5 days ago
Elegant Fine Caviar is Malaysian-owned caviar from a sturgeon farm in China
Imagine this: you have a dream and you want to do something about it. But it just so happens that dream will take up to 15 years to materialise – something that cannot be altered or changed because nature has to take its course. Would you still press ahead knowing the returns are so far down the horizon?
For Malaysian entrepreneurs Dr Rainey Yan and Aaron Tong, this was a no-brainer. The couple realised there was a gap in the Malaysian market for caviar and decided to do something about it. With the help of two investors, they invested RM50mil in a sturgeon farm in China, situated along the Amur River.
'Caviar has always symbolised status, but we wanted to reimagine it: not as a product for the privileged, but as a lifestyle for those who value moments. Moments of indulgence, celebration and connection.
Tong (left) and Yan are the couple behind Elegant Fine Caviar, a Malaysian caviar brand that is cultivated on a farm in China. — ART CHEN/The Star
'To do that, we needed full control – from roe to refinement. Owning part of a boutique sturgeon farm allowed us to curate quality at the source and build a brand rooted in patience, craft, and long-term vision.
'This wasn't about fast business. It was about planting the seeds of something timeless – and giving Asia a voice in the global caviar conversation,' says Yan.
Last December, seven years after investing in the sturgeon farm, Yan and Tong were finally able to harvest their first batch of Malaysian-owned caviar, now sold and marketed under the Elegant Fine Caviar range.
History of caviar
Sturgeon are one of the oldest fish in the world, dating back over 300 million years to prehistoric times when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
Female sturgeon take anywhere from seven to 15 years to produce caviar. — Elegant Fine
True caviar is attained from the roe of sturgeon fish. While there are many roe from other fish – like lumpfish – labelled as caviar, the truth is these are all merely fish roe. The term 'caviar' in its pure sense refers only to the unfertilised salt-cured roe of sturgeon in the Acipenseridae family.
The word 'caviar' traces its roots to the Turkish word 'khav-jar' meaning 'cake of strength' while the first mention of caviar dates back to 350 BC when Aristotle mentioned that the Greeks ate sturgeon roe at banquets.
In the 1600s, the Russians discovered caviar and soon it was enjoyed among nobility and the elite and gained a reputation as a luxury food. The most popular – and incidentally the most expensive – caviar is the Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga caviar.
In the 20th century, massive overfishing decimated the sturgeon population – the American sturgeon, for instance, was fished to the point of extinction. Beluga sturgeon stocks, meanwhile, declined by about 90% in the 20th century alone. While there were once over 30 kinds of sturgeon, it is now believed that only about nine have survived.
Before partnering with the farm in China, Tong (left) and Yan (right) visited many boutique farms. They now travel to their farm multiple times a year to check on their precious fish. — Elegant Fine
In 2006, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) implemented worldwide restrictions on the trade of wild caviar. Now that there are quotas for wild-caught sturgeon and its roe, the domino effect has been the proliferation of aquaculture and farmed caviar, like the one Yan and Tong are so valiantly championing.
Birth of Malaysian-owned caviar
Yan is a culinary arts graduate, while her fiancé Tong is a businessman. Both are in hospitality and branding but were propelled to dive into the sturgeon business after discovering that there was a desire in the Malaysian market for luxury foods. Initially the two wanted to focus on sea urchin, but when they realised they would have more control, agency and ownership if they started a caviar farm, they decided to go down that route instead.
'We did a lot of research and visited a few boutique farms in China and the one that we decided to work with is the one where we believe the taste and the texture of the caviar is very suitable for the Malaysian palate,' explains Yan.
When they invested in the farm in 2018, all the sturgeon were baby fish, which meant a long-haul waiting game.
Because of the effects of climate change, water temperatures at the farm have to be kept below 18°C. — Elegant Fine
Caviar is attained from the female sturgeon, which typically reaches sexual maturity and starts producing caviar only after seven to 15 years. Even after first producing eggs, some female sturgeon species only bear roe every three to four years. This means most caviar producers have zero yield for up to a decade and sometimes even longer!
'The main challenge of this business is the waiting time because it's all about waiting, waiting and waiting!' says Yan.
The other challenge? Figuring out how to implement systems that work in tandem with the growing concerns of climate change. Many sturgeon farms around the world have discovered that as temperatures have gotten hotter over the past few years, sturgeon have simply started dropping dead.
With higher heat levels, the quality of caviar has also been compromised, with some producers reporting mushier caviar that is simply not suitable for sale.
To combat this, Yan and Tong have taken extra efforts to ensure the water temperature at their farm is consistent and never gets too hot.
