Tuesday, December 01, 2009

The Chef Who Owns a Business Empire

I just got back from Penang after spending the long weekend there. Spent some good quality time with my parents who I now only get to see not more than once a month. Parents are like that: Like they're really happy to see you and really happy whenever you're back home. What they also like to do sometimes is to take you out for lunch or dinner with their friends.

Yesterday I went followed my mum and her friends for lunch at this really interesting restaurant somewhere in town. I can't remember now what it's called but I was really inspired by the story behind the restaurant.

Here it goes. The owner who is also the chef and a Datuk is a very famous and successful businessman in Penang, He's more widely known in Penang as the "Jostick King" because he is the main supplier for all the josticks that Buddhists in Penang use for prayer. He's also in quite a number of other businesses and has a big house on a hill.

Interesting thing about him is that he loves cooking so much that even the kitchen he has at home is apparently like some commercial restaurant kitchen with all the equipment any chef could ask for. So one day, he decided that because he liked cooking so much, he was going to start his own restaurant and be the chef for it.

That's right. He's the actual chef in his own restaurant.

Here are some of the dishes he had at his restaurant.

Some prawn with Mayo salad and crab ball thingy.

His very famous Hokkien mee.

Uhmm I think this is Pigeon

And Hainanese Chicken rice :)

(There were a lot of other dishes but I didn't take pictures of them all. Food blogger FAIL)

What's even more cool is that a lot of his friends always have known him to be a really good cook so they come regularly just to eat at his new restaurant. He has the usual menu for but for his friends he has a special menu that changes every day. He basically doesn't tell you how many dishes there are going to be, or what he's cooking. He just looks at what fresh ingredients he got in the market that morning and cooks whatever he feels like cooking. So if he got really fresh fish that morning, he would cook something with fish.

The food was great but what I couldn't get my mind over was this amazing story. I mean here you have someone in his 50s or so who has worked hard and earned a lot of money all his life. He has a hobby which is cooking and he decided to take that hobby to a whole new level. Not to just own a restaurant, but to be the chef of his very own restaurant.

That is... quite a story.

What would you like to do one day if you had earned all the money you needed?

25 comments:

radical85 said...

How about a story about an alcoholic who love drinking so much that he decided to open a bar. And be a bartender. LOL. jk

But i like this kind of inspiring blog post. Please do share more, u happen to have any story about someone went bankrupt? seriously

Gypsy On The Move said...

Very inspiring story...I guess when one day I have ALL the money I needed, I will give back a little to the less fortunate (charity perhaps) and also backpack to all the unheard places in the world. =)

xes said...

If I have the money, I'll probably set up an education fund to help young people to further their studies. Some sort of philanthropist hehe

fourfeetnine said...

baby it's spelled joss sticks *sayang

JD said...

I do really hope that one day I could open my own restaurant too. But in the meantime, I guess have to work hard.

Btw, the food looks deliciously good!

Isley Chang~ said...

i'll answer that once i earn all the money i needed.

cHuey said...

this is quite inspiring that he in his 50s still willing to get his hands dirty, just because he is passionate about cooking...

hmm.. every vision costs money

goingkookies said...

I would like to help the poor..

have homes for the young ones (cos so many gets sent to daycare)

and also homes for the elderly (who also gets send to old folks home when not wanted nor needed or too much hassle)

and for delinquent...

at the same time, have programs to help each groups, the young, old and delinquent to gell, bond and somehow be good influence etc..

cos the young need guidance.. the old needs to feel needed and wanted.. the delinquent needs direction, words of wisdom from the elderly and the abundant patience they possess

goingkookies said...

or have a wedding boutique with wedding dresses, rings, cake, cards ALL designed by ME!

Doremon said...

one day if i had earned all the money that i need, i will donate 20% to Makna, 20% to Unicef, another 20% old folk home, 15% to OrphanCARE, and i will like to contribute 10% to my family 5% contribute to my church and the balance i will make full use for travel and enjoy my life....The End Of My Dream...Ha ha.

dy said...

where's the restaurant in Penang? i'm going for a short trip next weekend!

Huai Bin said...

The Hokkien Mee and chicken rice looks good! Very interesting story, if I was set for life, I would do something like this too - go with my passion and spend the rest of my life doing something I really enjoy like writing or cooking or travelling.

Matjoe said...

If i had enough money, no longer had to work, i think i'll setup a granddaddy daycare with minimal fees.

mizzvickz said...

would appreciate the restaurant address! food looks amazing especially the prawn mee!!!! thanks

Boss Stewie said...

radical: haha that would be quite a story!

gypsy: aww that's so nice to hear

cheng leong: will u call it the "Cheng Leong Education Fund"? haha

fourfeetnine: whoops haha okok thanks for correcting me

jd: yeah it was pretty good

isley: haha sure

chuey: yeah... i think it shows that you're never too old to pursue your dream

goingkookies: so many things you wanna do! hope a lifetime will be enough for all that :)

doraemon: so just 20% left for yourself? ooo so generous

dy: shit man.. the worst part is that i can't remember... food blogger FAIL

huai bin: that's cool dude... i'm sure your time will come :)

matjoe: oooh interesting.... why a graddaddy daycare in particular?

vic: i'm so sorry i can't even remember the name now. food blogger FAIL

Unknown said...

i would use my fortune to take over firefly and groom it till it is as par as other renowned airlines like dubai singapore etc

Jason Wong said...

We had his 'home cook' lunch once before they shifted to the current shop unit.

If I am not wrong, he only cooks at certain times or occasions. Not all the food is cooked by him now a days.

BoeyJoey said...

I got inspired by your story here... when a man has enough, he can afford to do what he's passionate about, any job, does not matter if he is a Datuk or not :-)

For me, I'll write, sew, and cook all day, & venture into starting a new label...

Joey Siew said...

i will have my own label for bag and travel with my lovely mom.

too many things to do, too little money and time. haha...

Christine said...

Hi Ewe Tiam,

The name of the restaurant ur talking about is "Bee Chin Hiang" located in Kimberly Street.. =)

JunJun-Riko said...

If he is not a Hainanese, then it's not called Hainanese chicken rice, unless he got the recipe from a Hainanese. =)

WP said...

love the food =)

adurian said...

reminds me of forest gump- peoples who do something they like once they have the money (forest mowed grass for free)

When i have the money, I'll open a jazz bar in Penang. Something like the G-Spot in ghotel.

Matjoe said...

hi tim,
actually it's inspired by Edie Murphy movie 'daddy daycare'. In my case, once i'm a grandfather, i hope to open a daycare named 'granddaddy daycare'. can take care of your grandson as well!

Nikel Khor said...

delicious make me hungry in lunch time