If you love cafe hopping, thrifting, or both, you would likely know about the haven that is Taman Paramount.
And one of the stalwarts of the neighbourhood is none other than Awesome Canteen.
Established in November 2013, Awesome Canteen has been operating for nearly 11 years. It was founded by Diane Ong along with her team of designers and employees who worked at her graphic design company.
Back then, Diane was tired of the uncertain nature of her business and wanted to make a switch. She decided to pivot into a more straightforward industry—food and beverage.
So, Diane opened Awesome Canteen with her sister Dora Ong, her ex-husband, five other employees, and a chef.
“We weren’t sure where we get that confidence from, however we were determined to get our pilot restaurant project started.”
Speaking to Vulcan Post is Dora, who takes care of Awesome Canteen’s daily operations.
Championing healthy recipes
At first, Awesome Canteen was serving a menu that stemmed from Diane’s home cooking recipes. These were dishes she enjoyed cooking and serving to her family and friends.
But one partner who was into Crossfit training suggested looking into the Paleo diet and designing dishes to cater to this niche market. And explore, they did.
“We did a lot of research by reading and speaking to nutritionists and fitness trainers,” Dora said. “Subsequently, we designed a Paleo diet-inspired menu that consists of Paleo dishes.”
Because of this menu, Awesome Canteen attracted a lot of gym goers and fitness enthusiasts. The fitness diet section remains on the menu today.
On top of that, Awesome Canteen also recently relaunched a series of ready-to-cook offerings.
“The idea of ready-to-cook patties was first introduced during the early MCO period,” Dora said. “The initiative was to provide our customers a raw version of our restaurant patties for them to cook at home during the lockdown.”
The response has been great, Dora said. Till today, they still have regulars order of the patties in bulk.
From zero F&B experience to multiple openings
Starting out, none of the founding team members had any F&B industry experience.
“However, we were a group of foodies that enjoyed great food and photography,” Dora said.
Through a common friend, they got in touch with Chef Jack Weldie, who was working as a head chef in a Japanese restaurant.
Chef Jack joined the team as a partner and head chef, working on the menu that was fitting for a commercial setting.
Two years into their business, they ended up taking over the shop next door with a Japanese ramen restaurant called Prologue. However, this didn’t last very long and closed the following year.
Speaking of closures, Awesome Canteen also opened an outlet in Georgetown, Penang, which sustained for about four and a half years, but ended up closing before the MCO in November 2019.
“There were several challenges we faced, from being unfamiliar with the Penang consumer market to finding the right person to operate the branch,” Dora explained. “It was tough to take care of the business without a local partner there.”
She pointed out that being located inside a heritage building came with many challenges and limitations too, which didn’t help their situation.
“In a way, it was a blessing in disguise otherwise we would have suffered more loss if the business continued during the lockdown,” Dora added.
But even though there have been closures, new ventures have also been taking form.
At the end of 2019, Chef Jack and Diane opened another restaurant in Taman Paramount called Chipta 11a, which serves curated dining. They also opened another restaurant called Waig by Chipta 11a at APW Bangsar the following year.
With Diane and Jack more focused on the curated dining restaurant business, Dora took over Awesome Canteen’s operations in 2021.
Diane and Dora also bought over the shares of six other partners, so now Awesome Canteen is wholly owned by Diane, Dora, Chef Jack and another chef, Chef Renny.
After the MCO, they also gave Awesome Canteen a facelift, changing its rustic vintage look into a modern minimalist look.
Pioneering the Taman Paramount scene
As mentioned, Taman Paramount has become quite a hub, with many trendy and popular F&B offerings in the area. With over a decade’s history there, it seems like Awesome Canteen had been one of the trendsetters.
“Are we the pioneer? Yes, but little did we know that Taman Paramount would become what it is today,” Dora said.
According to her, Awesome Canteen was the first restaurant café with a different vibe to be located in Taman Paramount.
“This old neighbourhood Taman Paramount is known as a local Chinese food haven and has many car mechanics and electrical supply shops,” Dora said. “But we all agreed it will be an ideal place to start our new venture, having witnessed how successful my Burger Lab was, which was located not too far away.”
Dora believes that what spearheaded Taman Paramount’s transformation, apart from Awesome Canteen, was the events held at their event space, Awegallery.
“We initially rented next door with an expansion plan in mind, however it wasn’t the right time yet so we transformed it into a multipurpose space to host different events,” she said.
Over time, Dora noticed that the Taman Paramount crowd’s buying power seems to have increased, too. That may be why many organisers still choose to hold thrift markets at Awegallery.
But despite all that, Dora admitted that there were years they nearly couldn’t pull through. This included the GST implementation, the economic downturn, and of course, the MCOs. They even took out a bank loan to continue the business.
These challenges taught them how to be more sensitive to trends. For example, they finally got onto delivery platforms due to the MCO. They also innovated new offerings like a one-pax yee sang that welcomed many corporate orders.
“Whether rain or shine, we still stand firmly in serving good food to our customers,” Dora expressed.
Sustaining an F&B legacy
Having spent over a decade in the industry, the team has learnt many lessons along the way. One common mistake they’ve personally witnessed is expanding too fast.
“We tried it in the past and realised it didn’t work well for us,” Dora said. This is especially the case since their menu requires a lot of prep work.
Instead of rapid expansion, the team is doubling down on retaining their food standards to continue sustaining the business.
On top of that, Awesome Canteen is working towards providing more catering services, be that for events, corporates, or fitness facilities. With this in mind, they may look into having a central kitchen in the near future.
They’re also considering joining Chipta 11a in opening a branch where the team can house everything under one roof.
But regardless of how they go about doing things, “We aim to continue providing delicious, wholesome healthy food and deliver awesomeness in whatever we do,” Dora concluded.
Featured Image Credit: Awesome Canteen