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I’ve often wondered how restaurant chains maintain their Michelin star. Hawker Chan used to have a pretty interesting and popular Soy Sauce Chicken Noodle. The BBQ pork is also pretty good. As a hawker, the chef prepares his ingredients and with his years of experience, creates relatively good food.
However, after getting his Michelin star, investors came and offered him funds to start a chain.
I’ve visited the restaurant in Toa Payoh when it was open and although the food was sort of reasonably priced but the drinks was expensive. When I first visited, I realized that the service was rather bad and food was mediocre. Even at $5 per plate of rice, the rice was dry and food was simply not appetizing.
I am puzzled how such a restaurant with mediocre food quality got can retain the Michelin star. And finally, last week, the restaurant chain did lose the Michelin star.
I tried going to Hawker Chan’s hawker center stall in Chinatown and there is still a queue for the food. I tried it recently, the chef is there preparing the food and the food is much better than the restaurants. (I visited the restaurant in Tai Seng in August and food there is mediocre at best.)
Starting a franchise is not easy, the processes to maintain food consistency and quality is important. Stakes are high when…
