"

Family Feuds over Roast Goose

Yung Kee
A Michelin Starred Restaurant in Hong Kong




1he resLauranL ls 80 owned by prlvaLe holdlng company ?ung kee Poldlngs LLd. and
earned 31 mllllon Pong kong dollars (uS$6.36 mllllon) ln neL proflL, had Pk$127
mllllon ln neL asseLs and Pk$800 mllllon ln cash for Lhe flnanclal year endlng Aprll
2009, accordlng Lo courL documenLs. uocumenLs also revealed LhaL Lhe kam famlly
had more Lhan Pk$2 bllllon ln asseLs. 1hls group has hoLels and shopplng cenLers
across dlfferenL reglons, and parLnerlng wlLh a famous eaLery makes sound buslness
sense as lL wlll enhance lLs own buslness value. 1haL's on Lop of Lhe mllllons -lf noL
bllllons- LhaL Lhe premlses alone are worLh.

4/14/12 4:52 PM Elder brother exposes track of Yung Kee feud|Top News|chinadaily.com.cn
Page 1 of 1 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2012-01/31/content_14507579.htm
Elder brother exposes track of Yung
Kee feud
Updated: 2012-01-31 07:08
By Kahon Chan (HK Edition)
The elder son of the Yung Kee restaurant founder Kam Shui-fai accused his younger sibling on Monday of breaking his
father's wishes, resulting in the elder son's loss of influence over company management.
Yung Kee, the restaurant in Central renowned for its crispy roasted goose, is called the "canteen to the city's rich and
famous". The future of the restaurant however, appears uncertain as the family remains locked in a bitter feud.
The elder son, Kinsen Kam Kwan-sing, filed a petition in March 2010 asking that the courts wind-up Yung Kee Holdings
Limited. Since then, two years of attempts at mediation have proven fruitless. The 20-day trial of the case began on Monday.
Jat Sew-tong, counsel for Kinsen, elaborated details in opening submissions alleging that the younger brother Ronald Kam
Kwan-lai had made moves beginning early in 2009 to diminish Kinsen's role at Yung Kee.
Five family members of founder Kam Shui-fai, who died in December 2004, inherited assets and shares of the celebrated
restaurant. Kinsen and Ronald, each received 35 percent of the holdings, served as the board's only two directors.
Ronald received another 10 percent interest later in a bequest from a deceased sibling. The mother of the two combatants,
Mak Siu-chun then awarded her 10-percent interest to Kinsen. Jat explained that the corporate structure was intended to
maintain equal influence between Kinsen and Ronald.
Ronald, as outlined in the submission, had become furious over his mother's decision. A disputed transfer of shares from a
sister, Kelly Kam, to Ronald gave the younger son a 55 percent majority in Yung Kee shares.
Subsequently, Ronald's son Carrel Kam Lin-wang was appointed as a third director. Jat said Kinsen Kam had never
expected that he would have to come to a "situation" of voting since decisions were made in the past by simple order from
Kinsen.
The brothers' late father had required the brothers to learn every aspect of the business. When Carrel arrived, he came in
"right at the top and took over", Jat alleged.
Kinsen was made to share power with Ronald on human resources decisions and once was denied access to financial
information. Kinsen's demand to declare dividends was dismissed at a board meeting by Ronald, who was quoted by Jat as
saying because "we don't want to".
Jat described Kinsen as being "devastated" by the "unilateral and drastic steps" taken by Ronald. Jat said Kinsen made an
offer to sell his interests in Yung Kee, but the siblings failed to agree on the valuation of the company's market value.
Professionals from Kinsen's side assessed the value at about HK$1.51billion, but Ronald's evaluators gave an estimate of no
more than HK$1.35 billion.
In a statement released to the press before the trial, Ronald Kam stood by his legal position objecting to the wind-up
petition. He expressed "regret" that a family feud has to be resolved in a trial, but said he will "defend upon reason" as his
legal advisers suggested that his brother has no legal standing.
The trial was expected to take another 19 days. The widow and all children of the restaurant's founder and two staff from the
restaurant are expected to testify to the facts of the case.
kahon@chinadailyhk.com
China Daily
(HK Edition 01/31/2012 page1)
Copyright By chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved
#
1he wor|d's famous roast goose cu|s|ne
?ung kee, a classlc CanLonese resLauranL LhaL has sLood Lhe LesL of Llme for over half
a decade. ?ung kee's roasL geese are famous for succulenL meaL and crlspy skln.
8oasL goose was dlvlded lnLo Lwo equal halves and ready Lo be served LhaL only
crlspy skln was shown. ?ung kee's slgnaLure roasL goose ls also almosL as famous as
Lhe people who have eaLen lL - former Chlnese resldenL !lang Zemln, 1alwanese
resldenL Ma ?lng-[eou, and former u.S. resldenL Ceorge W 8ush. CelebrlLy,
Lycoons and supersLars are also regulars.
lLs roasL goose was even nlcknamed Lhe "llylng 8oasL Coose" because many LourlsLs
would buy and carry lL home by alr Lo share wlLh frlends and relaLlves. 8eservaLlon
has been dlfflculL. Cne needs Lo have Lhe connecLlons" Lo reserve a Lable on a
lrlday nlghL aL Lhe vl area.
1he Iounder kam Shu|-fa|: lrom sLreeL food sLall Lo a world famous resLauranL, Lhe
klng of 8oasL Coose

