Behind the wok: Din Tai Fung tells us what it takes to prep for hectic CNY reunion dinners
Stepping into Din Tai Fung at Sunway Pyramid, I was met with the low chatter of small groups dining. The restaurant was not yet at full capacity since my visit was during off-peak hours, and Chinese New Year (CNY) was still days away.
Upon arriving, I was quickly ushered into the back dining area and was greeted warmly by Amy Chia, Senior Operations Manager at Din Tai Fung Malaysia.
After a bit of small talk, our interview commenced. I was there to learn what went on behind the scenes at Din Tai Fung Malaysia in preparation for CNY.
With reunion dinners being a big occasion that families and companies look forward to at the start of each year, I’d assumed that the CNY period would be the busiest time of the year for the restaurant.
But contrary to my assumption, it is actually at its busiest in December due to school holidays and end-of-year leaves.
That’s not to say that CNY is a quiet time though, as the few days of celebrations are enough to warrant the restaurant’s preparation for guests 2-3 months in advance.
To add, it is during CNY that Din Tai Fung reaps bigger sales and revenue numbers due to families and companies with higher spending power going all out.
For 2022’s CNY, prep had begun as early as November 2021.
Battling end-of-year supply issues
A majority of the restaurant’s CNY prep revolves around its food. As Din Tai Fung already serves Chinese cuisine all year, their CNY menu does not deviate much from that, much like other Chinese restaurants.
(This year, for reasons explained later, Amy told me they are foregoing a CNY menu, and will instead be focusing on offering yee sang, a Cantonese-style raw fish salad also called “Prosperity Toss”.)
Thus, the prep actually doesn’t differ much either, other than the fact that CNY coming right after the year-end holidays can make acquiring supply a little trickier.
Amy shared that suppliers themselves would usually take long leaves in December, which is why prep has to begin in November, when the restaurant can still lock down its orders to be delivered freshly at a later date.
One thing that’s helped the team operate efficiently in this area is data analysis from the past year(s). Based on the data, they’re able to project how many portions will need to be made, and from there, the quantity of raw ingredients required.
This is especially important because getting fresh seafood for CNY can sometimes be a challenge due to the monsoon season late in the year.
Seasonal vegetables can also be an issue, so data helps the team anticipate issues regarding demand versus supply.
With this strategy, Amy shared that they’ve never really faced any major disruptions, plus working with multiple suppliers alleviates these concerns too.
Handmaking specific dishes a mere hour before serving
As we spoke, Sam, the General Manager at Din Tai Fung Sunway Pyramid was busy setting up some dishes at the next table for me to photograph later.
What immediately caught my eye was the tall mountain of shredded vegetables in their yee sang, a dish that’s undoubtedly the star at every CNY reunion dinner.
Din Tai Fung’s yee sang is now a smoked salmon version, a tweak they made last year to keep the dish fresher when demand for deliveries was at an all-time high.
The pandemic made it impossible for groups to convene in person, so in replacement of reunion dinners, corporates were delivering yee sang to their employees that they could lou (toss) together in a virtual celebration.
So high was the demand that Din Tai Fung came up with several different dish sizes as well to cater to corporate employees that had all sizes of families.
But this year, the restaurant is sticking to one size. Amy predicted that the trend they’ll see for 2022 is that walk-in diners will celebrate CNY in smaller groups of six or less.
This trend is also the reason why they’ve not created a CNY menu for 2022, which is usually for the convenience of much larger groups.
That being said, they’re still geared up to dish out significant portions of Din Tai Fung’s signature dishes such as their prawn with salted egg, chicken soup, fried rice, and, of course, their xiao long bao (soup dumplings).
Fun fact: Din Tai Fung’s outlets each have an extremely expensive fried rice machine that de-clumps the grains after cooking, leaving the finished dish light and fluffy. It’s one of several investments the restaurant makes in order to upkeep the consistency of its food quality.
The central kitchen where the base of some dishes are made helps lighten the restaurant’s burden during CNY, but several dishes still need to be finished by hand.
