Help Chef Albert of ‘Taste by Bert’ heal and get back on his feet again.

2024 began with a challenging, painful twist of events for Taste by Bert Owner and Chef, Albert Wong Leh Siong. Upon learning that he had to close his pride and joy, his Japanese Sando business Taste by Bert in Lalaport Bukit Bintang City Centre, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Albert rushed about to settle moving and closure issues, ending most of his nights in tired and worried stupor. The strain of the closure took its toll on him – mere days after the closure news, Bert was rushed by ambulance from Lalaport to Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL), with chest and stomach pains on 11 January 2024 at 1:15pm

What was initially thought of as high blood pressure turned into a more serious condition, Albert had suffered an aortic aneurysm – his large artery that carries blood from the heart to the chest and torso had ruptured. He needed an immediate transfer from HKL to a heart specialist centre. After being rejected from hospital to hospital due to lack of space, Albert was sent to the Institute Jantung Negara (IJN), which is Malaysia’s National Heart Institute. For 2 days, his wife, Win Win Chew and his family, had to struggle through the wait as IJN heart surgeons and specialists assessed Albert’s condition. After what could have been a regular procedure, an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, they had to close Albert up as he needed a rare, complicated procedure to repair his huge-ruptured artery. Known as the Frozen Elephant Trunk Procedure, an endovascular stent graft that is placed inside the blood vessel. Chef Albert’s rupture which is the length of his lower chest to his abdomen, could’ve been life threatening if left unchecked. Chef Albert, Win Win and the family are truly grateful for the expertise, professionalism and kindness given by their cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Paneer Selvam a/l Krishna Morthy and his team. The family has been lucky with the financial help and counsel given by IJN Foundation, the Health Ministry of Malaysia as well as the unfailing support from their close family and friends.

** Update: On 27 January 2024, 3 days after the open heart surgery discharge, there was another emergencies. He was send to nearby hospital for acute urinary retentions. However incidental findings he is having very low hemoglobin at HB4.0. Albert was admitted for another 2 weeks at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital (HKL). There was an internal bleeding due to stomach ulcers. He was discharged on 10 February 2024 (Chinese New Year)**

The road to recovery however is a long, arduous road ahead.

This is where we need your kind help. Chef Albert was looking at moving his business to another food court, where food traffic and customer loyalty would be a breath of fresh air. The surgery has changed his plans, for now. His aortic aneurysm and subsequent surgery require rehabilitation and recovery. Scheduled follow ups and appointments could span 6 months to a year.

For now, Chef Albert will not be able to trade his delicious chicken katsu sando. His immediate future will be peppered with hospital bills and visits. Let us help do our part to make his road to recovery a smooth, less heart-breaking one. Help us get Albert back on his feet and feeding us his unforgettable katsu sando again.

(We are looking at reaching a target of RM120,000 - RM180,000 to help with current and upcoming hospital and rehabilitation bills). Any kind of help (from RM30, RM50 onwards) from your end will mean the world to us. Our target seems like a huge sum to achieve, but hopefully God willing, we can get there. Thank you again for all your support that you have shown, and continue to show, to Taste by Bert, Albert, Win Win, and family.