NORTH Yorkshire residents certainly have a taste for the Orient, which restauranteur, Ben Tsoi, is happy to feed.

Ben’s Cantonese restaurant, Kam Bo House (which means Golden Treasure House) – in Friarage Street, Northallerton – has been exceptionally busy since lockdown, despite only being open for a year previously.

Working with his Malaysian wife, Siew Hsia Lam, and a few part-time staff, Ben has kept the restaurant going with a takeaway service seven nights a week.

“We are not a cheap fast food outlet,” says Ben, “but our prices reflect the quality of what we offer. If you cannot afford to treat your love ones this week…please think of us next week!”

Darlington and Stockton Times: Sweet and sour chicken balls are a popular choiceSweet and sour chicken balls are a popular choice

Kam Bo House is the only restaurant in the area serving two authentic Malaysian national dishes using sambal – a hot sauce made with a mixture of chilli peppers; and Redang – a sauce using coconut, lemon grass and kaffir lime.

Ben and Siew reluctantly closed the restaurant at the start of the lockdown, which meant that they couldn’t offer their popular Cantonese buffet, as well as table service. But, thanks to a Hambleton Council grant that has allowed them to keep serving their customers, they have stepped up to the mark with their takeaway option.

Ben has always been in the restaurant business. His father ran a restaurant in Loughborough, where Ben grew up, and he met Siew when he was running his own restaurant in Markfield, Leicestershire.

They settled in Northallerton following a job offer, and have made the picturesque North Yorkshire town their home. Ben was working in a restaurant called My Asia, and the couple liked the people in Northallerton so much that they decided to stay.

A change of landlord forced them to look for other opportunities. The local community helped to identify a suitable alternative which resulted in the opening of Kam Bo House in 2019, from where they wanted to continue serving good food to the locals.

Apart from the popular Malaysian dishes on offer, the most requested meals from their customers include: sweet and sour chicken balls; salt and chilli chicken; crispy chilli beef; beef and pepper in black bean sauce.

Ben is justifiably proud of his chicken balls which, he says, are slightly larger than the average takeaway size, and very filling. “We sell loads of them!” he says.

Meals can be ordered through the website or phoned in, with a collection or a delivery service available. The restaurant is also listed with Just Eat.

Web: www.kambohouse.co.uk

Tel: 01609 258120

1a Friarage Street, Northallerton, DL6 1DP