Hong Kong’s legendary Yung Kee Roast Goose Restaurant is set to close after the descendants failed to reach an agreement.

Back in November, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal released a statement announcing that Yung Kee might possibly be wound up. On Wednesday (16 December 2015), the city’s highest court rejected a request – by Ronald Kam, one of the sons of the restaurant’s founder - to extend a liquidation deadline which was set to expire.

For those who are not familiar with Yung Kee’s long-running family dispute, the death of Yung Kee’s founder Kam Shui-fai in 2004 sparked a bitter war between the heirs Kinsen Kam Kwan-sing and Ronald Kam Kwan-lai. Ronald owned 55% of the overall shares while Kinsen possessed the remaining 45%.  Things escalated quickly when Ronald implemented changes to Yung Kee Holdings Limited’s board of directors, where Kinsen had been excluded in the management despite holding 45% of the shares.

Read: Kam’s Roast Goose Restaurant – By Hardy Kam, the grandson Yung Kee’s Founder.

Kinsen had simultaneously offered to buy out Ronald’s shares or to sell his shares, but neither happened. Kinsen then took it to court in 2010 to file for a petition against Ronald. – which led us to the current court liquidation order.

It was reported that the late Kinsen’s family – who applied for the court liquidation order – demanded HK$1.3 billion for their 45% stake in Yung Kee. However, Ronald was only willing to pay HK$1.1 billion in cash and almost HK$100 million worth of assets. Who would have thought that the difference would eventually lead to the downfall of Yung Kee!

A liquidator will take over the holding company to find buyers for its assets, including the iconic roast goose restaurant and the Yung Kee building in the Central district.

Fans of Yung Kee Roast Goose, however, do not have to worry that Yung Kee Restaurant will be gone immediately. It is said that the liquidation process will take months, if not years, and as a subsidiary of Yung Kee’s holding company, the restaurant can continue its daily operations.

Read: 6 Best Roast Goose Restaurants in Hong Kong.

Everyone in Hong Kong knows Yung Kee Goose Restaurant for two reasons – their delicious roast meats and its ongoing family feud. The infamous fight over the restaurant’s ownership had reached a dramatic climax when the Court of Final Appeal released a statement announcing that Yung Kee might possibly be wound up. The fate of Yung Kee will be sealed in 26 days and only an agreement amongst the descendants can prevent it from being auctioned.

Founder Kam Shui-fai built the restaurant empire from scratch and converted a humble eatery to a billion-dollar establishment. Today, the 73-year-old restaurant’s worth is estimated at HK$1.5 billion.

Unfortunately, the death of Shui-fai in 2004 soon triggered a bitter war between the heirs Kinsen Kam Kwan-sing and Ronald Kam Kwan-lai. The biological brothers have been involved in a series of high-profile court cases over the dispute of shares.

The family-owned business has been in spotlight for many years and the turbulent politics were eventually sparked off by the imbalance possession of shares. Both brothers Kinsen and Ronald initially inherited 35% each of Yung Kee’s shares.

Kinsen’s mother, Mak Siu-Chun, had given Kinsen her 10%, while Ronald purchased the other 20% from his younger siblings. As a result, Ronald owned 55% of the overall shares while Kinsen possessed the remaining 45%.

Photo source: WiNG

Who would have thought that the 10% difference of shares could result in fallout of the entire Kam family! Things escalated quickly when Ronald implemented changes to Yung Kee Holdings Limited’s board of directors, where Kinsen had been unfairly excluded in the management.

Kinsen had simultaneously offered to buy out Ronald’s shares or sell his shares, but neither happened. Kinsen then took it to court in 2010 to file for a petition against Ronald.

Kinsen’s petition in 2010 to force Ronald to buy his shares or have Yung Kee wound up was unsuccessful, as the court had no jurisdiction to take such orders. Kinsen passed away in 2012 in the midst of the lawsuit, and the ordeal spurred his sons – Hardy and Kevin – to severe ties with Ronald’s family.

Hardy and Kevin went on to open their own eateries – Kam’s Roast Goose and Kam’s Restaurant – while their mother, Leung Sui-kwan had decided to not let the matter rest. This time, her appeal was a success.

