This is the third in a series of profiles in the Surface Pro 3 Lighten Up campaign, where we sit down and chat with mobile professionals, influencers and creators in Singapore about their work and what they carry in their bag around town.
“Why is the restaurant named Standing Sushi Bar when it offers chairs?”
This was one of the first questions that popped to mind when we arranged to meet up with Howard Lo, IT pro turned restaurateur, at one of his latest ventures – a little corner spot in the basement of Ocean Financial Centre which transforms from a bustling Japanese restaurant touting fresh rice bowls by day into a lively bar offering uncommon spirits by night.
Not quite the culinary adept, Howard instead takes charge of business development, constantly shuttling back and forth his various restaurants to check on their operations and make sure everything is in order. That said, he keeps a tight rein on the food his restaurants serve, and takes pride in consistent food quality that values substance over style.
Led by his mantra “Less thinking, more doing”, Howard is always moving and working, so we counted ourselves fortunate to be able to catch him for a sit-down in-between dining rush hours.
Q: What’s in your bag?
My complete mobile office consists of the Surface Pro 3 as my primary workhorse, complemented by my smartphone with an extra battery (just in case!), and my internet banking security dongles. Then there are the usual accessories we all need, like keys, my company stamp, business cards, and headphones.
I usually also have a bottle of whiskey on hand, which is great for impromptu tasting opportunities to evangelize our spirits. You’ll also find the occasional lottery ticket in my bag, because, hey, you never know!
Q: Tell us more about your various restaurants and concepts.
Five years ago, I was inspired to start Standing Sushi Bar after seeing a similar concept in Japan, and I decided to create a restaurant with no chairs. Thankfully, at some point I decided that customers might want to sit after all so I put in some chairs. Fast forward to today and there are now three Standing Sushi Bars in Singapore, with a fourth one opening in Raffles Place next month.
I’m a big fan of Japanese cuisine, so going along with the Japanese theme, I started a healthy fusion-Japanese bowl concept called Shinkansen in 2013 along one of the crowded tunnels crawling out from Raffles Place MRT station, and also an eclectic oyster bar called Tanuki Raw situated in the heart of Orchard Road in 2012.
Most recently I started Liberty Spirits Asia, which imports and distributes American spirits from craft distilleries in the US. In conjunction with that I have a bar called The Secret Mermaid which focuses on these American craft spirits.
Q: Running multiple F&B businesses is surely no walk in the park. How do you stay productive and inspired?
I’ve had my fair share of difficult times, such as bootstrapping at the beginning, and the general dip in consumer interest in Japanese food after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
But I live and breathe the business, and am really passionate about what I do, so it’s not difficult to stay inspired. I love the autonomy that comes with owning your own businesses so I can control where and when I work. Basically, I handle the marketing, public relations, finance, and human resources side of the business while my team handles the daily restaurant operations.
The majority of my work is done outside the office. I’ll start with a couple hours in the office then head to one of the branches for lunch. After that I’ll hop around town for meetings either at one of my branches or at cafes, then head over to one of the bars I own at night.
It’s great that Surface Pro 3 is so incredibly light and slim without any compromise on computing power or battery life. It’s quick and easy to set up anywhere, a great advantage considering that I also spend about 20 percent of my time travelling to Indonesia, Malaysia, and the US for other projects.
We digitize every invoice and letter and sync them with OneDrive, which means I truly have access to all of my office from Surface Pro 3.
Q: What do you find is the most challenging aspect of being a mobile professional in Singapore?
Surface Pro 3 solves a great many of the modern mobile professional’s problems. But there are some problems in life that a gadget can’t solve! For one, bus and taxi drivers out here frequently slam on their brakes, so it’s hard to focus and work while literally on the move.
I also tend to spend too much money on expensive coffee in order to secure table space in cafés and justify spending so much time there.
Q: What’s the next big thing we can look forward to the next time we visit your restaurants?
I’m working on incorporating more social media tools into the dining experience. Restaurants are a form of entertainment, after all. I’m constantly thinking about ways to keep customers engaged and entertained, as well as how they can help spread awareness of the restaurant.
With the success of The Secret Mermaid, I’ve also been thinking about how to offer multiple experiences at one location during different times. Similar to how taxi drivers have a relief driver so they’re maximizing rental of their car, with Singapore’s high commercial rents I need to figure out how to offer concepts that appeal to people throughout the day and night.
The upcoming Standing Sushi Bar takes a lot of inspiration from The Secret Mermaid. During the day it will be a Japanese restaurant with a large takeaway area; at night we transform the takeaway spot into a sake bar and turn the restaurant into an izakaya with a lively atmosphere.
For more information about Surface Pro 3, please visit surface.com/sg