1. Out of the 23 dishes you offer, which is your favourite?
The ikan bilis. It’s something I grew up with because my parents would always bring some home for us. When I took over the business, I had an idea to sell it in packs because people can eat it with their porridge or have it as a beer snack.
2. Which dish was the hardest to perfect?
Definitely the curry because my uncle didn’t follow a fixed recipe. He would just judge by the taste and consistency of the curry so it was hard to figure out. After a lot of trial and error I finally have a fixed recipe for it.
3. What’s a day in your life like?
I spend most of my time in the central kitchen making sure the food is up to standard and taking stock. Then I run between the four outlets to ensure consistency is up to scratch.
4. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced?
It’s a challenge to hire the right people. I trained 10 people over the course of a year before someone stuck. Because of the lack of manpower, I had to close the Amoy Street outlet. Before we found the right help, I was working 16-hour days and constantly falling sick.
