... continued from page one Of course through the years he has learnt to appreciate the finer things about jazz. Personally he likes soul and rhythm and blues but not pop or rock. To quote him: "Michael Jackson doesn't thrill me." Don is convinced there is great potential in the food industry. "I don't see competition, I see synergy. I look at us as a niche market. If you look at Thai restaurants, I can safely say that besides those in hotels we are the only ones to really spend money on decoration right through to the toilets." He believes that staff loyalty and consistency in food quality are important in the food business. "My chef has been with me since day one and so the cooking has never changed. Half of my other staff have been here from the first year of operations. We are not five years. In ten years time it will still be the same. Nothing is going to change except that we will alter our menu to come up with new dishes and we will bring in new acts." Quality also means flying in authentically Thai ingredients from Bangkok instead of opting to substitute them with what's available locally like what some Thai restaurants do. Don is proud that Barn Thai has contributed towards tourism and the nightlife in KL, If you pop over in the evenings you will see limousines from five-star hotels at its car park. "When our guests ask for a good place to have dinner and maybe listen to jazz it automatically comes to their minds to send them here," says Don, flashing us a happy grin. Not bad at all for someone who doesn't even have an MCE qualification. "It was a lot of hard work but if I could live my life again I would still drop out of school as early as possible and come out to work," he says. It isn't that he considers education a waste of time. In fact he always tells his children how important it is. But speaking for himself, he doesn't think school would have done him any good and being streetwise is something you can't pay to learn. "Where I am today has a lot to do with me coming out and doing things myself." In a way, he feels that he has let down his family by not going to university, but he is glad they are looking at him differently now. He has achieved so much in such a short time. He does bask in the pride that he has come thus far and it hits him most during family or class reunions. "I was always like the bum in the family, the useless guy who doesn't want to study." But he always tells himself never to let it get to his head, that he is somebody now. "I started as a dishwasher," he asserts humbly, as if to remind himself yet again. "I tell my boys if you cannot do any of the work you have been employed to do, let me know and I will do it myself because whatever you guys have done I have done it all." He still puts on his apron and cooks whenever his chef is sick or on weekends when the restaurant is full. Don also holds what his father taught him close to heart. "And that a handshake is as good as a contract. A contract is value on paper only. Whether with people working under me or with people whom I work for, it is all trust. I believe very strongly in that. A man's word is very important, it's his bond." So what does irk him is people who shake hands and agreeing on something but not honouring it. That is why he always teaches his kids never to lie. "I tell them that if they know they cannot do something don't say yes. Because if you do, the other person will expect you to do it and if you don't he will be so hurt. It is basically dishonesty." Through being too trusting he does learn the hard way sometimes but it has never hardened him. He believes in giving people the benefit of the doubt no matter what their past is. He does not judge people by what they have or have not achieved but as a person. "I always look at people at 10 points when I employ them," he says. "Meaning you start with me at 10 points and it is your job to keep that 10 points. You have to prove yourself and if it comes down under 5 points I'll throw you out." He concedes that his life has been blessed with people helping him and trusting in him otherwise he wouldn't be where he is today. That's the reason he insists that his staff work with him and not for him. "I see a lot of myself in a lot of my staff," says Don. "I was fortunate to be given the chance to come up in life and if I can give that chance to someone else at least I know I have done something in kind." Of all the knocks that he has taken, the closure of Karrumba for one, the most difficult part of his life was when he quit real-estate and before he went into construction. He was jobless. "It was the lowest time of my life. I slept the whole day, woke up, watched TV, read the papers, and went back to sleep again. My house rental was paid for by my wife, who was then my girlfriend. I was that low and it was like life was not worth living." His wife pulled him through that bleak period. "She said I had to do something with my life and even if I wanted to open a stall and fry kway teow she would help me. But due to ego and pride I wouldn't settle for less. I would rather bum around at home doing nothing. the full story | back | next | main | top | other people | back to mir