Introducing different gourmet traditions to discerning diners is all in a day’s work for Yenn Wong, founder and owner of multinational F&B company, JIA Group…

What do you recall of your early days in Singapore?
It was quite a simple and normal time. My dad was a businessman and always travelled for work, while my mum, a housewife, was the hands-on one with my older brother and myself. I grew up to be somewhat independent, largely because my brother was a bit of a troublemaker, meaning my mum spent more time on him. I was the one who didn’t cause any problems and – although I wasn’t an A-star student by any means – I managed to finish school without any real problems. I was educated in Singapore until I finished high school. I then enrolled at The University of Western Australia in Perth, ultimately graduating with a degree in Economics, with a
major in marketing. 

Were you always going to gravitate toward the hospitality sector?
When I was just a kid, it wasn’t like I was dying to open a restaurant or anything. While I was at university, though, my father wasn’t keen on me doing nothing every summer break, so I would work for KPMG, the Anglo-Dutch accounting firm. From then on, I knew a nineto-five paperwork job was definitely not for me and that I wanted to do something a little more on the creative side…

Was it this impulse that brought you to Hong Kong?
Well, my father has always been something of an entrepreneur, so when I joined his company after graduating, he had just bought a hotel in Causeway Bay. As he had no fixed plans for that property, he asked me to redevelop it into something new. Even though I was just 23 at that time and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I packed my bags and moved to Hong Kong, taking up the challenge of creating what would ultimately become the J Plus Hotel. 

How did you go about making that transformation a reality?
The pre-existing three-star hotel had mainly catered to mainland guests, but my remit was to create a greater value proposition. As it involved a very steep learning curve, it was fortunate that a friend of a friend put me in touch with Philippe Starck, the renowned French architect. Together, we came up with the idea of converting the property into the city’s first real boutique hotel. Unfortunately, the J Plus launch took place just as the SARS outbreak was at its height, which was incredibly stressful. It was a truly transformational experience and one that I’ll never forget. In the end, it all worked out well and, a few years later, we sold the hotel and made a substantial profit.

“A fter interning at KPMG, it became clear that a nineto-five job was not for me”

Today, you’re the head of the JIA Group. Can you tell us more?
The group currently consists of 12 restaurants, which embrace an array of culinary concepts. We pride ourselves on providing a range of gourmet experience, ranging from casual to fine dining, all of which place equal emphasis on the quality of the cuisine and the dining environment. Our outlets not only aim to satiate a customer’s appetite, but also deliver a visual feast. It’s a formula that resonates with our guests and one I take a great deal of pride in.

How has the group coped throughout the course of the Covid-19 outbreak?
Actually, the real struggle started in mid-2019 with the civil unrest, followed closely by the pandemic. As with the rest of the F&B sector, we had to react very quickly and prioritise flexibility, while being obliged to create new ways to drive revenue. One of solutions was to ensure all our fine-dining establishments offered take-away and home delivery. At Duddell’s, one of our Michelin-starred restaurants, for instance, we had never before contemplated any delivery options. Now, though, not only have we partnered with Deliveroo, we’ve also created such tempting menu items such as our Peking Duck Set, which has been specially devised with home dining in mind. Similarly, Louise, one of our other Michelin-starred eateries, now offers such innovations as a Chicken Set Dinner, which comprises our famous roast chicken, caviar pasta and a series of starters, and has gone on to become one of our
most in-demand menu options.

Last year also saw the launch of JIA Everywhere, a digital platform we devised in order to overcome the challenge of the social distancing requirements. This particular initiative, allows us to offer a wide range of services, including the provision of high-end chefs to cook in a customer’s own home, a variety of delivery and pick-up option and even access to our cocktail and wine resources – all of which can be directly accessed via the JIA Everywhere website.

Ultimately, as Hongkongers could not dine out any later than 6pm until recently, we put an infrastructure in place that ensures they can enjoy luxury gourmet experience in the comfort of their own home. In addition to serving genuinely delicious dishes, we also ensure they’re presented in a memorably beautiful fashion – that’s a major reason why the service has become so popular.

Looking ahead, what’s currently in the works that you can tell us about? 
The past year has been a time of great change for the group and has seen us adopt a far more aggressive approach. Basically, we have been in survival mode. Despite this, we’ve still opened several new sites and revamped a number of existing establishments in order to ensure they remained viable business propositions. A good example of this is Central’s Tai Kwun compound, where we had the Old Bailey Chinese restaurant, a business almost solely reliant on hosting the kind of events that have been virtually non-existent over the past two years. With this in mind, we consulted the Jockey Club, which has oversight of this heritage location, and decided to reinvent the site as  something more daytime-friendly that had greater appeal to locals. This resulted in the creation of Between, a unique artisanal coffee shop. 

Another project we’ve been working quite actively on is an extensive refurbishment of the central kitchen supplying food to Hong Kong International Airport, which also  hasn’t enjoyed excessive demand over recent months. Our goal here was to transform it into a cloud kitchen – essentially a ‘dark’ kitchen with no seating service or  restaurant space – which provides several different culinary options. To make this a functioning reality, we’ve partnered with Deliveroo to deliver across the Sha Tin and Science Park areas. Over the coming year, we’re hoping to open cloud kitchens in a number of additional locations, allowing us to both expand our coverage area and introduce an extended range of cuisine options.

Aside from that, we’re also exploring the possibility of opening up a number of new restaurants. We’re still primarily an F&B business company, after all, and we pride ourselves on our high level of design and the quality of our customer experience. Although it may seem counterintuitive, the Covid-19 outbreak has actually opened up several interesting new spaces and boosted the availability of premium talent, a development we’re more than keen to take advantage of. Watch this space…

 

Thank you.

Interview by: Tenzing Thondup
Art Direction & Styling: Jhoshwa Ledesma
Photos: Jack Law
Video: Kes Lei
Wardrobe: Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Roger Vivier & The Outnet.