Yung Kee
Coordinates: 22°16′53″N 114°09′20″E / 22.281452°N 114.155599°E
| Yung Kee Restaurant 香港鏞記酒家 |
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 Yung Kee Restaurant in Central |
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| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1942 |
| Food type | Chinese |
| Rating | Bib Gourmand Michelin Guide 2012 |
| Street address | 32-40 Wellington Street, Central |
| City | Hong Kong |
| Country | China |
| Reservations | Recommended |
| Website | yungkee.com.hk |
| Yung Kee | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 香港鏞記酒家 | ||||||||||
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Yung Kee (Chinese: 鏞記) is a Chinese restaurant located on Wellington Street in Central, Hong Kong. It is most famous for its roast goose.
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[edit] History
Yung Kee used to be a dai pai dong selling siu mei on Kwong Yuen West Street, near the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal, before it was converted into a restaurant by Kam Shui-fai (甘穗煇) in 1942. In 1942, Kam leased the premises at 32 Wing Lok Street in Sheung Wan for HK$4,000. During the Second World War, the building was destroyed in a Japanese air raid. In 1944, the restaurant was moved to 32 Pottinger Street. It moved into its current premises on Wellington Street in 1964, and after four more adjacent buildings were acquired, the lot was rebuilt in 1978 to become today's Yung Kee Building.[1]
In 1968, Yung Kee was chosen by Fortune magazine as one of the Top 15 Restaurants in the World, the only Chinese restaurant on the list.[2]
During the 2001 SARS outbreak and again during the avian flu scare, Yung Kee was forced to temporarily stop serving roast goose and other poultry.[3][4]
On 1 December 2011, Yung Kee was downgraded from the 2012 Michelin Guide's one star restaurant category and is now only in the Bib Gourmand category.[5]
[edit] Finances and ownership
Yung Kee is owned by Yung Kee Holdings Limited, a private holding company with roughly HK$127 million in assets.[6] In 2000, the two top floors of the building which the restaurant occupies became available; the company purchased those floors at that point, and now owns the entire building.[7] After the death of the founder Kam Shui-fai, its shares were divided among Kam's children: eldest son Kam Kin-sing (甘健成) and second son Kam Kwan-lai (甘琨禮) each received 45%, while the remaining 10% was held by Kam's daughter Kam Mei-ling through her own holding company Everway Holdings Limited; she later sold it to the younger Kam.[6][8] In fiscal year 2009, the restaurant earned HK$51.1 million in net profit. However, there have been continuing disputes among the two brothers about the management of the company, especially due to the appointment of the younger Kam brother's son Kam Lin-wang (甘連宏) as a director, drawing a salary of HK$45,000/month for only a few hours of work. In July 2010, the elder Kam brother applied to the High Court for liquidation of the holding company if the younger Kam brother refused to buy out his stake.[6][8]
[edit] Specialties
Yung Kee is most famous for its roast goose, and serves as many as 300 whole birds per day.[9] A half bird—which serves up to six people—costs HK$240, while a two-person portion goes for HK$120.[2] The late founder Kam is nicknamed "Roast Goose Fai" (燒鵝煇), and Yung Kee's roast goose has become well known in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, and also among foreign tourists. Some take a box of goose on the flight home to share with family and friends, giving rise to the nickname "Flying Roast Goose" (飛天燒鵝).[1] In 1997, four dishes from Yung Kee received awards in the Hong Kong Food Festival Culinary Awards Competition: "Wild Geese Resting on Plum Tress" won a platinum award, while "Fish Biting Lamb in Huizhou Style" (fresh carp stuffed with shredded lamb), "Celebrating Prosperity" (fish and chicken wings on a bed of stir-fried vegetables and shredded turtle meat), and "Aloe Vera with Golden Pomegranate" each won gold awards.[10]
Yung Kee dishes are also served in first and business class on board Cathay Pacific flights, and boxes of roast goose and preserved eggs from the restaurant are sold in the on-board duty-free shop in an effort to take advantage of a growing demand for "souvenir food".[11][12]
The sixth floor of the restaurant building is occupied by the Kee Club, described by founder Maria Rhomberg as "a place for people tired of discos but still too young for formal restaurants and stuffy establishment clubs"; she met Kam in Shanghai to present the concept to him, and opened the club in 2001.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b History, Yung Kee Restaurant, http://www.yungkee.com.hk/history/history-e.html, retrieved 2010-07-15
- ^ a b "Yung Kee", Frommer's, 2010, http://www.frommers.com/destinations/hongkong/D44646.html, retrieved 2010-07-15
- ^ "鏞記酒家燒鵝斷市", Wen Wei Po, 2001-07-21, http://paper.wenweipo.com/2001/07/21/HK0107210043.htm, retrieved 2010-07-16
- ^ 張慧燊 (2005-09-07), "甘琨禮 鏞記燒鵝 香飄60載", Wen Wei Po, http://paper.wenweipo.com/2005/09/07/MR0509070001.htm, retrieved 2010-07-16
- ^ (traditional Chinese (HK))一星遭謫 鏞記「跌落凡塵」 Apple Daily. 2 December 2011.
- ^ a b c "兄弟鬩牆鏞記或面臨清盤", Hong Kong Commercial Daily, 2010-07-14, http://www.hkcd.com.hk/content/2010-07/14/content_2556295.htm, retrieved 2010-07-14
- ^ a b "Keys to the kingdom", The Star, 2005-01-17, http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/1/17/features/9836203&sec=features, retrieved 2010-07-15
- ^ a b Chong, Thomas; Yau (2010-07-14), "Cooking their goose", The Standard, http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=100518&sid=28893694&con_type=3, retrieved 2010-07-14
- ^ Lam, Tiffany (2009-09-05), "Yung Kee Restaurant: Famed roast goose", CNNGo, http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/eat/yung-kee-restaurant-famed-roast-goose-276244?quicktabs_2=1, retrieved 2010-07-15
- ^ Yew, Betty (1997-04-04), "Yung Kee's best makes its mark", New Straits Times, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wd4dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PBUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5217,6620192, retrieved 2010-07-15
- ^ "Cathay Pacific joins Yung Kee for 'Best Chinese Food in the Air'", Philippines Star, 2010-03-01, http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=553980&publicationSubCategoryId=111, retrieved 2010-07-15
- ^ Seno, Alexandra A. (2005-06-09), "Foods of the moment to take home", The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/09/travel/09iht-trsouv.html?_r=1, retrieved 2010-07-15
[edit] External links
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