1he legendary resLauranL was founded by kam Shul- fal, ln 1942. A man wlLh only a
few years of educaLlon, kam Shul- fal seL up a modesL cooked food sLall ln kwong
?uen WesL SLreeL, Pong kong. Cver Llme ?ung kee acqulred fame for lLs gourmeL
speclalLy-8oasL Coose. lL becomes well known among people ln Cuangdong, Pong
kong and Macau, and lL also aLLracLs many LourlsLs from forelgn counLrles. ln 1968,
lorLune magazlne named lL one of Lhe 13 besL resLauranLs ln Lhe world, famous for lLs
crlspy roasL goose.
1he rec|pe:

1he founder has developed hls unlque reclpe LhaL was hard Lo be lmlLaLed. ?ung kee
only used Lop black geese from Conghua and Clngyuanm, ln Cuangdong provlnce. 1he
besL quallLy baby geese were chosen slnce Lhey were haLched ouL and ralsed ln a
speclal farm shack where Lhe geese were only fed by grasses, leaves, and vegeLables
and had llmlLed amounL of exerclse so LhaL meaL would be Lender wlLh naLural LasLe.
1he mosL sulLable slze for roasLlng are Lhe geese wlLh 2.3 kg, whlch Lake around 100 -
120 days Lo grow. uue Lo Lhls, ?ung kee's geese were 20-30 hlgher Lhan Lhe markeL
prlce.

lor seasonlng, Lhe founder developed Lhe famlly's secreL herbs, whlch lnclude anlse,
cumln, glnger, and drled Langerlne peel from xlnhul ln Cuangdong. lor roasLlng, ?ung
kee used nanyang charcoal brlqueLLes, ln whlch lLs aroma perfecLly maLches wlLh
goose meaL. unllke oLher charcoals, lL does noL yleld excesslve black smoke LhaL
would blacken and rulned Lhe LasLe of roasL goose.

kam Senlor was generally respecLed for hls work aLLlLude. Lver slnce belng an
apprenLlce, kam Senlor always en[oyed hls work. Pe sald, my happlesL momenL ls
when l have Lhe klLchen knlfe ln my hand." kam Senlor LreaLed all employees llke hls
famlly members and looked afLer Lhelr welfare lncludlng llvellhood, slckness and
deaLh. Lach day, he and hls chlldren had lunch wlLh managers Lo malnLaln closed
relaLlonshlp and, lf necessary, glve advlce on lnnovaLlve dlshes of ?ung kee. kam
$
Senlor malnLalned LrusLworLhy personal relaLlonshlp wlLh old hands ln wholesale,
reLall and caLerlng buslnesses. under hls leadershlp, ?ung kee was also famous for
frlendly and aLLenLlve cusLomer servlce.

Success|on at ung kee

1he founder, kam Shul-fal had four wlves and elghLeen chlldren (eleven sons and
seven daughLers). 1he flrsL chlldless wlfe dled shorLly afLer Lhe marrlage. kam Senlor
allocaLed ulamond 8esLauranL Lo Lhe second wlfe ln 1938. 1he Lhlrd wlfe, Mak Slu-
Chun ran a warehouse and laundry errands for Lhe buslness aL Lhe very beglnnlng of
Lhe buslness of ?ung kee. Mak Slu-Chun has Lhree sons (klnsen or kam kwan-slng,
8onald or kam kwan-lal, and kam kwan-kl) and one daughLer (kam Mel-llng kelly).
1he fourLh wlfe has no legal sLaLus.

