07/09/2026
As I sit amidst the chaos of setting up OriBonng at its new home, I suddenly realised that this is going to be my 4th shift. From my home kitchen, to a cloud kitchen, to a 12-seater restaurant and then, to a 25-seater… And now, to a 50-seater restaurant.
When you hear “we are moving to a bigger and better place”, it sounds exciting. But I wish you knew what goes into making that “bigger and better place” to actually happen. Especially when you don’t come from the hospitality background, when you don’t have an interior designer, a project manager, a technical team or a bottomless budget. Your learning curve just does not cease to stop!
You learn about Wi-Fi connections, PNG connections, CCTV placement, exhaust hoods and suction systems; electrical points, plumbing, drainage etc. About tables, chairs, lights, signage, paint, walls and ceilings. It’s about designing a space when you are not a designer or negotiating with vendors when you don't always know what you are negotiating about.
But then, there are the calls. Customers asking, “Where have you shifted?”, “When are you opening?”. You just smile, answer them, while you are thinking, “I wish I knew the answer!”
The kitchen isn't ready. The equipment isn't fully functional. Something is delayed or has gone wrong. One approval is pending. And your anxiety keeps growing.
Yet, strangely, amidst all this madness, there are these tiny moments of happiness. They are just little tick marks on a very long checklist.
The day the “OriBonng wall” got fully painted, I stood there looking at it and felt like a little part of me had become whole again. The day the Wi-Fi finally worked, something so ordinary that we don't even think about it in our everyday lives - I was very happy. The day I changed the location on Google Maps and suddenly customers could see that OriBonng had moved to its new home at Ardee Mall. The day the food licence finally carried the new address; Tiny things, that probably wouldn't mean anything to you but to me, each one said: “Okay. One more thing done. Keep going.”
And perhaps that's what I am learning through this journey. That sometimes you don't need a big win to feel happy. Sometimes, all you need is one more box to tick. One more piece of the dream that moves from your head onto the floor in front of you.
We often talk about the destination - The fully set-up restaurant - The first service - The full dining room. The feeling of finally seeing the dream come alive. I am sure that day will be incredibly special. I understand why people say that the journey can sometimes be more beautiful than the destination. Because the destination is one moment.The journey is made up of hundreds of little moments.
And perhaps, one day, I'll look back at this madness and realise that I wasn't just setting up a restaurant.I was building the next chapter of OriBonng!
Here's to the journey!
