I was fortunate to have a lucrative career and family in Hong Kong, however, I recall that I owe my success to a life-changing encounter.
I learned the fundamentals of Korean cuisine under the guidance of my elder sister, who was a chef at a famous restaurant at that time. The restaurant was successful, and the number of branches increased. But I moved to a reknown Korean restaurant when my sister quit the previous restaurant to get married. This was also a lucky career move.
After working as a chef at a reknown Korean restaurant for ten years, I moved to Hong Kong with a desire to demonstrate my cuilinary skills there, a crossroads of the world. When I worked for a friend's restaurant, I was introduced to an investors' group - my current partners.
They all loved Hong Kong and moved there from their respective countries. They searched for the potential in Hong Kong, an epicurean destination. Since Korean cooking was unknown at that tme, they decided to establish a restaurant that served authentic Korean dishes.
Their genuine Korean dishes caused a sensation and were well received by diners in Hong Kong, where Western and Chinese cuisines dominated. Every bit of experience that Chef Jung had accumulated in his country as a chef became an asset.
All four of the partners are investors and executives of the restaurant. They get along well and trust each other. Chef Jung in charge of cooking and placing the priority on customer satisfaction. My partners support me 100%. They combine their ideas and energy to improve and expand their service.
Needless to say, they ensure dishes at all branches are the same every day. Customer preferences and market trends constantly change. They want to respond to the changes in advance to maintain the popularity of Han Yang Won Korean Restaurant. |
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We successfully started our first shop. In 1991. After a few years later, we find out there is a Niche market of Korean BBQ Buffet. And we opened our shop with huge success. At he end, we opened our shop with Buffe Styles and carry on until now.
The buffet style that Han Yang Won Korean Restaurant developed was well received by diners and new restaurants were opened, reaching a dozen branches at its peak. Naturally, restaurants that copied their system appeared. With the increase in the number of outlets, it became hard to ensure thorough management. Since the cost of ingredients was expensive, it was difficult to make a profit with buffet-style dining. Pursuing customer satisfaction and respondng to changes in the market are different issues. We are now having 6 shops; by doing this, we can strength the management and give to the best service we can to the customers.
Although decisions by those partners are essential for management continuity and operational improvements, they have overcome difficulties one after another with their close-knit relationship.
All of them love Hong Kong and immigrated there. Some of them gave up successful businesses back home. They see each other almost every day and take much time to share ideas. The reason that they don't quarrel or break up may be that they have placed the priority on fairness and honesty, not solely pursuing profit. All five partners are grateful that they could meet such life-changing friends. |
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