Albert Chai

News Obituary Article

SNELLVILLE: Albert Chai, championed traditional Chinese dishes

By KAY POWELL

Albert Chai's pure philosophy of cooking made him a restaurant success.

His cooking at home created a cultural divide.

Mr. Chai was a native of Malaysia, and his wife, Kristi Chai, is from Taiwan. At his Mah Jong restaurant in Snellville, Mr. Chai's fresh vegetables and perfectly prepared Chinese dishes were a hit with customers. When he cooked at home, his Malay style was sometimes too much for his wife.

"They eat very, very spicy. In their culture, they eat very spicy even for breakfast. He needed to tone it down," Ms. Chai said.

Six days a week, Mr. Chai served hundreds of a la carte dishes at Mah Jong, where customers became regulars and then became friends.

"He just was such a person that you wanted to get to know more about him. He was such an outgoing person," said Bob Rozar of Lawrenceville, who first dined at Mah Jong 10 years ago and soon became friends with Mr. Chai.

Kim Sloane of Madison, another customer cum friend, said, "He just made me and anyone else he ever met feel at home and welcome. He just took us in."

Mr. Chai served up a winning combination of good food and great hospitality that brought diners back for two or three meals a week.

The funeral for Kui Foong "Albert" Chai, 45, of Snellville, who died of lung cancer at Gwinnett Medical Center Saturday, is 1:30 p.m. today at Tom M. Wages, Snellville Chapel.

Mr. Chai left Malaysia, spent a few years in the Netherlands studying under two master chefs, came to Atlanta on vacation, met his future wife and moved to the Atlanta area in 1988.

With a partner, he soon opened the first Mah Jong on Peachtree Street and sold it in 1995.

"He was older. We had kids. He wanted to do more of a family-type restaurant, not the Buckhead high-life restaurant," Mrs. Chai said. He opened Mah Jong in Snellville in 1997 and was a partner in the Mah Jong in Suwanee.

Mr. Chai was faithful to traditional Chinese cooking.

"He mainly liked to cook to keep the individual flavor, not so many sauces," she said. "He believed that wherever you are, you use what is locally grown and in season. That's the best ingredients."

"His favorite is a perfect cooked fresh vegetable," she said, and he spent hours making his soups. "He used no salt, no MSG. He concentrated on the stock."

Mr. Chai named his restaurants Mah Jong because it is a traditional Chinese game, and he championed traditional Chinese cooking, which he felt many Chinese restaurants had abandoned, she said.

When he took time away from his own restaurant, Mr. Chai liked to go out to eat --- at other Asian restaurants, Mr. Rozar said. "He helped us pick out the best items on the menu because this was real, real Chinese food," he said. Mr. Chai never critiqued other Asian restaurants.

"He was always just the nicest person," Mr. Rozar said. "Albert was incredible. When you walked into his kitchen, you could tell by the smiles that everybody loved Albert."

Mr. Chai made sure if any employee was needy, they had plenty of food, clothes and transportation, he said. That charity and generosity extended to his customers, friends, neighbors and strangers.

He greeted every customer and made sure the food was to their liking. If it weren't, he sent out another dish, Mr. Rozar said.

As rushed as he was running the kitchen and managing the restaurant, "He always made you feel like you were the only one in the restaurant," Ms. Sloane said. "He invited you to join them at Chinese New Year and always had a special gift for you. He and Kristi both were the hardest-working people you ever met. Their energy, I'd like to tap that source," she said.

"He had a smile that made you feel happy when you saw him," Mr. Rozar said.

Other survivors include a son, Jarrett H. Chai of Snellville; a stepson, Jonathan Lo of San Francisco; his mother, Thai Liew of Malaysia; three brothers, Lim Moy Chai, Kooi Ching Chai and Kooi Kong Chai; and a sister, Fooi Hiong Chai.

© 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution