Celina Wu
In this interview, the founder of Evoke Gastrobar Celina Wu shares the development of her restaurant over the pandemic, successes and challenges along the way.
What do you do?
I am the founder of Evoke Gastrobar. I do the marketing, greet customers, accounting, banking and whatever else needs to be done.
How did you get into the industry?
It all started when I had to help my friend cover her shift at an event as a beer promoter, as she wasn’t feeling well. From this, it allowed me to be based at hotel lobby lounges, where I met hotel general managers and directors of food and beverage who told me that I was a natural in the hospitality industry. I didn’t keep it in mind, as I was studying law back then, but what do you know, I have been in the hospitality industry for 21 years! I have worked and lived in Hong Kong, Macau, Doha, Cebu and Spain, where I gained many work and life experiences. This has certainly helped me to open a place I can finally call my own.
Share with us a story from behind the scenes.
When I was working in The Ritz-Carlton Doha, we secured three ladies wedding, which meant a total of 1,500 ladies to be served an eight-course plated dinner, which is about 15,000 plates and 36,000 cutleries! One was a Royal Wedding set up within the palace vicinity, and two were in our ballrooms. In Qatar, ladies weddings mean only female service staff is allowed inside the wedding marquee. This was my first time seeing a hotel group come as one! We contacted all the Ritz-Carlton sister properties in GCC to send us their entire female banquet team to come and support us for the weekend. This is what it truly means to work as a team!!!
I have also never seen customs clear shipments so fast!
What’s a food memory from your childhood or travels that stands out?
Dining in The Chalet and Kampachi in KL when I was a child gave me great memories. They remind me to be extremely passionate in the hospitality industry, even though my ambition was to be a lawyer. The amount of time and effort to create a memorable dining experience with beautifully plated and delectable dishes certainly intrigued my young mind. This made a young Malaysian girl, who lives to eat, go out and explore more cuisine from all over the world to entice my palate.
What’s the best/ worst part of your job?
The best part is seeing every guest leave happy!
The worst part is letting go of a team member, even after much training. If someone really doesn’t have the heart, honesty and patience for this industry, we sadly and reluctantly have to let them go.
Celina Wu’s favourite food and beverage pairing?
Pepperoni pizza with Tiger beer.
What’s one of the scariest things you’ve seen behind the scenes?
One of the scariest things I’ve seen might get me into trouble for revealing it… Let’s just say it has something to do with a device that will go kaboom! And a full evacuation of the entire building…
The perfect day off would be…
Waking up late, going to Lucky Garden for a nice bowl of pan mee at my favourite kopitiam “Chun Heong” for lunch, then heading over to Bangsar Village for a manicure and pedicure, followed by a full body massage. Drive to a shopping mall (no-MCO) for some retail therapy. Catching up with my BFF’s, Geetha and Shirley, for dinner and drinks. Once home, chilling in front of the idiot box, with more booze, maybe, then call it a night.
A day in the life of a restaurateur is…
Waking up, getting breakfast for my team then heading to Evoke. Checking emails and appointments of the day and getting ready for lunch service. After that, attending appointments or running errands. Back in time for dinner service. Ensuring I do table visits and interact with every single customer—daily closing duties while having a beer, and maybe, supper and more beers with the team.
What does Celina Wu do for fun?
When I worked in the islands, a day of chilling by the beach is what I’d do. Now that I’m back in the concrete jungle, I find time to catch up with friends and family. “Great food, great company, are the two of life’s simplest yet, greatest pleasures”.
What’s something you’d like guests to know about Evoke?
Evoke Gastrobar is a neighbourhood gastrobar that will “Evoke and enliven your senses with modern European cuisine.” The term gastrobar derived from the term gastronomical bar. We serve high-quality, wholesome, hearty meals but not the typical pub grub you would usually get from a bar. Just to name a few of our signature dishes to illustrate what we serve… Chicken Liver Pate, Mushroom Arancini, Truffle Pasta, Beef Bourguignon, Lamb Shank, Chocolate Cremeux. Chef Ryan has put a lot of research and development into creating these dishes.