For example, the xiao long bao and wantons cannot be fully prepared days in advance. Though the meat is prepared by the central kitchen, each dumpling can only be weighed and wrapped an hour before serving.
If prepared in advance, the dumpling skins will turn stale and yellow, leaving diners with an unsatisfactory dish.
Sacrificing their own family reunion dinners
As a business of its scale should, Din Tai Fung does not keep all of its eggs in one basket. Freshly cooked food aside, Amy told me that their packed pineapple cakes are surprisingly quite in demand too, so they’ve ramped up production for CNY.
They also sell their own brand of rice vinegar, chilli oils, and frozen dumplings, but ultimately, their freshly-made dishes are still what the crowds flock towards.
In the months after Malaysia’s mass vaccinations, local tourism has given the business a boost. Families having staycations at the Sunway Pyramid Hotel make up a significant portion of their dine-in customers.
After all, Din Tai Fung’s position along the seam between the hotel and the mall makes it a strategic location to capture hungry, holidaying shoppers.
With one hour of chatting behind us, we soon wrapped up the interview to snap some photos of the gorgeous food laid out before us. (Endearingly, Amy and Sam asked me for some tips to take good pictures for Din Tai Fung’s own social media.)
Later, after we tossed the yee sang, Amy mentioned something heart-warming over the good food we were sharing.
Our earlier conversation had been focused on how Din Tai Fung was preparing to give its customers a CNY reunion dinner to remember, but its staff deserved to celebrate too.
Unfortunately, the need to work longer hours during the CNY period makes it tough for them to celebrate with their own families.
Thus, a Din Tai Fung tradition every CNY is to close its outlets for two hours on the eve to have an internal reunion dinner.
For me, this really drove home what kinds of sacrifices service staff need to make in order to provide a good experience for customers during this meaningful celebration.
So, if there’s anything I’d want to finish this article off with, it’s to gently remind us all to be more patient with a restaurant’s staff during peak hours, especially this CNY.
Happy celebrating, and Gong Xi Fa Cai from us at Vulcan Post!
Also Read: We reflect on how the pandemic has changed our payment habits, to plan wisely for 2022
Babysitting on demand: This S’porean mom of two built an app to help parents catch a break
Amanda Ong found herself in a predicament last February — her confinement nanny had cancelled on her last minute due to emergency family plans.
Unable to find a replacement as it was too close to the Chinese New Year season, the mother of two found herself out of luck. To make matters worse, she had to let go of her domestic helper due to a breach in her employment contract.
“My husband and I were both mentally and physically exhausted from looking after a toddler and an infant, both which demanded our constant attention,” said the 30-year-old.
“We have tried looking for help on various platforms, but felt uncomfortable posting private information in public forums. I also did not know who I could trust as there were no reviews of these sitters on the online portals.”
It was at this moment that Amanda noticed a gap in the market for parents who needed reliable babysitters urgently, so she ended up quitting her full-time job at a human resource consultancy firm to start up Aunty.
Connecting parents to verified babysitters
Aunty is a mobile application launched in October 2021 that helps connect local parents to babysitters on-demand.
Parents simply need to download the app, key in their preferred dates and address, and they’ll then be able to scroll through the profiles of various available sitters listed on the app.
At a glance, they can view how much the sitter charges per hour, their profiles, reviews and preferences. Sitters also list which age groups they have worked with in the past, ranging from infants to teenagers.
Some profiles also list the duties they are willing to take on in their bios, such as providing supervision for homework.
While sitters can set their own fees, a quick check by Vulcan Post reveals that most sitters charge between S$18 and S$30 per hour.
The app also has a messaging function that allows parents to communicate their expectations and requirements.
After deciding on a sitter, parents can request their service through the app. Bookings can be made within the same day or up to three months in advance, with no applicable platform fee.
Building trust so parents can rest assured
However, a primary concern among parents when it comes to finding a babysitter is whether they are reliable — can they trust a complete stranger to help take care of their child (or children)?