WlLh auLhorlLaLlve and charlsmaLlc leadershlp, and LradlLlonal Chlnese famlly Leachlng,
Lhe faLher-and-sons Leam creaLed a mlracle ln food and caLerlng lndusLry ln Pong
kong. 1he eldesL son, klnsen, was Lhe deslgnaLed helr and hence was glven Lhe
poslLlon as ?ung kee's general manager slnce 1973. As Lhe maln shopkeeper, klnsen
had been ln charge of Lhe runnlng Lhe operaLlon, whlch lncludes merchandlzlng,
klLchen, and culslne deslgn. 1he second son, 8onald, was responslble for Lhe back
offlce, whlch lncludes flnance, accounLlng, and renovaLlon pro[ecLs. 8onald ran
properLy and lnvesLmenLs. 1he Lhlrd son, kam kwan-kl, afLer successfully learnlng Lhe
skllls of roasLlng geese from hls faLher, was ln charge of Lhe roasL-meaLs secLlon of
?ung kee. Lach broLher had hls own funcLlon, and presumably ln dlspuLes kam Shul-
fal made Lhe flnal declslon and medlaLed.
kam Senlor educaLed hls sons by LradlLlonal Chlnese Leachlng. 1he eldesL son klnsen
llved up Lo hls faLher's expecLaLlon by malnLalnlng a LradlLlonal hardworklng Chlnese
buslnessman ln charge of Lhe famlly buslness and good 'face' (repuLaLlon) of ?ung kee.
klnsen even dressed up ln old Chlnese sLyle gown as a mean Lo reslsL Lhe LempLaLlon
of lelsure en[oymenL. klnsen's frlends regarded klnsen as an old-fashloned man and
dld noL wanL Lo lnvlLe hlm ouL for parLylng. Powever, klnsen lnslsLed LhaL Lhls was a
rlghL way Lo keep up wlLh hls faLher's expecLaLlon.

Around 1980s, kam Senlor gave 30 of Lhe flrm's sLake Lo hls Lhree sons, each
recelved an equally share. unLll hls deaLh, kam Senlor, however, had absoluLe flnal
say ln ?ung kee. Pe regularly showed up aL Lhe resLauranL on a dally basls and wenL
back Lo ?ung kee and helped Lhe klLchen durlng peaked lunch hour. Pe assured good
repuLaLlon of ?ung kee wlLh hlgh quallLy dlshes and good cusLomer servlce. kam
Senlor malnLalned LrusLworLhy personal relaLlonshlp wlLh old hands ln wholesale,
reLall and caLerlng buslnesses.

kam Senlor llved unLll 96 and passed away ln 2004. ?ung kee was valued aL leasL
Pk$1.3 bllllon and had abouL Pk$880 mllllon ln llquld asseLs. 1he ownershlp and
conLrol of ?ung kee, were sLrucLured as follow: klnsen and 8onald, each recelved 33
of Lhe ?ung kee Poldlngs, Lhe resLauranL's parenL company, and served as Lhe flrm's
board of only Lwo dlrecLors, Lhe founder's Lhlrd son (kwan-kl), daughLer (kelly kam
%
Mel-llng) and Lhlrd wlfe (Mak Slu-chun) each lnherlLed 10 of Lhe shares of ?ung kee
Poldlngs. none of Lhe ladles was lnvolved ln managemenL of Lhe flrm.

1he chlldren of klnsen also worked ln ?ung kee, hls flrsL son, kevln kam Shung-hln,
worked ln ?ung kee afLer flnlshlng educaLlon ln Canada ln 1996. uesplLe of belng lazy
and lack of moLlvaLlon Lo run ?ung kee, kevln was promoLed as AsslsLanL Manager.

1he second generat|on: ower strugg||ng at ung kee (2004-2012)

AfLer Lhe founder passlng away, Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween hls chlldren has been
deLerloraLlng. Pls eldesL son klnsen wenL so far as Lo sue hls younger broLher,
8onald, for shuLLlng hlm ouL of managemenL.
8onald managed Lo galn conLrol over ?ung kee by acqulrlng more sLake from hls
broLher and slsLer. Pe somehow recelved Lhe 10 sLake owned by hls younger
broLher (kwan-kl) who passed away ln 2007.
1helr moLher, Mak Slu-chun, Look slde and gave her 10 shares Lo klnsen, whlch
made 8onald furlous. 8onald Lhen boughL anoLher 10 sLake from hls slsLer, kelly.
WlLh a ma[orlLy sLake of 33, 8onald aLLempLed Lo Lake charge of ?ung kee and
removed hls elder broLher from Lhe buslness. Pe appolnLed hls son Carrel kam Lln-
wang as a Lhlrd dlrecLor, and ?vonne as alLernaLe dlrecLor and Chlef llnanclal Cfflcer,
wlLhouL any prlor experlence ln cullnary lndusLry. 1hey recelved a generous monLhly
salary of Pk$43,000. 8onald also passed a resoluLlon LhaL no full quorum ls requlred
aL meeLlngs. 8onald became ln charge of personnel arrangemenL duLy, whlch klnsen
was ln charge. ln addlLlon, he changed markeLlng sLraLegles wlLhouL prlor dlscusslon
wlLh klnsen.
8onald used ?ung kee's warehouse as hls own company, C1L-Lase, a Chlnese sausage
company, wlLhouL seeklng approval from Lhe managlng board. When 8onald was ln
charge of renovaLlon of ?ung kee, he dellvered Lhe conLracL Lo ueslgn and uecoraLlon
LLd., whlch was owned by hls secreLary.