Yung Kee will be automatically placed under a wind-up process if neither parties can come to a solution – whereby one side will have to buy out the other. Even the Kam family’s third generation are involved in this dramatic episode and both sides have spoken up about the long battle. Ronald’s son had proclaimed that they “have given [Kinsen's family] an offer” but were rejected. That statement was then rebutted by Hardy who said, “they didn’t give us a price”.

Torn apart by money and power, communication breakdown and accumulated discontentment are evident in the estranged family. Shui-fai’s mother had even allegedly blamed Ronald as being the cause of Kinsen’s passing.

For better or for worse, the long battle over the ownership of Yung Kee restaurant might soon end in a month’s time, but at a hefty price of having the family company placed on auction by the appointed liquidator.

However, even if a winding-up order is in progress, Yung Kee’s daily operations will not be interrupted.

Read: Kam’s Roast Goose (by Hardy Kam) is better than Yung Kee Roast Goose Restaurant.

So everyone associates Yung Kee with the best roast goose in Hong Kong. But do you know about Kam’s Roast Goose at Hennesy Road in Wan Chai?

Said to be the up and coming brand, Kam’s Roast Goose is actually owned by the Kam family too! We will get back to this story in a bit, because more importantly, we have heard so much about how Kam’s Roast Goose is way better than Yung Kee.

Of course, we had to make a trip down to develop our own conclusion. So, is Kam’s Roast Goose really better than internationally acclaimed Yung Kee’s?

If you are still confused, the Kam family started off with Yung Kee. Their reputation is built on decades of accolades and positive media coverages, but as with many other successors’ family politics, the Kam family had their own family drama, with the founder, Kam Shui Fai’s sons – Kinsen Kam Kwan-sing and Ronald Kam Kwan-lai - getting into disputes about the business and eventually leading to falling out.

Hardy Kam Shun-yuen, the son of the Kinsen Kam, then started Kam’s Roast Goose to continue his father’s legacy, and though Kam’s Roast Goose has only been in operations for slightly past a year, it has earned its 1-Michelin Star already.

Now, the difference between Kam’s Roast Goose and Yung Kee is glaring. The former is a small, simple and unpretentious outlet that sits not more than fifty, and has a concise menu that focuses on its roasts; the latter is now a multi-level restaurant that sits on the prime Wellington Street, with a full menu of Cantonese dishes on top of the regular roasts. And sure, their roast goose is good.

But Kam’s Roast Goose is no less fatty, juicy and fragrant; even better with the subtly sweet plum sauce! A regular portion costs HK$135, and needless to say, we finished the portion in the blink of an eye.

We tried the Char Siew (HK$55) as well, but this disappointed us quite a bit. Not too sure about you, but to us, a plate of heavenly char siew has to be chewy and juicy with a good ratio of fats, while boasting a slightly charred skin. But the ones here are Kam’s looked lacklustre and tasted mediocre. It could fundamentally do with more sweetness and oil.

What you really have to do when dining at Kam’s is to ditch the white rice, and go straight for the Prince Kinsen Noodles (HK$35). The price tag might set you back a bit, but know that you are in for a real treat. The plate of unassuming noodles is not your regular Hong Kong-style noodles.

Instead, look forward to a surprising braised flavour, because your egg noodles are cooked al dente, then tossed in the essence of a roast goose drumstick’s – its prized oil and juice. Forget about being healthy for now, and just enjoy the signature Prince Kaisen Noodles with their famous roast goose.

And back to the poultry. Here’s the million dollar question – does Kam’s Roast Goose really roast better geese? There are many versions of the verdicts, and we do think Kam’s is the winner. The overall experience of dining at the small outlet is more pleasant as well, with the staff being more hospitable and helpful with your questions and requests.

Nothing unnecessarily pretentious about dining at Kam’s; just sheer satisfaction from savouring the classic Hong Kong roasts. And yes, Prince Kinsen’s Noodles. Damn, we’ve got cravings again.

Kam’s Roast Goose
226 Hennessy Road
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2520 1110
Nearest Station: Wan Chai