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The Story Of Kim Fong Wong:
From China, The Philippines To Canada
Born of a Chinese Politician, Kim Fong Wong was an eager young boy with great ambition and potential. Looking for a better education and escaping the harsh social and economic circumstances in China, he immigrated to the Philippines in 1942 as a foreign student. From there he obtained a secondary education and upon graduation, began work for the Victoria Biscuit Company in the wholesale industry selling cookies and other confectionaries. He eventually married Severna Low, whom he first met in high school and started a family.
Struggling through tough times with the American occupation of the Philippines after World War II, the rapidly growing Wong family felt that it was best to get away from the conflict in the Pacific and immigrated to Canada. Now a family of nine with seven kids, they landed in Vancouver in 1957 living with other relatives that had come to the nation years earlier. In Vancouver, Severna and Kim Fong learnt how to cook Chinese Canadian food and the western dishes that were popular.
After several months in Vancouver, the Wong family got on a train and rode the Canadian Pacific Railway across the nation to arrive in Toronto, where they planned to start a new life. Settling at the heart of downtown Toronto near Danforth and Pape, Kim Fong obtained a job as a chef at a four star hotel while Severna stayed at home to tend to the youngest of the seven children.
The four eldest children, Louie, Victoria, Catharine and Elizabeth took on menial jobs and paid their way through college and university. With a firm root in the food and service industry, Kim Fong embarked in a partnership and opened up a Chinese fast food restaurant in Toronto. Continue...
