TWO days before the New Year, the road again led me, together with the wife and the middle child, to Angeles in Pampanga.
We wanted to maximize vacation time, and one of the places that I always wanted to explore was Clark and its surrounding areas. It is one place that is close enough to Metro Manila that offers, to say the least, a quick relief from the maddening scene of city life.
My thinking is that on the outskirts of Clark, there are a ton of places that is just waiting to be visited and enjoyed.
Information at the tip of your fingers
SO with my Google-dirty fingers, I tried to do a bit of research to find new places and activities to do in Angeles. One of the places I found was Bale Herencia, a Spanish-era house built in 1860 by carpenters from Ilocos Sur. According to the Internet, the place is now home to several restaurants.
That is the one good thing with technology and the Internet: Information is at the tip of your fingers. But then again, it amounts to nothing as compared to experiencing it personally. It is the same with friends and loved ones. No new technology can replace hugging or shaking hands with them.
Anyway, a new food place to be experienced and a short road trip to a favorite destination, how could you go wrong with that on a holiday? Perfect.
When we reached the destination, I experienced a bit of a letdown, as the place from the outside does not look promising. There were also no parking spaces.
We decided to park in a closed commercial establishment that was being repainted some 30 meters away from Bale Herencia. Trust me, open or not, parking in another establishment would not work in Metro Manila. The bonus part: The workers there even volunteered to look after our vehicle.
After the short walk to Bale Herencia, we decided to eat at King Kong Korean Food & Dessert, which was located on the second floor. We were surprised that the person who warmly welcomed us at the entrance was its 34-year-old Korean owner Hyenjoo Oh himself.
Lessons from a first-time business owner
WITHOUT going much to the food they serve, which is really awesome, there are a lot of lessons businessmen and entrepreneurs can learn from the experiences of Hyenjoo in the country. First, to my surprise, Hyenjoo said that doing business in the country is not as tough as advertised or mentioned in the media. He added he got all their business permits fairly quickly. He also had no problem with the local government. As for the peace-and-order situation in the place, he said that it is not an issue, as the crime rate in the area is very low.
Now comes the tough part: making the business succeed. Hyenjoo started the restaurant a year-and-a-half ago with the thought that it would quickly become a buzzword in Korean dining and have a loyal following among customers.
Sadly, he told me that it was not the case with the restaurant undergoing a couple of business-model reconstruction.
Just a quick background on how the restaurant was established. Hyenjoo first came to the Philippines in 2010 as a tourist. It was in Angeles where he met his Filipina wife. They got married and stayed in South Korea for two years. From there, Hyenjoo let his father run the day-to-day operations of their manpower business, as he, together with the wife, returned to the country and made Angeles their permanent home.
Purchasing power of students
GOING back to the restaurant, Hyenjoo said they were initially targeting students as their main market, owing to the fact that they are located near several schools. Their menu initially offered complete meals that were priced at P100 or less. However, Hyenjoo soon found out that this concept was not working because students only came to their restaurant during their periodical examinations or when they had projects to do. He also said the large number of school holidays was a big factor.
According to Hyenjoo, he also miscalculated the purchasing power of Filipino students. He thought that Filipino students, just like their Korean counterparts, would carry the same daily allowance of P1,000. He later found out that most Filipino students would have, at the most, just P200 as daily allowance.
So, Hyenjoo decided to change their business concept by extending their operations late into the night and offered beer buckets at only P200.
It was a success. People came in droves. There were long lines of people waiting to be seated. The problem was, his customers were only ordering beer and nothing else. They were getting their pulutan, as Hyenjoo termed it, from the convenience store across their restaurant.
An authentic Korean restaurant
FROM there, they changed to their current look, which is an authentic Korean restaurant that also serves some Filipino favorites, coffee and smoothies. They are also now, according to Hyenjoo, probably, one of the first restaurants in the country that offers authentic Korean desserts, including an assortment of bingsu and tteok toasts.
Still, everything really did not go smoothly after the change. Returning from South Korea after a four-month vacation, Hyenjoo said he discovered that the staff messed up the quality and taste of the food they serve.
He said there were several staff changes, as some of them got lazy with work. They also closed the restaurant for a month to train the new team.
Hyenjoo described his businessman side as someone who starts really fast and has a one-track mind once convinced on a business or a project. He is very passionate and dedicated to the work he does. However, he also admitted that at times this has resulted in losses on his part. Hyenjoo said that he is now learning to slow down a bit, to think things over, and get a better perspective.
I find it so inspiring for a foreigner who has been in the Philippines for only four years; has absolutely no experience in how to do business in the country; and made mistakes in his business operations still keep the faith, push forward and believe in our country, which he now calls his new home. It is the New Year, a new beginning for everyone.
I hope that Hyenjoo’s experiences will serve as an eye-opener and provide motivation for others to take risks, and eventually succeed in whatever endeavors they do. And by the way, the food the restaurant serves is really delectable. We will be going back there for another serving.
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For comments, suggestions and reactions, I can be reached at raalzona@yahoo.com.