Having fun on the job
By INTAN MAIZURA AHMAD KAMAL
intanm@nstp.com.my
Her business is all about the nicer things in life, so it’s no wonder that Wee Wei Ling is enjoying herself, writes INTAN MAIZURA AHMAD KAMAL
HOTELS. Spas. Food. What can be better than waking up every day to businesses that scream ultimate pampering? Singaporean Wee Wei Ling, 53, couldn’t agree more.
The executive director of Parkroyal Hotels and Resorts, founder and chief operating officer of St Gregory Spa Ltd, executive director of the famous Dou Hua restaurants and director of Hotel Plaza is just done with the official launch of the new Orchid Wing of the Park Royal Hotel, KL and the St Gregory Spa.
Despite the flurry of activities arranged for her, she’s a picture of calm, just like the serene oasis of her St Gregory Spa, the tranquil venue of our chat.
“A lot of people think I’m lucky to be in this business,” says Wee, eldest daughter of United Overseas Bank chairman Wee Cho Yaw. “For example, when I go on chef recruitment trips for my restaurants, yes, I do eat all the time. From morning, lunch to dinner, there’ll be like 38 to 40 dishes to go through. But people don’t realise that when eating becomes a job, the enjoyment is lost. I’m just looking at the presentation and tasting.”
What about spas? Surely that’s not so arduous?
Wee smiles. “I go to spas once a week for some Chinese therapy, massages and foot reflexology from a Chinese physician. I do believe that we women need to look after ourselves, otherwise how can we look after others? If I’m sick, I can’t run my house and my business. A healthy body and a healthy mind are equally important.”
The mother of three, who holds a Political Science degree from the former Nanyang University, really needs mountains of energy to do what she does. A driven Capricorn, she’s literally wearing three different hats. Her St Gregory spa, founded 10 years ago as a premier holistic wellness sanctuary built on the four pillars of therapy, fitness, aesthetics and active anti-ageing, has really grown.
Today, St Gregory, named after a small lane in the centre of Singapore where her family hotel was, has 11 outlets in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
Smiling proudly, Wee says: “We’re the first public-listed company to start a spa business. We realised just how important the spa industry could be especially in this era. Being in the hotel business, it was natural that we combined the two to give our guests the total experience.”
She adds: “When we started, we focused purely on beauty and massage. It was only in the last three to four years that we got into active anti-ageing and aesthetics. Beauty is important but so is fitness. Beauty should come from a healthy lifestyle.”
St Gregory’s clients, says Wee, are housewives and businesswomen. “Women who work hard yet know the importance of de-stressing. We’ve noticed that men are coming to the spas too.”
She’s also kept on her toes with her Si Chuan Dou Hua chain of restaurants, renowned for its Sichuan and Cantonese dishes. Wee is hands-on, planning the menu, trying the dishes, conceptualising and recruiting staff.
“Sichuan food was not popular 10 to 15 years ago,” she recalls. “People preferred Cantonese but I wanted to try something new. It wasn’t easy then. Sichuan cuisine is spicy. Even my family doesn’t eat it but I’ve been able to convince people. Today, Sichuan food is very popular.”
The restaurant is famous for being the first to bring in acrobatic tea servers who delighted guests with skilled displays of pouring tea from kettles with metre-long spouts.
“We were the first hotel in Singapore to introduce tea and cuisine pairing,” she continues proudly. Akin to wine pairing, tea pairing involves marrying the flavours of the food with complementary teas for an overall dining experience.
“I’ve imported three tea masters from China. They not only pour tea but are also tea professors who know all about tea history. We have a teahouse in Singapore attached to our restaurant, called the Tian Fu teahouse. It serves imported quality tea.”
Despite her hectic schedule — she travels every six months — Wee is passionate about what she does. “It’s the single thing that drives you forward,” she says, simply. “When you do something you must do it well. In the hospitality line, it’s all about attention to detail because you’re dealing with customers.”
Although work keeps her occupied, Wee doesn’t forgo the other things that make her happy too. Like exercise, singing and ballroom dancing. “I love gardening, my favourite flower is the orchid,” she says, beaming “That’s why the Parkroyal logo is the orchid. Long lasting, elegant, simple, like me really! I don’t believe in complicating life.”
She had a protective upbringing in a family of five siblings. She started in banking but found it boring, so she joined the hotel business. “Hotel Plaza was where I started at the very junior level. I was 30. I’ve been in this line for 20 years now. I never studied hotel management but I had the passion to learn.”
Does she ever get bored?
“When I’m bored, I create babies!” she replies, chuckling. “I have lots of babies — St Gregory, my teahouse and my restaurants. There’s never a dull moment. Although my brands have stabilised, one must always keep improving to cater to higher expectations.”