This concern is very valid, especially with the recent spate of baby abuse cases in Singapore.
On Tuesday (January 25), the Singapore Police Force said that it was investigating a 63-year-old confinement nanny for allegedly abusing a one-month-old baby.
Amanda acknowledges these concerns of baby abuse, and assured that the health and safety of their sitters and users remain their “top priority”.
“To prevent extreme cases like abuse, we adopt a very focused and stringent verification process to screen our sitters and make sure that they are qualified before onboarding them,” she said.
“Parents are also encouraged to install CCTV in their homes or to supervise during the first sit to make sure that babysitting session is progressing fine. After the session is completed, users may leave a rating and review – whether good or bad. These reviews and ratings are helpful in guiding the app users to make an informed decision before booking a sitter.”
She further shared that what makes the Aunty app stand out from other competitors is its rigorous screening process.
“Our sitters are verified, responsible young adults or fellow mums looking for an opportunity to support their community while earning a side income,” said Amanda.
Aside from accepting only Singaporean or Permanent Resident applicants, the startup also conducts reference checks with previous parent hirers when possible.
“When parents are selecting a sitter, we (also) encourage them to interview to get to know the sitter better and read their reviews before making an informed decision,” she added.
However, despite all the stringent checks in place, what if such extreme cases of abuse actually do take place?
According to the Terms and Conditions listed on the Aunty app, both parents and sitters should be “solely responsible” for their actions.
On the company’s end, Amanda stressed they have taken all the necessary steps and checks to vet the babysitters on their platform.
“Aunty endeavours to connect trusted and reliable sitters to our clients and provide appropriate support when conflict resolution (is) required.”
Turning hiring a babysitter into a routine
Although Aunty is still in its infancy stage, it has already received a positive demand from its pool of users.
Since its launch in the last quarter of 2021, it has onboarded more than 100 sitters on the app and has accumulated just shy of 1,600 parent users.
Most of these parents have learnt of the app by word-of-mouth advertising thanks to other parents sharing about the app in private group chats.
This didn’t come as a surprise for Amanda as she knew that “babysitting services are largely based on user trust and confidence”.
For now, she hopes to further expand Aunty’s reach among parents in Singapore while constantly improving the services they provide, despite having a lean team. Currently, the team is only made up of Amanda and an app developer.
“As Aunty is relatively new, we are always seeking to improve our processes to enhance our user experience,” said Amanda.
Whether it is to allow parents and caretakers to catch a break, have a date night or attend an event, she hopes families in Singapore adopt hiring a sitter as part of their routine.
“I truly believe that when parents are well-rested, they would be able to raise happy and thriving children,” she said.
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Featured Image Credit: Amanda Ong / Aunty
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NFTs in M’sia this week: Labuan Investment Bank cashes in on the trend, our film sector too
A handful of new and exciting NFT projects in Malaysia have emerged this week, perhaps finally coming to the surface after brewing in the background during the previous slow week.
In keeping up with our new series to track what sort of local NFT news or activities have been happening, here are this week’s updates:
Roaring into the lunar new year
Labuan Investment Bank (otherwise known as Asia Digital Bank), partnered with Malaysia Comicker Union to create a set of 60-year-cycle (Jia Zi) Fortune Chinese Zodiac NFT.
The comics practitioner group assembled 11 cartoonists from the union to design the artworks based on the 12 Chinese zodiacs beginning from 2022 until 2081. The zodiacs are also established according to the five elements which are gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.
For example, the zodiacs NFTs will include the 2022 Water Tiger, 2034 Wood Tiger, 2046 Fire Tiger, 2058 Earth Tiger and 2070 Gold Tiger.
The remaining 11 Chinese Zodiac NFTs will be revealed at a later date and will be rewarded to Gold Members of the digital bank through a monthly lucky draw.
Meant to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, the initiative is also intended to boost Malaysia’s NFT developments and expose local comic artists to the global scene and digital realm.
Bring out the tigers
For the younger crowd, Pestle & Mortar Clothing (PMC) and Tiger Beer have launched an NFT collection dubbed The Tiger Archives.