klnsen had never expecLed LhaL he would have Lo come Lo a "slLuaLlon" of voLlng.
lor many years declslons were made by hls slmple order. Pe now was refralned
from accesslng flnanclal lnformaLlon, belng denled of access Lo ?ung kee's books
and records. klnsen's demand Lo declare dlvldends was dlsmlssed aL a board
meeLlng by 8onald, who sald LhaL because "we don'L wanL Lo". lurLher, he was
requlred Lo seek approval from Lhe board of dlrecLors before Laklng an lnLervlew or
medla promoLlon. ln oLher words, he was no longer an excluslve spokesperson of
?ung kee. klnsen
led up wlLh hls broLher, klnsen Lrled Lo leave Lhe famlly buslness by offerlng Lo buy
ouL 8onald's ma[orlLy share ln ?ung kee Poldlngs, or selllng ouL hls shares. 1he
broLhers, however, falled Lo agree on Lhe valuaLlon of Lhe company's markeL value.
rofesslonals from klnsen's slde assessed Lhe value of Lhe resLauranL aL
Pk$1.31bllllon, buL 8onald's evaluaLors gave an esLlmaLe of no more Lhan Pk$1.33
bllllon (SCu 212.2 mllllon). ?ung kee Poldlngs also had anoLher Pk$888 mllllon (SCu
144.94 mllllon) ln cash.
&
AfLer belng rebuffed by hls younger broLher when Lrylng Lo sell hls shares, klnsen
applled for a courL order ln March 2010. Pls peLlLlon was Lo llquldaLe ?ung kee
Poldlngs LLd, or Lo buy ouL 8onald's shares of Lhe company. 8onald kam sLood by
hls legal poslLlon ob[ecLlng Lo Lhe wlnd-up peLlLlon.
AL Lhe courL hearlng, Lhe slsLer, kelly, gave evldence abouL her supporL for 8onald,
sald LhaL klnsen always domlnaLlng and wanLlng Lo be ln conLrol. She LesLlfled LhaL
alLhough her eldesL broLher was hard-worklng and devoLed Lo promoLlng Lhe
resLauranL ln CenLral, he was noL a sLrong leader. 8onald, ln conLrasL, was skllled aL
admlnlsLraLlon and managemenL. klnsen was Loo preoccupled ln Lhe dally runnlng of
Lhe resLauranL and dld noL Lake parL ln lLs flnanclal managemenL so had no ldea abouL
Lhe developmenL of ?ung kee, so she feared Lhe buslness mlghL noL survlve lf Lhere
was more compeLlLlon ln Lhe markeL. She also descrlbed klnsen as bullylng and
lnLlmldaLlng. "lL's klnd of embarrasslng. [klnsen] has Lwo faces. ln publlc he ls genLle
and humble. 8uL ln prlvaLe, lL ls a dlfferenL lssue. 1o run a company, he has Lo be
approachable lnsLead of showlng who Lhe boss ls," she sald on Lhe sLand.
1he courL's [udgmenL, however, lndlcaLed LhaL klnsen "had been unfalrly pre[udlced
by [8onald's] conducL". 8onald had made a "pre-empLlve sLrlke" ln Laklng conLrol of
Lhe company's board, whlle 8onald's son, Carrel, had been "graLulLously rude" Lo hls
uncle.
1he flnal hearlng was concluded ln CcLober 2012, 27 days afLer klnsen unexpecLedly
dled of lllness aL 66. 1he concluslon dlsmlssed klnsen's requesL because ?ung kee
reglsLered as an offshore company ln Lhe 8rlLlsh vlrgln lslands.
klnsen's sons, kevln kam Shung- hln and Pardy kam Shun-yuen sald Lhey may sell
Lhelr shares ln ?ung kee Lo an ouLslder lf Lhelr uncle 8onald, refuses Lo buy Lhem ouL
aL a reasonable prlce.

