Wang Xiaoling’s Love with Wing Lai Yuen

In Hong Kong， there have been many small restaurants. However， few of them can last three generations and become well-known in the world. Wing Lai Yuen Chan Fung Ying Limited (hereinafter referred to as Wing Lai Yuen)， with its 64 years of history， is an exception. It has turned to an international catering group from a family run operation.

With its historical and traditional cooking style， Wing Lai Yuen becomes one of the most famous Sichuan restaurants across the world. It is Wang Xiaoling， CEO of Wing Lai Yuen， has made it a great success.

Wang Xiaoling’s fame has thus been widespread. Her various titles in- clude state-level judge for China’s hotel industry， honorary president for World Chinese Food Chef Exchange Association， 2010 APEC Top 10 leader， the 6th China’s Top 10 outstanding entrepreneur in 2008…Nearly 20 honors and awards showcase the successful entrepreneur.

People may be impressed by her legendary success. While， it is her 30 years’ efforts and hard work that contribute to her success with Wing Lai Yuen.

The prelude of the restaurant

Wing Lai Yuen was set up in 1947. Mr. Yeung Din–wu， the apprentice of the chef of Qing Dynasty and the founder of Wing Lai Yuen， created lots of particular dishes. The best of all and the most popular is the Dan Dan Mian(handmade Sichuan-style noodles).

In her young days， Wang Xiaoling sometimes visited Wing Lai Yuen for the delicious noodles. With the time passing， she became familiar with the family who run the restaurant. And later， she became a wife of the son of the owner.

In 1988， the village where Wing Lai Yuen was located had to be removed as a tunnel was to be built there. Hence many of the village restaurants were affected， including Wing Lai Yuen. Luckily， Wing Lai Yuen was one of the 10 percent of the restaurants which were left. At first， the restaurant could earn only HK$300 per day. It was difficult to survive.

Wang Xiaoling knew it was because of the removal that left the village out of recognition. Many customers might believe the restaurant had been removed. Then she managed small free buses to pick up the customers and offered discounts for them. Since then the business got better and better.

In 2000， the restaurant had to be closed due to the removal of the whole countryside at last. Hearing the news， Wang Xiaoling was not intended to continue her business at first thought. However， at her mother-in-law Chan Fung Ying’s deathbed， she promised to operate Wing Lai Yuen instead of her. She kept her words and the restaurant was able to continue.

Catering to customers

In addition to her promise， customers’ support was also a driving force of Wang Xiaoling’s continuing operation. Just before the close of the old Wing Lai Yuen， she conducted a questionnaire survey among 100 customers. The result turned out that all of them said they would visit the restaurant again if it could restart its business elsewhere. Wang Xiaoling was so moved that she kept the questionnaire in a safe afterwards. Thus， the story of Wing Lai Yuen could go on and on.

At the opening of the new Wing Lai Yuen， old and new customers poured in. The long queue， coupled with other reasons， added their waiting time. Some even complained. In face of the complaints and criticism， Wang Xiaoling did not retreat. She found the root cause of the problems and solved them.

Wang Xiaoling was known for her innovation. Despite keeping the delicious taste of the noodles， she also pursued continuous improvement. She invited first-class chef in the mainland to Hong Kong for cuisine innovation and development of new cuisines.

“In the first years since the opening of the new restaurant， I kept myself in the kitchen day and night for the research of how to keep the products’quality. Sometimes I was too busy to eat anything，” said Wang Xiaoling.

Winning world fame

Under the leadership of Wang Xiaoling， Wing Lai Yuen has won many influential awards across the world， including the Champion of Hong Kong Sichuan-style Restaurants and International Chinese Restaurant.

The Dan Dan Mian of Wing Lai Yuen was praised by the Japanese paper Asahi Shimbun as owing world standard， even much better than the noodles’birth land—Southwestern China’s Sichuan Province. Once the Vice Governor of Sichuan paid a visit to Wing Lai Yuen during his stay in Hong Kong After a taste of the food， he kept praising that “The noodles here is so delicious that we should learn from it.” Hearing these praises， Wang Xiaoling felt happy and proud. Her years of hard work had paid her.

F u r t he r mor e ， Wing Lai Yuen frequently becomes the winner in lots of international cooking competitions. Chicken with dumpling soup in casserole， deep fried marinade duck， deep fried sweet and sour fish in squirrel style， sliced loin in spicy Sichuan source and the steamed wax gourd with chicken soup are all its champion dishes.

Wing Lai Yuen had since then enjoyed more fame in and beyond Hong Kong， thus attracting many politicians and celebrities. They also brought with them some cooperation opportunities once in a while. In August 2005， its first overseas branch was opened in Macau. Presently， Wing Lai Yuen has set up branches in Japan and Australia， and will open new branches in the US and the mainland.

However， when choosing cooperation partners， Wang Xiaoling was cautious. “If the partner with huge funds did not care about the operation， I will not consider it，” said she.

Caring for employees and charity

A restaurant’s success is closely related with employees except the leaders. Wang Xiaoling attributes her success to the employees. In addition to material rewards， she still concerns the employees’ personal needs. Hence she is also loved by the employees.

According to her， Wing Lai Yuen’s achievements today contribute only 10 percent to herself， with the Heaven， the hardworking employees and the Hong Kong people each taking 30 percent. To thank the customers’ years of support， she had not raised prices during the past 15 years though the cost of the noodles was five-fold. Only since last year， the price has been raised from HK$18 to 20 due to the rent rise.

Wang Xiaoling is also known for her benevolence. She often offers free noodles for the old and the handicapped， and subsidizes for nonprofit organizations for such people in Hong Kong. Still， she also donates for schools and welfare agencies in the mainland.

A few years ago， she was praised for her donation in the recovery of the Great Wall. But she attributed this honor to all the Hong Kong people.

She is intended to establish a foundation in the name of Chan Fung Ying to help the old and the handicapped in different areas.

Wang Xiaoling spends years of her life in Wing Lai Yuen， where she has gone through countless hardships and also has made many achievements. She wants to tell those youngsters to understand the true meaning of success， which is no pains， no gains.