The collection features PMC’s take on Chinese archival tiger artwork, accompanied by illustrations of Tiger Beer’s bottles throughout the years. Each NFT is one-of-a-kind and fully drawn by hand, stored on the Ethereum blockchain.
Costing 0.05 ETH (RM503.35 at the time of writing), the collection will be tradeable on OpenSea.
Holders of the NFT collection will unlock a series of exclusive perks such as curated experiences in Malaysia and Singapore, as well as limited-edition merchandise by the brands.
The collaborators also claim that 30% of all proceeds from the NFT collection will be channelled to local artists and musicians who were hit hard during the pandemic.
On the screens
Normally, audiences wanting to show their support for a film would purchase a genuine DVD of it or watch it in cinemas. Now, NFTs can serve as a digitalised replacement of the former methods.
In return, film NFTs can also give users certain ownership of a film, depending on the privileges determined by the publication.
Rompak, a local telefilm (a film broadcasted on TV) that’s scheduled to be screened on Astro First in June will be sold in NFT form to consumers.
It is claimed to be the first telefilm in SEA to be published using NFT technology.
The local film’s NFT will enable Malaysian investors to also assist the production company in producing the film.
NFT owners of Rompak will receive additional benefits that have yet to be finalised. Generally speaking, NFT ownership in this sector will give users access to behind-the-scenes visuals and exclusive photos, amongst other things.
This NFT project can hopefully trigger a new era for artists, especially film producers in Malaysia to diversify the income from the film work produced.
From the heart
This week, we put the spotlight on Wan Tsau, a Malaysian artist residing in Singapore who launched his first NFT project, Chapfans.
Wan Tsau created 50 types of dishes, 3 types of gravy, 5 types of plates, and 9 background colours. From these items, he’s generated 388 plates of Chapfans, each being sold at a floor price of 0.04 ETH (about RM410 at the time of writing) on OpenSea.
With so many apes, pixellated human avatars, and now bears dominating the NFT space, it’s nice to see something that’s a little closer to home. Sure, maybe it won’t have as much appeal to non-Malaysians or non-Singaporeans, but Wan Tsau is fine with that.
He’s targeting collectors who share similar fond memories of frequenting a familiar economy rice stall. His memory is of a particular stall in Petaling Street that was manned by elderly, maternal ladies.
Affectionately, he and his friends began calling the place kai ma’s (godmother’s in Cantonese), hence the naming of his first NFT collection as “Kai Ma Cooked Food” in tribute to them.
His goal with Chapfans is to hopefully create an exclusive pop art movement similar to Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup cans. On top of that, he’d like to expand into collectible prints and merchandise.
Up next…
While the majority of us will be on our Chinese New Year break for at least half of next week, we’re still keeping our ears on the ground for anything exciting around NFTs.
Who knows? Maybe we’ll find stories of Malaysians exchanging red packets in some form of NFT or cryptocurrency (which we’re sure probably already happens, but just isn’t publicly shared).
Whatever it is, we’ll keep you updated in the next instalment.
- If you’ve got something NFT-related to share that’s both exciting and locally-relevant, hit us up with your story at malaysia.team@vulcanpost.com.
- Read more of our NFT content here.
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Zendyll CEO Jon Chua speaks about NFTs in the music space and paying artists in cryptocurrency
On January 16, Jonathan Chua (or simply known as Jon Chua) changed his Twitter display picture to a pixel art of a bull wearing a cap, nose ring, and sunglasses.
Among a host of Singaporean influencers, Chua — who is the CEO of music agency Zendyll and a member of renowned local band The Sam Willows — has embraced the NFT trend over the past year.
Chua was first introduced to the scene by fellow musician and rapper, Yung Raja.
“He was the one who inspired me to explore and research about it,” says Chua. “I bought a couple of NFTs of my own, learnt some lessons the hard way — meaning I got scammed — and realised that education in this space is very important.”
