Happy employees, happy customers

There are restaurant owners who cook, and those who don't. Mr Samuel Yik falls into the second category. The founder and managing director of the Dian Xiao Er restaurant chain says his culinary skills are limited to instant noodles, frying eggs and cooking porridge. Neither is he a foodie.

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"Some people like to ask me about fine dining, but I tell them, I'm just a lay person, like my customers," he says. "If you ask me about Michelin stars or certain ingredients, sorry."

There are upsides to this. "I don't have too many opinions on what my chefs are doing," he adds. "I leave it to them."

Indeed, what comes across during my two-hour meal with the Johor-born entrepreneur is how much store he seems to place on his employees' needs.

"To me, my business starts from well-being," he says. "We always say, happy staff, happy customer."

This phrase, something of a cornerstone of his management philosophy, appears in past interviews, including one with The Straits Times back in 2012.

He goes so far as to say that revenues and profits are secondary to him. "We focus on winning the hearts of employees and customers. When you have good staff, they will take care of the customer, and business will be a by-product."

His approach was validated when he was named Singapore's EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 in the food and beverage category.

The citation from EY, a professional services firm, notes how Mr Yik has managed to make Dian Xiao Er a household name, and that prioritising customer satisfaction has led to his success.

There are 18 Dian Xiao Er outlets in malls around the island, with a 19th outlet set to open in Seletar Mall in June.

The chain is pitched at casual diners, where a meal costs about $25 to $30 per person. It serves Chinese dishes and is most famous for its herbal roast duck, a dish in which Cherry Valley ducks - a breed prized for its tender and flavourful meat - are marinated in Chinese herbs and spices before being roasted to a golden brown.

I'd suggested to Mr Yik that we don't meet at his restaurant but at a more neutral venue. He chooses Min Sui Zen Raku, a popular eatery from Taiwan that serves omakase (dishes are left to the chef) teppanyaki.