Hong Kong people are stubborn, it is not easy for a restaurant to survive, let alone develop into a big company.
The Nha Trang Group, which has been established for nearly 20 years, specializes in Vietnamese cuisine. It is not a mainstream cuisine, but it has 4 major brands and 16 branches. The Vietnamese soup noodles (Pho) alone sells an average of 600 bowls per branch per day.
The founder of the group, Ray Wong, is an overseas Chinese in Vietnam. Is there any "secret recipe" for breaking through?
But he generously said no, only saying that the traditional dishes were slightly improved, and he did not follow the chain operation route.
It's not as good as a bowl of delicious Vietnamese soup noodles (Pho). Nha Trang used to focus on cultivating its own "General Guy", and the pace of opening a store was not fast, but Ray Wong believes that the "soul" of the restaurant has been preserved.
When it comes to Vietnamese food, I have to say Vietnamese soup noodles (Pho), in addition to having a large number of fans everywhere, the word "Pho" is a food keyword recognized all over the world.
However, there are many delicacies in Hong Kong, and Vietnamese cuisine is not mainstream. It is easier said than done if you want to make a name for yourself.
Nha Trang Group, one of the "leading" of local Vietnamese cuisine, opened its doors during the "Sas" period in 2003. So far, it has 16 branches with an annual turnover of more than 200 million yuan. On average, one branch sells about 600 bowls of soup noodles every day. Call it a marvel of the industry.
Ray Wong, founder of the Nha Trang Group, said there is no "secret recipe" for the dishes in his restaurants.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei)
Dishes with "no secret recipe" break through by improving traditional dishes
Regarding Vietnamese cuisine taking a place among the many delicacies in Hong Kong, Ray Wong, founder of Nha Trang Group, believes that Vietnamese cuisine is simple and healthy, and is very popular among modern people.
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do not need too much sauce, and Vietnamese cuisine is also more diverse, "Vietnam is close to China, influenced by its food culture, they will use chopsticks; Vietnam was also a French colony, so Vietnamese people like to eat beef or fried food, and they are also influenced by their food culture. Influenced by Cambodia, you can eat spicy food.”
Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong "do not talk too much, do not talk too much", Nha Trang can break through, is there any secret to the dishes?
However, Ray Wong bluntly said that there is no secret recipe for the dishes of its restaurants. "There is no secret recipe in any restaurant, but some dishes are very complicated and must be done with related packages, such as roast suckling pig."
He went on to say that the traditional dishes were only improved. In the past, the transportation in Vietnam was inconvenient, and the Vietnamese could only use local materials. Now there are more ways to interpret them. Take out the oil and add another bowl of butter when serving, the soup powder is still soup powder, but the butter is changed to beef bone marrow, which has a stronger taste, and the raw beef is changed to slow-cooked beef, and the meat is more tender.”
The four major brands have their own positioning and do not follow the chain operation
The Nha Trang Group currently owns 4 major brands, including Nha Trang Vietnamese Cuisine, Nha Trang Vietnamese Canteen, BEP Vietnamese Kitchen and Xuan Modern Vietnamese.
The four major brands have their own trade-offs and capture different customer routes.
Among them, Nha Trang Vietnamese cuisine has the widest variety of menus, which are suitable for all ages; Nha Trang Vietnamese Canteen is the sister brand of Nha Trang Vietnamese cuisine, and the menu is relatively simple; BEP Vietnamese Kitchen is more westernized and popular among foreigners; The young brand Xuan Modern Vietnamese is on the mid-to-high-end line, specializing in handmade dishes such as rice paper rolls.
Ray Wong pointed out that although the Nha Trang Vietnamese cuisine he first founded is the most popular and has eight branches, he did not want to operate as a chain restaurant model, so he adopted a multi-brand strategy and did not set up a central kitchen. Has its own kitchen, "Each room has its own soul!"
Ray Wong pointed out that instead of setting up a central kitchen, each restaurant has its own kitchen.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei)
80% of employees are from fellow villagers
Since each restaurant has an independent kitchen, 16 restaurants have 16 "souls". How can we ensure the quality of food?
Ray Wong said that each shop requires 8 to 12 chefs. To ensure consistent food quality, they rarely hire chefs from outside, but train their own chefs. Most of the chefs have worked in Nha Trang restaurants for more than 10 years. The shop started as an apprentice and became a chef after 6 to 7 years. "The first shop trains the chefs of the second shop, and the second shop trains the chefs of the third shop... So the speed of our shop opening is very slow. ."
Ray Wong revealed that, in addition to competitive salaries, human touch is also very important to keep a partner.
The group has more than 300 employees, and as many as 80% are of Vietnamese origin. They have a lot of thought in work arrangement.
"﹙We﹚never deliberately invite Vietnamese people, but most of the employees are recommended by one person and will try their best to arrange them to work in different stores. They don't want to see each other day and night with the real estate company!"
Whenever employees return to their hometowns to visit relatives, the restaurant will also flexibly handle holiday arrangements. However, due to the epidemic prevention measures, it often takes several months, and the cooperation of colleagues is also very important. .
Ray Wong also said that the restaurant will organize employees to travel from time to time. For example, before the epidemic, it will lead employees to visit Taiwan and other places, which will not only make employees happy, but also learn and develop dishes.
Ray Wong said that the group has more than 300 employees, 80% of which are Vietnamese.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei)
Halfway through, the garment trade changed to catering
The reason why Ray Wong attaches so much importance to "nostalgia" is that Ray Wong himself is also an overseas Chinese in Vietnam. He came to Hong Kong to work in his early years. He observed that most Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong are family-run. And this family-style business is not professional enough.”
Ray Wong believes that the social culture of Hong Kong people is to eat out, so he gave up his original garment trade job in 2003, spent 4 months developing menus, and opened his first restaurant, Nha Trang Vietnamese Cuisine, " Unlike a family-run business, we have a plan first.” Asked why he chose to “go across the border” to engage in catering during the SARS year, Ray Wong said that at that time, the epidemic lasted for a short time and the scope was small, and he had no ambitions. Opening a shop is no big deal, and the cost is only about 1 million yuan.
I started a business in SARS and successfully survived it. Unexpectedly, there will be another plague 20 years later, and the challenge will be even greater.
"The current epidemic has a wider impact, global inflation is high, and the cost of opening a shop has risen to at least 4 million!" However, even if the epidemic caused the cost of ingredients to rise and transportation was hindered, Ray Wong did not plan to adjust the price of the menu. The reason is that he believes that Reprinting the menu is too much trouble.
When it comes to doing business, even Ray Wong has never thought that the Nha Trang Group can become one of the leading Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong today, with an annual turnover of more than 200 million yuan, and plans to challenge the Japanese who have high demands on food in the future. , to enter the Japanese market, and meet ramen.
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