More than a speculative investment
While some are looking to cash out quickly on what some might dub as a “passing fad”, Chua’s intentions couldn’t be further from it.
He views NFTs as a disruptive force which will forever change creative industries. “In my opinion, NFTs are reshaping the economics of art and culture,” he says.
Take Bull Empire, the collection responsible for Chua’s Twitter avatar, as an example. Each NFT in the collection was designed to showcase the diverse cultural traits found across East Asia. Renowned artists from across the region — including Flizzow, Jessica Jung, and Chua himself — have since stepped up to become ambassadors of the project.
With almost 40,000 members in its Discord group, Bull Empire has become a thriving community of creatives. All of them were brought together by this collection and the values in which it stands for.
“Being on a decentralised platform, factors like race, religion, ethnicity, politics and socio-economic status are less emphasised and communities are built with the intention to grow,” explains Chua. “The community become stakeholders and creators have a new way to grow their art.”
Chua is drawn by the potential that NFTs possess to bring people together. “I don’t buy NFTs just to flip them for money. One of the collections that I’m fond of is Barkclub on the Solana Blockchain. It’s made up of a community of dog lovers. Another is Lil’ Heroes by Edgar Plan. The art is just cute and I love it.”
Are music NFTs the next wave?
Within the NFT space, there has been a number of notable trends.
It started with the record-breaking US$69 million sale of Beeple’s artwork early in 2021. That was a time when NFTs were largely associated with memes and with this one auction, they stumbled across a newfound legitimacy.
From rare digital art NFTs, the focus shifted to blockchain gaming. The play-to-earn model saw a meteoric rise and games such as Axie Infinity and DeFi Kingdoms emerged.
Even further down the line, using NFTs as an entry point for decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) has become all the rage. But what comes next?
Chua believes that music NFTs are the upcoming wave. “There are so many musicians that are exploring this space in some way — (like) Snoop Dogg, Steve Aoki, and DJ Khaled, to name a few,” he says. “With collections like Bull Empire, you also find a strong community of leading musicians in Asia.”
Perhaps, this could be a way for the industry to evolve. “We’ve gone from vinyls to cassettes to CDs to streaming platforms. I believe NFTs will change the way artists release their music, engage with their fans and disseminate information. Fan clubs will be more organised, and fans will have a stake in the artist’s content.”
The future of Zendyll Music
With this in mind, Chua intends for his music agency, Zendyll, to be at the forefront of the movement. The company is currently exploring ways to integrate blockchain technology into its operations.
Zendyll is currently working on several upcoming projects that will utilise contracts on the blockchain, growing artists’ followings through NFT releases, and community building and management through Discord. We also plan to help educate interested students and partners in this realm.
– Jon Chua, founder of Zendyll
In the future, Chua envisions that more and more artists will be willing to accept payments in cryptocurrency.
However, he’s also aware that there’s work to be done in order to get there. “I think at this stage, our systems are not ready to transact exclusively on the blockchain. Slow and steady integrations will be our strategy for now.”
Speaking about the next decade for Zendyll, Chua believes that “community building in parallel to blockchain usage” will be key to the company’s growth.
Singapore’s crypto regulations will not hinder its growth
Of course, Chua’s plans also hinge on Singapore maintaining its stance on blockchain innovation. Companies need the freedom to innovate and explore this technology.
Speaking on the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s recent guidelines which ban crypto exchanges from advertising to the public, Chua says, “I can understand why MAS has issued these guidelines. There is a common thought that investing in crypto can be similar to going to a casino to gamble. Gambling advertisements are not encouraged in Singapore either.”
Despite the regulations, Chua believes that the country’s crypto scene could still be headed in the right direction.
“I don’t think regulations will slow down the growth of this technology. I believe that the crypto scene will continue to grow if there’s open and transparent communication among the different sectors which choose to be involved in this space.”
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Featured Image Credit: Jon Chua JX
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Passion vs practicality: Woes of a jobseeker, but there’s no such thing as a “perfect” job
We’ve all been there, or will be there one day — we have to graduate out of the full-time student life.
