Ng Kum: From computer geek to world-class chef

Back to the United States
     Kum decided to go back to the U.S. in 1998 to heal his wounds, expand his horizon and go back to school.  “I wanted to learn new
technology from the U.S., perhaps take advanced courses, and promote that in my country,” Kum continued enthusiastically. “In a sense, I
was reborn again. It was supposed to be my second chance.”
    But Kum wasn’t ready to go back to school. It didn’t happen, simply because he had a family to support by then and had to work full-time. He
went to his friend, Paul Chen of China Restaurant, and worked for him once again. It was, however, a difficult time for Chinese restaurants
serving sit-down traditional dishes, and Kum knew why it was so.
    “There were a lot of new players – the third generation Chinese restaurant owners,” Kum explained. “The third generation consisted of
those that do buffets and take-outs. They came from Mainland China’s Fucheng province and flooded New York and California, and these  
entrepreneurs on Chinese cuisine were very aggressive. And these people came from what background? Most of them  were farmers and
laborers back in their hometowns. They built roads, houses and other infrastructure, and they were the  ones who had the toughest lifestyle.  
They got loans from loan sharks, and when they moved over here, they had to pay them back within three to  four years, otherwise their
families in China would be in jeopardy.”
    Kum believes that all over the U.S., especially in Chinatowns, all Chinese restaurants are now owned by this group of third-wave
entrepreneurs. “They have captured all  the market share in this line of business,” he said. “They have popularized Chinese food within the
American context – fast, cheap, plenty.” Kum gave as an example ‘General Tso’s chicken,’ a dish that was never offered by traditional
Chinese restaurants of the past. Kum said these new entrepreneurs did a good job because their businesses continue to flourish.

China House
     Kum described China House as a “second-generation” restaurant that was started in 1974 by Paul Chen and ended with Paul Chen.
“China House was a small, pure, conventional, traditional style, and it preserved a certain authenticity, “Kum said, comparing it to the present
trend of fast-food Chinese buffets or take-outs, “and it was considered a community restaurant then.”
    In 1998, China House was already in its dying days according to Kum, as it was facing grave financial difficulty. His anaylisis went further
as he pointed out that aside from the fierce competition of commercialized Chinese restaurants offering cheap dishes in large quantities, most
traditional Chinese restaurants (whose owners were mostly from the second generation) didn’t go to college at all, and didn’t know  how to
invest. “Most of them made good money all right, but they got bored and had nothing else to do,” he thought. “Because of that, many of them
resorted to gambling, and you know what happens if people gamble. They lose money.”
    Kum tried to “prolong” the life of China House by helping the owner get a loan from the bank, in collaboration with a loyal customer who
became Chen’s business partner.  While the restaurant was trying to survive, Kum became an “apprentice” in the kitchen, as he got more
involved in the running of the business. He admitted he knew nothing at all about cooking when he started his apprenticeship, but he got lots
of new ideas.
    “One thing about me,  I had the opportunity to travel all over Asia, and whenever I had the chance to go out,  I would  spend  two to three
hours going on my own way to explore dishes,” Kum said.  “I would go to small streets and try dishes offered by different restaurants. I
wouldn’t eat the whole dish. I’d just taste the food. So, I think the prerequisite for a good cook must be he/she must be a good eater.”
    Having given the chance to explore his ideas about cooking while working in China House, Kum began his research on Chinese cuisine
from different  regions and in 2002, he  wrote his book “Appreciating Chinese Cooking.” He has become the master chef-apprentice of China
House within nine months. He “taught” his culinary concepts and cooking style to several  Madison enthusiasts, and he received recognitions
for his effort. It is also worth noting that China House’s life was “extended” for four or five more years principally because of Kum’s
extraordinary public relations skills.
    Kum then began his research on innovative cooking techniques using his own “Framework Cooking” concept.

    Next issue will focus on Kum’s “Framework Cooking” concept and his continuing culinary journey.
Part 1 of 2
By Heidi M Pascual

    When Ng Kum (Aeng Kum) moved from Malaysia to Indiana in the ‘80s as an international student, his
goal was to learn the latest computer technology so that he could take it back home and contribute his
newly acquired knowledge to Malaysia’s technological development. After earning his associate’s
degree from Indiana Institute of Technology, he decided to complete his computer science degree in
Madison, Wis., where most of his close friends went. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kum
started his courses leading to a bachelor’s degree in computer science, while supporting himself waiting
at tables at China House Restaurant along South Park St.
    Kum described China House as the “superstar” of Chinese restaurants in Madison at the time.
“I worked there as a waiter for three or four years,” Kum recalled, “and I was never close to the kitchen.”
He, however, became close to Paul Chen, the owner of China House, and they became good friends.
    Kum’s studies at UW-Madison were put on hold when his mother got very ill. He had to go back to
Malaysia and look after his ailing mom, hoping he would still pursue his computer science degree at UW-
Madison.
    In Malaysia, he accepted an entry-level position – a clerical one — at a computer company. Soon,
management saw Kum’s potentials and gradually promoted him to an assistant. In just a few years, Kum
became a director, and a few more years, he found himself managing the company. He ended up owning
the company and, at the time, he thought that perhaps he didn’t have to go back to Wisconsin.
    “I reached the peak of my career in Malaysia,” Kum said, proud of what he had accomplished there
within a decade. “I remember leading the launching of Epson’s Stylus printer and how successful it
Ng Kum holds his medal of
recognition from World Chef
Society
was,” Kum narrated, detailing how he prepared big graphics and photographs printed by the
Stylus printer itself and hung them like in an art gallery, complete with a popular band performing
in an adjoining stadium. “There were 7,000-8,000 people who attended the launching, and I was
able to get a minister to officiate the whole thing. It was such a big story in Malaysia at that time.
People thought I spent millions of dollars to do it; but I got lots of sponsors. So with the tight
budget that I had, I was able to do a promotion that was worth a few million dollars. I wanted to
do something different but the impact was great, although the budget was low.”
Flying high and still aiming higher, Kum invested heavily in a small institution where he planned
to introduce his self-designed courses. “I designed courses for vocational studies, for students
who couldn’t go to college or the university,” he said. “Two of my courses had already been
certified by the Vocational Board, a government body, in conjunction with a national university.”
 Going back to the United States never crossed Kum’s mind, but things didn’t go as well as he
planned. The great Asian financial crisis suddenly ripped through the continent in the mid-‘90s,
the period when he had already invested his life savings into the vocational school. “I was at the
peak of my career and I had no reason to leave,” Kum said. “But I made one gamble in my life.
The financial crisis that befell Asia, which started in Thailand, affected Malaysia. I was
aggressively running this new project that I worked hard for, for two to three years, when the
crash happened. Some companies were supposed to buy my company and together, we were
supposed to develop it into a full-fledged college. Unfortunately, the wave was so titanic it just
drowned everybody. So those billion-dollar companies instantly became a few million-dollars
worth. Everybody was drowned, including myself. It was a turning point in my life.”
Kum recalled that Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir started to look East—Japan and China – for  
the  country’s monetary policy. “He changed Malaysia’s monetary policy for the first time and
adopted a closed door policy. He changed the pegging of the local currency against the U.S. dollar
and pegged the local currency against the yuan, and started tightening foreign remittances by
putting a ceiling on how much money you could take out of the country – at the most, I think it was
$3,000, but you can bring in as much money as you like.”
Ng Kum with some of his "students" at China
House