We recently connected with Linn Yong and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Linn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I left the big cities of Singapore as a Product Designer to join my then fiancé in the small forsaken town in Sandakan Sabah, situated in Borneo Island. Together with zero experience in the hospitality business , We slowly rebuild our run down family hotel that was built in the 1960s & from I kicked off my first of 3 restaurants across 2 cities as a self -taught chef.

Even for my husband who grew up in Sandakan , it was a difficult adjustment moving back home , The family hotel property is situated in a seedy part of old town, One day while standing on its flooded water logged rooftop we thought it would make an amazing bar and dining space and if all else fail we would at least made a safe haven for ourselves.

In the early days after firing 2 problematic Chef , Out of desperation I decided I had nothing to lose & should just take matters in my own hands , after scouring through the YouTube & internet we settled for some basic bbq sauce laden Chicken Kebabs & terribly made Pizza Doughs and the rest as they say is history.

Fast forward 15yrs later , We now have 2 hospitality products & 3 restaurants in Sandakan & Sabah’s capital city Kota Kinabalu.

Linn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Im a self taught Chef with 15yrs experience in the Food & Beverage industry, Each of our restaurant specialises in different things , Balin roofgarden is a rooftop bar that caters to travellers & locals visiting Sandakan , we focus on creating a safe haven set amidst a hectic old town. My 2nd restaurant San Da Gen Kopitiam , is a retro coffeeshop that hopes to draw young people back to a forsaken part of old town, we pay homage to traditional pastries such as a ” Cow Pad Tart” but also create innovative Asian inspired sweet treats. While my 3rd and newest venture is a restaurant set in the city of Kota Kinabalu & we focus on community partnerships with farmers & food producers, we specialise in serving whole foods only in our kitchen while taking inspiration from indigenous & local Sabahan ingredients.

How I started
Ive always worked part time when I was studying to make up for the tuition fees & high living standards in Singapore, After being fired on Day 1 of a banqueting waitressing gig in Four Season’s Singapore , I walked into a Starbucks 100m away to ask for a job and fell in love with F&B Industry through the amazing colleagues & customers I met. The interaction with people from all walks of life was what got me hooked.

At one point I did consider enrolling into culinary school in Singapore but I just couldn’t afford the fees or make that swap from a government funded Polytechnic to a Private Instituition. My single parent/single income ( Mother ) was heavily hit by the 97/98 Asia Financial Crisis , tho we found ways to make ends meet, my Mother’s business never really recovered from it. So as soon as I turned 17, I was working in all sorts of restaurants , bars, cruise ship & hotel banquets.

I soon realize it was a male centric environment , fmajority of leadership roles were appointed to men. Back then professional kitchens were practical 99.9% men. So for survival sake I decided to stick to design. But ive always harboured the dream of having my own restaurant one day.

What sets us apart
Although we have created 3 distinctively different restaurants , all of them are unique spaces that brings people of all walks together and is centred around building a community. From our customers to our suppliers to our peers in the industry we see it as influencing an entire eco system to push forward for progressive & sustainable practices.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

At Balin, This is our 15th year , We’ve survived anything from the terrorist Incursion in a nearby state to a violent kidnapping by Abu Sayyaf that happened 10mins from where we were located to keeping majority of our team in tact through the pandemic & watching some of them grow to take on larger leadership roles in our organisation gives me great joy & satisfaction. Through baptism by fire we have become extremely adaptable only because we understand our role in the community very well , with the undying support of our most regular customers , we have seen some couples who met at the restaurant , proposed, got married & have kids within that 15yr span.

These days a lot of young Chefs forget why the food & beverage industry is also known service industry, Restaurant is a place that helps people make meaningful connections & our role barely is to provide the platform & a great experience so that customers walk away with valuable shared memories with their companions. The Chef is but a conductor who help orchestrate the whole experience. & when you get those priorities right being highly adaptable becomes second nature.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

I suffered a huge loss about 8yrs ago , when we got ahead of ourselves & build a large scale flagship restaurant in Sepilok, Sabah. We simply had paired up with the wrong partners who did not share the same the values as we did. Financially it became extremely difficult due to the bitter spat between the parties but in retrospect it was a blessing in disguise because right after the split a series of unfortunate events contributed to a huge dip in tourist numbers & if we had not made that painful tho swift decision to let go , we would not be able to to recover from it.

Through this experience Ive learn to better define our organisations values & principles & learn to filter people who do not fit in as soon as possible and accept that pragmatic decisions is just a necessary part of running a business

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linnerism/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linn-yong/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/limauandlinen/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/balinrooftop/?hl=en

  https://www.instagram.com/sandagen.kopitiam/?hl=en

Image Credits

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