Yee putting the finishing touches to the Burnt Cabbage. — GLENN GUAN/The Star
Perfect marriage of classic and contemporary French at Topshelf.
When Topshelf opened some 12 years ago in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, I met the very youthful chef/owner Christopher Yee for the first time. At that time he had two other partners but now, Yee has become the sole owner, taking over two floors of the same shoplot with private rooms upstairs as well as shelves for the wine display.
The name Topshelf denotes the shelf where the top quality products are displayed, he explains.
“When it first opened, I was only 26; now I’m 39 and newly married!” says Yee with a huge smile.
After secondary school, he enrolled for a culinary diploma in London, then did his internship in Paris before returning home to Kuala Lumpur for Chinese New Year. He didn’t stay long though, for as soon he got news that the Hilton was opening in London, he made his way back there to work for three-and-a-half years. His last position at the Hilton was chef de partie.
“I learnt a lot, worked hard and partied hard,” adds Yee who was only 21 then. He was supposed to get a transfer to Hilton San Francisco, but then, a series of bombing hit London.
“The Home Office in London was a mess and couldn’t process my papers. My visa was expiring, so I had to come back.”
Yee decided to go back to school to study for a degree in European culinary management at Kolej Damansara Utama in Petaling Jaya.
The lights are dim and the ambience cozy.
“I was kiasu (slang for afraid to lose out) and I thought this could be something that I could fall back on. I finished my degree within two years.”
This time, he decided to stay and understand the food industry in Malaysia better.
“I was heading a team at The Library in The Curve, Petaling Jaya, which also opened in Mid Valley, and was the head chef there. Sales was good.”
He stayed for about three years, then suffered burnout and took a break for nine months before embarking on Topshelf. The rest, as they say, is history.
It’s hard to believe that this affable, smiley chef used to be an introvert, seeing how relaxed and sociable he is now.
“I would just work in the kitchen and go home. I worked harder as I grew older. I needed to meet people and talk to them. But I would try to avoid socialising if I could, as I preferred to be on my own.”
Yee lets on that his mother used to be a cook in the New Zealand Embassy, which explains why he’s been interested in cooking even from a young age. However, knowing how to cook is quite different from catering to what people want, he concedes.
“Initially, we did very classic French cuisine. Then we tried to do more contemporary stuff to flow with the current trend. For instance, we used to offer steak au poivre, now we do it with pork. We used to serve conventional escargots in their shells, now we have escargots with Pani Puri, with a garlic aioli.
“If we plan a different menu, usually I would discuss it with my manager and the guys in the kitchen first, do some R&D and let them cook it a few times before we launch it,” he says.
The Covid-19 pandemic was a challenging time for Yee and his staff.
“We were lucky as we had a large base of regulars. We managed to sell our breads, house-made butter, ice-cream and sauces. We also did a lot of charity work, such as cooking some 800 boxes of food for the disabled and an old folks home.
“For 10 months we lost revenue, but when dine-in was allowed, we did very well. Our expatriate regulars came back.
“It was also during the pandemic that we noticed an increase in demand for private dining. This prompted us to specially design our upper floor with private rooms for dining, which could also double up as an event space. We offer a customised menu for events and access to our bar lounge as well.”
Upstairs, Topshelf offers private rooms and event space as well as wine display shelves.
Running a restaurant is not without its challenges. Last October, Yee encountered a bit of a setback when four of his staff, who had been working with him for four years, all left at the same time. But he managed to hire and train a new team. Recently, he had to cope with an overbooked wine dinner that featured a reputable Bordeaux wine.
“I was supposed to cater for only 20 people but ended up with 50 diners. Luckily, we still managed to pull it off!”
For a chef, Yee isn’t fussy about food and likes local fare, especially if it’s full of flavour, be it fried kway teow, chicken rice or nasi lemak. He likes simple food, as long as it’s done well.
As a teenager, Yee used to be a state swimmer and it’s clear he still has an affinity for water as now, he goes scuba diving.
“I also Iike fishing a lot, especially freshwater fishing. Once, I even caught a snakehead near Raub. Currently, I’m trying to pick up golf.”
These days, he enjoys drinking in good company, and is now importing whisky for his restaurant and for his own enjoyment.
Looks like Yee is living his best life, one that has a good balance of work and pleasure.