ln !anuary 2013, Lhe wlfe of klnsen, Leung Sul-kwan, complalned ln courL LhaL she had
been compleLely excluded from managemenL of ?ung kee. Leung's requesL Lo become
a member of Lhe board of dlrecLors was also re[ecLed by 8onald. She requesLed Lo
sLep lnLo her husband's place.
1he feuds& the kam fam||y
Mak Slu-chun, Lhe wldow of Lhe founder, now 81, sald Lhe blLLer feud beLween her
Lwo sons ls Learlng her aparL. She Lold Lhe CourL of llrsL lnsLance LhaL Lhe younger of
Lhe Lwo broLhers wanLed Lo sell hls sLake afLer Lhelr faLher dled ln 2004. 8uL she
opposed Lhe move because her husband, kam Shul-fal, had worked hard LhroughouL
hls llfe Lo develop Lhe resLauranL and she wanLed Lo keep lL as hls legacy.
She sald Lhey were prevlously a happy famlly buL now 8onald, hls sons, and her
daughLer kelly lgnore her and are esLranged from her. Per rouLlne mornlng Lea wlLh
8onald had been suspended slnce Lhe famlly dlspuLe arose ln 2009. 1he Lelephone
llne of her daughLer kelly was "cuL off". 1hey blame her for sldlng wlLh kwan-slng,
and she feels confused.
"1hey are boLh my sons, l do noL favor one over Lhe oLher, even lf my second son
'
does noL LreaL me well."
8uL 8onald's daughLer ?vonne sald Lhey were ln facL [usL sLeps away from Lhe feasL
venue when Lhey saw her grandmoLher, who gave Lhem an angry look. She sald Lhey
declded noL Lo aLLend Lhe feasL lesL her grandmoLher Lurned lL lnLo an embarrasslng
publlc farce. ?vonne sald her famlly felL "helpless, hurL and frusLraLed" by belng
labelled Lhe "bad guys" responslble for klnsen's deaLh.
"Crandma ls deeply blased," ?vonne sald. "She values Loo much Lhe Chlnese LradlLlon
LhaL Lhe famlly wealLh should be lnherlLed by Lhe oldesL son. 1haL ls why she has been
on my uncle's slde.

ersonal repuLaLlons among famlly members were also severely damaged durlng a
serles of courL dlspuLes.

1he famlly has been spenL Pk$30 mllllon, a year's proflL of Lhe resLauranL, on Lhe
llLlgaLlon. ?eL lL ls sLlll unclear when Lhe famlly's dlspuLe wlll end. AnoLher legal flghL,
for example, mlghL begln abouL who owns Lhe ?ung kee Lrademark lf klnsen's
chlldren follow Lhelr faLher's lasL suggesLlon and seL up a new resLauranL.
ung kee under the second generat|on's contro|
?ung kee was honored Lhelr flrsL one sLar ln Lhe Mlchelln Culde (Pong kong and
Macau edlLlon) ln 2008 for Lhree consecuLlve years. unforLunaLely, lL was
downgraded from Lhe Mlchelln Culde's one sLar resLauranL on uecember 1, 2011 and
placed aL Lhe "8lb Courmand" secLlon of Lhe Mlchelln Culde's 2012 edlLlon.

Mr. Chau ?ung kwal, an apprenLlce of ?ung kee 30 years ago and now Lhe boss of a
local food resLauranL chaln, sald LhaL under kam Senlor's leadershlp, people and
shop were unlLed as one. 1he klLchen sLrlcLly conLrolled food quallLy. Coose dlshes ln
?ung kee had speclal flavor, whlch could noL be obLalned elsewhere. Powever, ?ung
kee's roasL goose could no longer maLch up wlLh lLs repuLaLlon Lhls day. Chau
concluded LhaL even roasL goose shops ln Sham 1seng

were beLLer Lhan ?ung kee's".

Cfflce workers ln CenLral complalned abouL Lhe servlce of ?ung kee, lncludlng poor
cusLomer servlce, nolsy envlronmenL, and more devasLaLlngly, roasL goose, prlced aL
Pku480, was overprlced due Lo lLs poor quallLy.

1he news on famlly feuds also drew large crowds Lo Lhe resLauranL ln WelllngLon
SLreeL, CenLral. Many Look plcLures, fearlng Lhe 68-year-old buslness wlll close. 1he
resLauranL senL Lhree recepLlonlsLs ouLslde Lo keep order. 1he dlspuLe also puLs aL
sLake Lhe fuLure of some 200 employees.

Sources: Var|ous newspapers,
Iu-La| 1ony u and D|ana S. kwan, Iam||y 8us|ness Success|on |n nong kong: 1he Case of ung kee,
Work|ng paper.
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