Koreans jump into resto business

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An inviting smell of oven-baked pizza lingers in the left wing of Entertainment Xchange in Plaza Indonesia on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta.

The aroma emanates from Red Tomato, a hand-tossed pizza and pasta restaurant that offers grease-free pizza. Famous for its Cream Funghi pizza, the restaurant offers pizza that seems so Italian that no one would guess that it is owned and managed by South Korean Kwak Bong Kyu.

"I conducted a market research in 2002 and found out that we have potential middle-to-upper class customers in the city. I then went to Korea to find some chefs with experience in Italian food," Kwak told The Jakarta Post.

The restaurant, which employs four South Koreans, some of whom had worked for the Korean Hilton Hotel in Seoul, was not set up until April 2004.

Kang Jin Ho, head chef and general manager of the restaurant, said his seven years of study and experience in Italian food had enabled him to create recipes that were friendly to the Asian palate.

"It is a challenge to continuously fulfill the Indonesian market demand. But we have to do it. McDonald's in Indonesia, for example, is probably the only one in the world that offers rice on the menu. We will therefore launch a pizza made of rice dough in May for rice lovers," he said.

Kwak, who dreams of setting up at least 20 outlets of Red Tomato in the country in the next 10 years, said life in Jakarta had been enjoyable due to his business success and the friendliness of the people.

"I am already settled here. It is my second home. I am starting to feel comfortable with the good and the bad the city offers," he said.

Kwak recalled his experience of having his car mirrors and tire caps stolen during a traffic jam in South Jakarta.

"Security and traffic jams remain a concern, but otherwise, I like Jakarta, my second home," he said, adding: "The cost of living is also quite high in Jakarta."

Kwak said that training human resources for his restaurant was a challenge.

"Our waiters had a hard time in meeting our expectations in providing service to our customers because we think that service is everything," he said.

"We have competitors coming into the restaurant and luring our waiters to work in theirs. They offer higher salaries and better positions. A waiter here can be a captain in their restaurants," Kang said.

"On the other hand, we also feel proud that people recognize our highly-trained staff. Therefore there is a feeling of both anger and pride," he said.

Another Korean-run restaurant, Gahyo, a Korean barbecue restaurant in Central Jakarta, was founded in 2004 by Chris Jang who decided to open a business venture after working in Jakarta for nine years. Chris had been working at a Korean company that went bankrupt. He then started four companies, including a chemical trading and IT solution company.

Gahyo co-owner Jason Chung came here last year after Chris invited him to build a unique and different Korean Barbecue restaurant.

"Our barbecue is very unique. We offer special meat and offal barbecue, instead of the usual pork, beef and chicken," Jason said, adding that the 28 tables at the restaurant are always fully booked in the evenings as customers come and go.

Thirty-eight Jason, who enjoys swimming and playing golf, said that he looked forward to staying in Jakarta for many years.

"I don't really want to go and live in Korea right now because business is good here," he said, laughing.

"I like Jakarta," said Jason, adding: "It really suits me, although I think that you do have some environmental problems such as air pollution and waste management."

"But overall, the Indonesians I have met have helped me a lot. They are really nice people who always smile and have good hearts, probably because they are religious," he said. (005)