Armed with a paper certification in one hand, skills engrained in mind, and a debt to pay off in the other hand, I was forced into the adulting world last December.
It felt surreal. One moment you’re writing your umpteenth essay, and the next moment you’re scrolling through available job listings on LinkedIn and the likes.
But like many others, I’ve had the dilemma of what my first job should be.
Should I go for practicality or passion?
When I first joined Vulcan Post earlier this month, I asked some colleagues why they decided to work at GRVTY Media. Out of the multiple responses I could get from the few working in the office, one stood out to me.
“I want to try something different and hustle while I’m still young.”
For most in this growing media company, passion drove them to the company. But this can’t be said for everyone.
Some are just blessed with the opportunity of extravagant starting pays exceeding their peers, but at the cost of doing tasks that are not tied to their passion. Others may be offered their dream job, but with a cut of their ideal salary that matches their lifestyle.
Often, we are forced to pit passion and practicality against each other because not all passion equals to pay check. Other times, passion may come at a cost that doesn’t allow for it to be a part of our long-term career path.
There is also the added pressure to earn enough to maintain a certain standard of lifestyle, or find a job that is reputable enough to those around.
Take the upcoming Chinese New Year festive season as an example. One age-old question asked yearly is “What are you working as now?”, followed by a comparison to another similarly-aged relative.
Such questions asked during any family gathering, not just Chinese New Year, is a stark reminder that certain jobs are seen as more “preferable” than others. To upkeep any reputation related to a job, some may sacrifice their passions as well.
Does it suit me, though?
If you’re like me, you might have a passion that is not yet fully defined. I, for one, know I want to pursue journalism. But what kind of journalism do I want to pursue — that’s a tricky question I still do not have the answer for.
It then comes down to parts of the job that suits your personality and priorities best.
Do you prefer a strict 9-to-5 job with mentorship programmes, an iron rice bowl and a decent-sized pantry? A well-known multinational corporation that promises amazing staff discounts and benefits galore? Or an up-and-coming startup where “the hustle life chooses you” and independence is a necessity?
Are you someone that craves a fun-filled passion-driven work culture, or are you comfortable with one that is hierarchy-driven?
How about the remuneration? Does it match the work at hand, or for the paper qualification you hold?
But it’s not just about finding a job that fits our wants, it’s also about finding a job that wants us.
As a fresh graduate, my biggest stressor was finding a job description that didn’t require ‘x’ amount of years of experience — something that we don’t really possess sans a few short-lived internship experiences.
The feeling of inadequacy alongside these other considerations makes the job hunting process even more stressful. After all, who doesn’t want to be rejected after searching high and low for an ideal job?
Signing on the dotted line
Beyond suitability, no company is expecting to get a “perfect” candidate from someone who has never signed a full-time contract. Yet, why are we so hard up on finding the “perfect” first job?
A lot of this stress comes from the fact we want to start right, especially since it is the “first” defining move into adulthood.
The underlying fear of rejection from our ideal starting job eats into us, and the stress of meeting job requirements that may be hard to attain scares us.
Coupled with the stress of balancing our wants, passions, and practicality of the job we apply for, the first job is a looming weight over our shoulders.
However, while these considerations are necessary to pave our career roadmap, we shouldn’t be too hard up about it.
After all, our first job isn’t the end-all. There are many opportunities in the future and new doors may open with increased work experience that can allow us to pursue both passion and practicality.
Plus, our ideals of a good job may change over time as our life priorities switch. Rejections are also part of life that we need to learn to better accept. It is still better to try applying, than to be unable to even qualify for a role by not applying.
When my colleague said she wanted to push herself while she is young, she was also acknowledging that the future may hold other plans for her.
So, if you’re stressing about finding your first job, take it easy and don’t stress about it too much — find something that satisfies you the most. Be it money in the bank, fulfilment through your work or a balance of both, just remember that your choice is not the end-all.
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Also Read: New year, new job: Here are 10 companies in S’pore that are hiring for 2022
