his family was so poor that two of his sisters starved to death. But after crossing over to Hong Kong in 1949, Yeung worked his way up from washing dishes to become the "abalone king", cooking the delicacy for world leaders and earning a Michelin Star for Forum Restaurant in Causeway Bay.

Despite his fame, the 82-year-old Yeung is not immune to some of the social issues affecting the city. Not only has he been forced to move his business after the landlord demanded a higher rent, he is also about to enter a legal dispute with a rival.

Yet Yeung would much rather talk about his concerns for the future of the city than the trademark infringement writ his business filed against local restaurant chain Fulum Group

Fulum Group was set up in 1992 by brothers who are also surnamed Yeung but are not related to Yeung Koon-yat. It now has more than 80 restaurants. While they use different English translations, Forum and Fulum share the same Chinese characters. Forum's writ lists more than 40 restaurant names it says infringe its registered trademarks.

Sitting at Forum's new location at Sino Plaza - its home since January after the rent went up at its old location in Lockhart Road - Yeung is reluctant to say much about the court case.

"I am actually not in charge of the court case. I am in charge of the food, of the abalone," he says. "But actually this [case] is something which is not unexpected."