The sturgeon reared at the farm in China are grown in temperature-controlled tanks and are monitored closely at every growth stage. — Elegant Fine
'The water temperature cannot be higher than 18°C otherwise the fish will be affected. So we have a cooling system and workers at the farm 24 hours a day, working in shifts to check the water temperatures every hour. Summer time is when the weather gets hotter, so we don't really harvest the eggs much at this time,' says Yan.
From fish to caviar
The process of attaining caviar is a multi-year, multi-stage process that is no walk in the park. To begin with, the brood stock first has to be selected for breeding. Then the male and female sturgeon are paired together to produce fertilised eggs. When the eggs hatch, the larvae are sent to controlled-environment tanks and then divided into male and female fish.
Many farms will have specific methods to try and ensure more female sturgeon are reared. When the female sturgeon starts producing caviar, the caviar is monitored through an ultrasound to determine when it is most viable for harvest. Then the eggs are extracted, often through a fine needle.
To get Elegant Fine Caviar off the ground, Yan did extensive research, poring over YouTube videos and reading material to determine the means and methods of extracting the best quality caviar.
Yan and Tong's farm now produces three different kinds of caviar for Malaysian consumers to enjoy. — ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
Which is why the fish at her farm go through a process of fasting before having their roe removed.
'Before we get the roe out of the sturgeon, the fish goes through a 40-day fast to clean out its system.
'So this way the caviar won't have a muddy, fishy taste or retain the flavour of its feed. What you get is cleaner caviar,' says Yan.
This process isn't typically done at most caviar farms but it is an additional feature that Yan specifically requested. In actual fact, the fasting actually reduces the yield that is harvested from the sturgeon because the fish loses approximately 2% of its ratio when it undergoes the fasting process.
For reference, caviar extracted from a single sturgeon is typically about 10% of its weight. So a sturgeon weighing 20kg will bear caviar that weighs in at 2kg, while Yan's caviar will have lost 2% of that ratio.
Once the caviar is harvested (the rest of the fish is typically resold to the farm, which then sells it to wholesale markets), there are typically 15 to 16 steps that need to be completed before it can be consumed. These include rinsing the caviar, sieving out the membrane, selecting the best roe and discarding the ones that don't make the cut and brining the roe in a salt solution.
The couple's restaurant Elegant Fine Food serves a range of curated dishes designed to complement their flagship caviar. — ART CHEN/The Star
The brining solution is actually one of the most important steps in producing great-tasting caviar. Too much salt and all you can taste is well, salt. Too little and the impact is lost.
Which is why Yan and Tong experimented until they discovered the perfect brining ratio.
'We experimented with a 3% to 4% brining solution and settled on a 3.3% salting percentage, which we believe is the perfect amount. We also found a salt from Germany that we feel really complements the caviar,' says Yan.
The future
Now that the wait is over and Yan and Tong's sturgeon are finally bearing roe (it only took seven years!), their proudly Malaysian brand produces three different kinds of caviar.
Prestia is the caviar from their Kaluga hybrid sturgeon and is a firm beauty with a briny overcoat and distinctive, strong caviar pearls. It's a lovely, lighter introduction to caviar that is perfect for neophytes or newbies to the caviar game.
Then there is Luxoria, which is the caviar from their Russian Ossetra sturgeon. This caviar has a rusticity to it that lends itself to a wondrously nutty, full-bodied gastronomic experience.
The Imperial Astria is the caviar that has been extracted from the Amur sturgeon. This particular varietal is larger than its brethren, so each roe is plumper and more voluptuous. Flavour-wise, this is the creamiest and richest of all the three offerings in the brand's range.
In the future, the couple plans to introduce another range of caviar as well as expand their reach throughout Malaysia and the region.
Prices for Elegant Fine's caviar range from RM288 to RM688 for 30g tins.
At the moment, Elegant Fine Caviar's yield isn't particularly high – Yan and Tong typically only get about 30kg to 50kg of caviar every four months. Yet, despite the challenges, the duo already has plans to introduce Bari, a Siberian sturgeon, by September this year to widen the range of their offerings.
Moving forward, Yan and Tong's ultimate goal is to create more knowledge and appreciation for caviar in Malaysia and widen their presence in the country.
'The sturgeon may be raised in China – but the vision, philosophy, and voice of the brand are entirely Malaysian.
In 2027, Yan and Tong hope to take their homegrown brand across the region once they have enough yield to sustain more growth.
'Our main focus will be the Malaysian market, but we also want to distribute across countries in Asia, like Thailand and Singapore once our caviar stock is stable,' enthuses Yan.
