Forum Restaurant () is a Cantonese restaurant officially established in 1977 at
Sino Plaza
Sino Plaza is a skyscraper located in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong. The tower rises 38 floors
A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern t ...
, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Run by Hong Kong's international chef and ambassador of Chinese cuisine, Yeung Koon-yat (), it is known for its expensive
abalone dishes.
Yeung first opened the Forum in 1974 with some business partners, though it was not registered as a business until 1977. The restaurant struggled financially early on, and Yeung's business partners left the restaurant one-by-one until he became the sole owner of the business. Determined to make the restaurant succeed, he decided to become an expert in preparing abalone in order to make the business stand out from its competition. Yeung's abalone received positive reviews from businessmen and government officials that could afford dining at the Forum, allowing him to eventually get the opportunity to serve abalone to Deng Xiaoping in 1984. By 2020, the restaurant earned its third
Michelin star.
History
With , chef Yeung Koon-yat and some
business partners
A business partner is a commercial entity with which another commercial entity has some form of alliance. This relationship may be a contractual, exclusive bond in which both entities commit not to ally with third parties. Alternatively, it may be ...
established the Forum in 1974. It had not been officially registered as a business until 1977, as the partners individually left until Yeung was the sole owner and chef.
Originally serving
comfort food
Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may app ...
, the restaurant struggled initially with staying afloat. Realizing that a signature dish would make the Forum stand out from its competition, Yeung decided to become an expert in preparing one item.
He eventually settled on
abalone because "it was the food of kings, of businessmen, or intellectuals ...it's good quality and healthy."
He also believed that he could improve how abalone was traditionally prepared.
Yeung spent three years learning how to prepare abalone,
investing heavily into the process.
The Forum's special method of preparing abalone initially attracted Hong Kong officials and dignitaries.
After businessman
Yue-Kong Pao
Sir Yue-Kong Pao CBE JP (; 10 November 1918 — 23 September 1991), is the founder of Hong Kong's Worldwide Shipping Group which in the 20 years from purchasing its first used ship in 1955 became by far the largest shipping company in the w ...
endorsed Yeung's cooking to
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...
, the chef was requested to serve abalone to Deng and other state officials at the
Diaoyutai Guesthouse in 1984.
The politician later claimed that Yeung's abalone was the best he had ever had.
In 1988, he was invited to
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
to cook for a three-day banquet, serving more than a thousand meals and raising his profile outside of China.
Yeung went on to cook for leaders like
Jacques Chirac in 1995.
In January 2014, the restaurant moved to the first floor of nearby
Sino Plaza
Sino Plaza is a skyscraper located in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong. The tower rises 38 floors
A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern t ...
, as its original site at 485
Lockhart Road
Lockhart Road () is a street spanning the whole length of Wan Chai from east to west on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. It begins at Arsenal Street in the west and ends in East Point Road in East Point.
History
The road is named after Si ...
had been rented to
Tsui Wah Restaurant instead, at HK$1.22 million per month for ten years. This was an increase of 70% compared with the Forum's rental charges. The same year, the Forum sued Fulum Group in April, alleging that their chain of seafood and dim sum restaurants infringed on their trademark. According to the lawsuit, "Forum" and "Fulum" sound similar and are written with the same Chinese characters. In July 2014, Fulum Group announced that a
coexistance agreement had been reached with the Forum.
Description
Forum Restaurant resides on the first floor of the
Sino Plaza
Sino Plaza is a skyscraper located in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong. The tower rises 38 floors
A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern t ...
, at 255-257 Gloucester Rd in
Causeway Bay
Causeway Bay is an area and a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern and the Wan Chai districts. It is a major shopping, leisure and cultural centre in Hong Kong, with a number of major shopping centres. Th ...
. It specializes in abalone dishes, which Yeung is known for. The forum's signature dish is Ah Yat's abalone.
According to ''
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History Early years
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarke ...
'', prices at the Forum start at .
Yeung's method of preparing abalone involves initially re-hydrating Japanese dried abalone sourced from northern Japan, soaking and drying whole pieces for a day.
Yeung states that when he initially studied how to serve the dish, he used Japanese preparation techniques as inspiration.
Then, in a clay pot, the abalone is braised on layers of bamboo shoots and
spare ribs
Spare ribs (also side ribs or spareribs) are a variety of ribs cut from the lower portion of a pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. There is a covering of meat on top of the bones an ...
. More bamboo shoots and chicken are overlaid on top of the abalone, and cooked at high heat for 12-14 hours.
At first, Yeung used charcoal to cook the abalone, but later switched to using gas stoves.
To test whether the abalone is ready, it is stabbed with a pin.
In addition to abalone, the restaurant also has vegetable and fish dishes that are more moderately priced.
Awards
The restaurant received one star in the
Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...
inaugural 2009 Hong Kong and Macau edition and the second one in the 2018 edition.
As of 2020, it holds three Michelin stars.
See also
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List of restaurants in Hong Kong
This is a list of notable restaurants in Hong Kong.
Restaurants
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List of Michelin starred restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau
References
{{Coord, 22.2813, 114.1822, display=t
Michelin Guide starred restaurants in Hong Kong
Wan Chai
Causeway Bay
Restaurants established in 1977
1977 establishments in Hong Kong