All our Combo Boxes are defined similar to this:
@(Html.Kendo().ComboBoxFor(model => model.PortOfLoadingId)
.Filter(FilterType.Contains)
.Suggest(true)
.Placeholder("Select port...")
.DataTextField("Text")
.DataValueField("Id")
.DataSource(s =>
{
s.Ajax().Read(r =>
{
r.Action("GetComboBoxItems", "Ports");
});
})
.Events(e => e.Select("portSelected"))
)