Lesson Learned from Youth
“I started out helping my family selling poultry in the wet market. I was a complete outsider to the dining industry,” Hong recalled about the time when he had just took over Glorious Cuisine.
“And because of that, I had no idea how this whole game worked, from kitchen to the front of the house to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
I was young then. When I thought I was right, I would insist on my point till the end. What I didn’t know was that team work was everything in the kitchen. It could only take conflict with someone in the team to cause the whole group to leave. The waiting staff took off without a word as soon as they felt things didn’t shake out their way.
As for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the firmer we stood, the more frequent they sent penalties our way. We cater to the local community, and a dish didn’t bring a fortune to its accounts. Many customers ordered several bottles of beer, a dish or two on the side, and stayed here until we closed. The revenue we got couldn’t cover all the fines. It was a dire situation to say the least.”
Something to Prove
But the jeopardy brought out the toughest of him.
“Just about everyone look down on me, expecting the end of me, and the same for Glorious Cuisine under my hands. I told myself: it was my first business. I needed to prove myself to other people. I wanted to hang on and fight to my last breath,” Hong said.
Based on this stubbornness, he took the first step to revolutionise Glorious Cuisine. At the same time, SARS hit Hong Kong, and that was a blessing in disguise to Hong. With the economy reaching rock bottom, the public avoided higher-end restaurants and turned to dai pai dongs. Glorious Cuisine received an overwhelming reaction from the media coverage about its fresh squid. And all of a sudden, its clientele extended to the white collars from other districts. Hong came to the realisation that if he was to keep these customers with greater spending power, he had to increase the standard of the food.
Hong went back to his roots, using the network at the market he built over the years to get a hand on premium seafood such as prawns, shellfish and various types of fish. In addition, he hired a chef who had worked at Lei Garden to take charge of the kitchen. He himself filled all other roles the restaurant required – server, receptionist, stock manager, seafood buyer all wrapped in one.
Hog maw soup with Manila clams and pepper is another painstaking delight. The broth is the result of pork bones cooked for four hours with black and white pepper. The Manila clams are clear of sand, unlike its Chinese counterpart. The pepper adds fragrance and pungency, which accentuates the clams’ sweetness and the smooth hog maw.
“As soon as I get some free time, I go to Mainland China to find inspiration. If I come across a nice dish, I’d tell my chef.” Dishes such as roasted-to-order suckling pig were born until such circumstances.
Everything Hong did finally pays off, as Glorious Cuisine was selected as a Bib Gourmand Restaurant. He was caught by surprise and joy.
“I’m happy that the years of effort finally got some recognition. With the award comes the pressure to keep up our performance. We need to be careful and put in extra work for this year.”
This article was written by Wong Yuk Yu and translated by Vincent Leung. Click here to read the original version of this story.