The way we serve beverages is unique. For example, our Iced Café Latte comes with a coffee popsicle. This is from my childhood days where would buy ‘Aiskrim Batang’ from our school canteen. As most iced coffees will tend to dilute further as the ice melts, our Iced Coffee will maintain its flavour as the Coffee Popsicle is made with one cup of long black. We have invested in a glass chiller cum sanitiser from Italy. All of our cold drinks’ glassware, from beer mugs, wine glass, will be sanitised and chilled in for nine seconds. We have also invested in our own water tap that produces our own still and sparkling water. We bottle our own water ala minute, rather than purchasing branded bottled water to be served in Evoke. I took this into consideration to play my part in being environmentally friendly, as the glass bottles might not get recycled, per se.
How has the pandemic changed you, your perspective or the way you operate?
When the pandemic started, I was in the Philippines. I was overly paranoid about everything, from ensuring I wiped down and cleaned all my groceries and shoes before stepping into my apartment. I feel so much safer being back home now. I am no longer the fussy, picky, OCD person I was. I take things much lighter now, YOLO!!!
What’s something you’d like people to know about being a restaurateur as a profession?
Passion is key to success!!!
You gotta love and be passionate about what you do daily to be in hospitality. Being in hospitality, specifically F&B, is one of the most challenging professions. You need to own and immediately resolve guest issues on the spot. This is where you will become a more confident, knowledgeable problem solver, for example.
We are no longer in a time where customers are always king/right. There comes a time when you need to be assertive to a customer and stand your ground on the type of food/drinks/service being provided in your outlet. We can’t fulfil 100% of all customer needs. We will, of course, do our best to ensure all goes well throughout their dining experience with us.
What’s your view on the food/drink scene in KL?
In the early 2000s, we were lacking in the food and beverage scene compared to other Asian countries like Singapore, HK, Macau. When I was working in HK, speakeasy bars/lounges with great cocktails were everywhere. In KL, speakeasy bars, lounges and gastrobar had not even surfaced yet. Now, we do have an array of gastrobars, speakeasy bars, restaurants, pubs, offering traditional cuisines to fusion cuisine. In KL alone, we are blessed to have all the traditional food from other states and more F&B entrepreneurs opening up with new concepts and cuisines. I’m sure we will become one of the must-go-to food-hub countries.
How has the pandemic changed Celina Wu as a person?
A Malaysian’s hobby is most likely to eat. Like me, I live to eat! The way we greet each other is by asking have you eaten? Not how are you? Ryan likes to call me a food purist! I like to stick to the traditional way of serving certain dishes. For example, Aglio Olio should never have cheese on it!! He he…
The pandemic has made me more accepting of everything, no longer a food purist per se. I used to get disappointed if I didn’t get a particular dish served and cooked the way it should be, now I am always open to try and accept things as it is.
How has the pandemic changed you as a restaurateur?
Many of my friends and family say I’m crazy to open my own place during these times. Honestly, it will never be the right time nor the wrong time, so to speak. Being prepared and planning things out goes a long way. I am incredibly thankful and grateful to the team that I have with me in Evoke. They aren’t just my ex-colleagues or my ex-staff from previous working establishments. They are my family. We plan and work things out together as one, One Team One Voice!!!
What’s in store for you in the upcoming months?
I am looking forward to serving Evoke’s unique cocktails and draft beer for sure. We have planned out our calendar of events for the year, from Four Hands Dinners to Guest Shift Mixologists/Bartenders. Still, with the current situation, we will take it one step at a time.
Find more interviews similar to this one with Celina Wu here. And, stay up to date with the latest food and beverage happenings in KL here.
Wowwww!!! She’s been to so many places. Impressive!!! Best of luck to her, may all turn out great through these trying times.