Managing a fleet of over 250 staff with regards to the seafood business is no mean feat but is considered all in a day’s work for down-to-earth Datuk Wong Keong Fook, Founder of Unique Seafood Group of Restaurants. Together with Managing Director Datin Kok Yoke Sim, they bridge the gap between the high seas and dry land while taking great pride in “discovering and delivering the finest, freshest seafood for its customers”.

Variety is also the name of the game, with it offering all kinds of exclusive saltwater and freshwater catches flown in from across the world. Being a live seafood supplier since 2000 and consistently delivering the catch of the day, with more than 100 types of live seafood sourced locally and internationally while supplying seafood to major 5-star hotels across Kuala Lumpur and for wedding banquets nationwide has stamped its reputation as the go-to source for quality seafood.

“With our in-depth knowledge and expertise in sourcing live seafood, food safety and supply are guaranteed for restaurant outlets,” he enthused.

Having The Patience of A Saint

When quizzed about what it takes to be a Brand Legend Awards – under the 30 Years recognition category – that too, having helmed his ship with poise for three decades, the patient owner of Unique Seafood said that one needs to “understand the behavior of the staff in order to understand them” so that they can weather the challenges of the business together.

“Just like my family, I try to discover what they (my staff) like. You try to discover what they like so you can shepherd them,” he said.

The soft-spoken gentleman admits that it takes a lot of patience to handle this business, which isn’t easy. “If you want to be a success in this business, then you have to very importantly, have a very good temper. You cannot think that you are a millionaire or billionaire. This is because if you throw a fit, your Chef may not resign or leave because of the high salary but since he’s not happy, he won’t produce the best quality for the restaurant.”

He opines that to be a Brand Legend in this business, one has to be “long-suffering” in terms of learning to “rule oneself”.

“If you are patient, that means you must rule yourself. If you are patient, you can settle anything.”

The wise entrepreneur offered yet another nugget of wisdom as in managing egos when testing food in that praise must be given alongside criticism. He also hosts meal meetups twice or trice monthly to eat together and discuss matters. It is also almost a tradition for his Chief Chef to travel overseas with him to a destination of choice to try other restaurants’ menus to keep the spark alive – be it to Japan, Korea or China.

Shepherding his staff in this seafood business following this formula seems to be working well as to date, he has established five live seafood restaurants with different concepts and a wedding banquet ballroom as well. All his restaurants are also equipped with live seafood tanks to ensure freshness.

In addition to ensuring the freshest catch of the day, his team of top-notch award winning chefs – each armed with more than 30 years of experience in cooking up a storm when it concerns seafood cuisine who have participated in the Malaysia International Gastronomy Festival (MIGF) make sure a feast is on the cards every time.

“We have a team of 50 chefs to prepare top-notch quality dishes with consistency of quality for customers,” he said priding the fact that Unique Seafood has three decades of preparing meals for over 100,000 tables – be it for weddings and corporate events to date with complimentary facilities from LED screen, sound systems and event decorations.

Ultimately, to succeed in the competitive restaurant business, the wise businessman who has been a seafood supplier previously, only venturing into the restaurant business in 2000, said one has to ensure three things are in place in terms of firstly, the quality of the food being top- notch while the pricing must be reasonable and the service, good.

In parting, he shared another nugget of wisdom in that in this business, one needs to think-out- of-the-box in that one-plus-one equals two in mathematics but the ability to solve problems points out that it’s not just two plus two that equals four, as three plus one also amounts to four while four plus zero is four. Quoting how to manage the temper issue, he said that if one sees one plus one as two, then one will not be able to control one’s temper but having the ability to view the issue from another angle can settle the problem amicably. Spoken like a true Brand Legend.

@Paparazzi