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Lunch With Sumiko
Why Putien restaurant founder keeps one eye on China
After 25 years building Putien in Singapore, founder Fong Chi Chung tells Sumiko Tan that China’s pace of change keeps him awake at night.
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From a lone outlet in Kitchener Road in 2000, Fong Chi Chung’s Fujian restaurant Putien has become an international brand with 75 outlets. He and his sons, Chak Ka and Chak Wai, discuss what 25 years of building a business has taught them.
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Fong Chi Chung’s eye for detail is impressive. Lunch is over and the table has been cleared. The founder of the Putien Group of restaurants and his two sons settle in for the video segment of our interview.
Mr Fong scans the table: plastic cups of water and two half-finished plastic bottles of barley drink. The colours are too dull for his liking. He turns to an employee. “Let’s get different colours,” he says in Mandarin, gesturing at the drinks. He wants the table to look brighter.
