Tawau Adventures: A Tawau Seafood Legacy

A Tawau Seafood Legacy

Written by Gina Yap Lai Yoong

“Come, eat first. Tell you the story later. What would you like?” asked chef Wong Ying Kit, who was and is the owner of Kam Ling Seafood Restaurant. He has recently handed over the business to his four children to run and manage. He claimed to be semi-retired but you would still see him at the restaurant every night as he attends to his regular customers. After all, he has been in this business for almost 40 years since he was in his early twenties. The Tawau folks have come to associate him with fresh seafood as many of them would have dined in his restaurant during their growing-up years.

He put in the orders for some seafood that he insisted we had to try as they were seasonal catches and the specials of the week. Then he left us to check out the seafood market where an assortment of sea crustaceans and fish were swimming in their tanks. From crabs to lobsters, groupers to stingrays, even oysters were up for picks. Just choose what you want and get the restaurant to cook the way you would like to enjoy them — that’s the way to go at Kam Ling Seafood Restaurant. Or you can do what we did: get the boss to recommend their best.

After we had enjoyed the meal and chef Wong had attended to his regular customers, he sat down at our table and said, “Now, what was it that would you like to know?”

How Kam Ling Got Its Name

Gina: This is our first time visiting Tawau. We heard that most people would come here to Kam Ling Seafood Restaurant to enjoy a seafood feast…

Chef Wong: Not here, but over there at Taman Sabindo. We were there at the hawker centre since 1984 when the business first started. We just moved here (to Kobuta Square) on 9 November 2019.

Gina: How or why did you decide to venture into the restaurant business?

Chef Wong: My family has been in the restaurant business for as long as I can remember. My father ran two restaurant businesses in Ipoh, both very well established. But somehow the businesses faced some trouble, so he moved the family to Tawau. He came here in 1978, I came here in 1980. I was only a 20-year-old then. Our first business was not Kam Ling, it was something else. Then in 1984, we started Kam Ling Fresh Seafood, that’s what we called ourselves at Taman Sabindo.

Gina: What does the name Kam Ling mean?

Chef Wong: My father said the word ‘Kam Ling’ makes a good name because it’s smooth and easy to pronounce. Kampar, a town near Ipoh, has a Kam Ling restaurant. Kampar is my hometown. So we decided to go with it. When I started Kam Ling Fresh Seafood, my son was a six-month-old. So he practically grew up helping at the stall. Now he and the rest of my children have taken over my business. So I am semi-retired now.

Gina: So back then, it was the same concept — a seafood restaurant?

Chef Wong: Last time, I was not good with the seafood restaurant business. I used to sell economy rice and dishes, and fulfill some simple ‘dai chow’ orders. As I went along, some friends asked if I wanted to sell live seafood. I said I didn’t know how to do so and they taught me. They were supportive. If they caught any good stuff, they gave me some to sell in my restaurant. Slowly, business grew and I became good at it. So that’s how I got into this business.

Gina: So why did you move here? I am sure all your customers who have been dining here since they were young have great memories of your place at Taman Sabindo.

Chef Wong: My kids were just born then. Now they are all grown up and have completed their studies abroad. They returned to Tawau and wanted to expand the business.

Gina: Surely that’s not the only reason you decided to move here. You could have kept both places running but the old place is literally closed now.

Chef Wong: One thing bad about being at Taman Sabindo was the rubbish site two doors away. Everyone in town came and dumped their rubbish, but the rubbish site only got cleared every two to three days. It smelt really bad and I was selling food. My customers had to walk by the rubbish site and a public toilet before they reach our stall. So it was not a pleasant experience for them. It affected my business. So when my kids asked if I was open to expanding the business, I said, “Sure!” Especially now that it is an Internet world, everything is about going online and marketing on social media. They even go online to order seafood from other countries. I have four children. They each majored in different things: information technology (IT), electronics and communications, accounting, and design. 

Gina: So they have the complete skills to run a business like this.

Chef Wong: Yes, so they formed the business and I can semi-retire now.

And so, that’s the story behind Kam Ling Seafood Restaurant in Tawau.