Dato Wong Yew Kai

He had practically zero experience in the F&B business, but Wong Yew Kai jumped at the opportunity to diversify his construction business by running the highest restaurant in the country.

Owner, Kajang Satay House

For Dato Wong Yew Kai, the executive director of Asian Kitchen Sdn Bhd, a business is a live organism that should evolve with the times. An entrepreneur must be able to grab the opportunities that pop up, even if it’s in a field he is not familiar with.

Wong, who formed Asian Kitchens with three partners in 2009, has been operating Atmosphere 360 at the KL Tower since 2011. The 10,000 sq ft revolving restaurant at 282m above ground level is one of the iconic landmarks in Malaysia. He believes tourists would want to experience eating in such a unique setting — after all, we’re talking about the highest restaurant in the country.

Wong ventured into the F&B scene relatively late in his career. Construction has always been his main area of business but he is slowly diversifying away from it because he says it is getting more competitive and challenging.

Datuk Wong comes across as meticulous and thorough sort. When something catches his interest, he would put his heart and soul into it. He relates how he wanted to learn to make dim sum when he was a boy of nine. He worked as an apprentice in a dim sum restaurant for about siyears, beginning with sweeping the floor and worked my way up to washing dishes until finally making them.

Datuk Wong’s current F&B venture is the Satay Putera Restaurant in Kajang with two other partners since 2018. Kajang is a small city in Selangor and Is well-known for the different flavours of Satays sold from different proprietors and restaurants. His interest in food curation leads to his delicious Satay recipe, a reflection of his strong belief that food is the window to the soul.