MasterChef Asia Winner’s Restaurant Ibid Has ‘Faced Bankruptcy Twice’, Now Closing After 8 Years

“It’s just time,” the 2015 winner of MasterChef Asia said when we spoke to him over video call this week. “It’s been eight years of running my restaurant mostly by myself and I guess I’ve reached a point where I’m ready for something else. We’re good and in the green, but while we’ve done well for ourselves, I think it’s good to leave while we’re ahead.”

He came close to bankruptcy. Twice.

That’s not to say he hasn’t had his fair share of challenges in those eight years. “I’ve faced closure and bankruptcy twice in the period of running this restaurant and I know what that feels like. It’s not a nice place to be in, so it’s nice to be able to exit like this. Still, it’s a melancholic feeling because there is more I want to do with the restaurant, but I think I need to step back, get a chance to rest and regroup and see what else I can do,” he continued.

Spent roughly $500K on restaurant

Woo opened Restaurant Ibid in 2018 with two partners whom he parted ways with shortly after. He bought out their shares, leaving him cash-strapped and running the restaurant alone. In those early years, his business came close to bankruptcy twice. “We didn’t know who we were yet,” he recalled. “We were trying everything. Lunch, cocktails, sharing plates. Every experiment cost money.”It’s hard to say how much I’ve actually spent over the years but I’d place it at perhaps half a million? This is of course inclusive of the original fit and regular updates to the space”.

Restaurant now in the green

The restaurant eventually found its footing by doing less. Woo cut seating by more than half to 16 covers following a post-Covid renovation, and while the restaurant was built for a fine-dining experience, Woo decided he needed to give people something less formal by keeping his dishes simple yet interesting, and focusing on the guest experience. He is now making a profit, though he declines to reveal exact figures.

He feels he never got the recognition the restaurant deserves 

The former lawyer is candid about his growing disillusionment with the F&B industry. Despite years of consistency and improvement, he said he feels like he never quite broke into what he calls “the core group of restaurants” that dominate media attention. “You hope you’ll be recognised for what you do, but after a while, it doesn’t happen and it’s disheartening,” he said. 

“Maybe it’s a not-what-you-know, but who-you-know situation. And maybe that has contributed to me wanting to close my restaurant, because I don’t want to participate in an industry that’s about connections and not about the work you put out, you know?” he added, as if thinking about this for the first time. 

“[On that note], it’s also about budgeting, right? Hiring a PR team [to help connect with relevant industry folks] is not cheap. [They] can cost almost half or three-quarters of your monthly rent.”

The current state of the F&B industry has also made it more difficult to run a business. Woo said, “The ground has shifted beneath our feet and it's very hard to run a small restaurant in this environment. ‘Pure respect to all the small business owners still fighting out there, because it's getting tougher and tougher without having an investor or restaurant group with deep pockets and the right machinery… So while we are in the deep green, let’s leave while the going is good.”

When asked if he regrets leaving his legal career, he answered, “I feel like it was always a pull, not a push decision for me to enter the hospitality industry. I enjoy the academic aspects of law, but not the practice of it. So, I don’t regret it one bit.”

Closing the restaurant is a lot of work

Woo started thinking about closing the restaurant last June and began taking steps to wind things up. “You have to do things methodically,” he explained. “Like, what do I do with the equipment, you know? Or my staff. I don’t want to leave them out in the lurch, right?”
 
Although he planned to close later this year, a new tenant expressed interest in taking over the space largely intact, allowing him a smooth handover. “We built this beautiful space and it’s all in good working condition, so I’m glad it’s not going to waste,” he said.

When asked what he would do differently if he could start over, he replied, “I would do proper due diligence entering into certain business relationships and probably spend my time and energy playing the PR game from day one.”

Might try private dining from home

Now, Woo is ready to chill for a bit. He said he wants to rest, focus on his health and spend more time with his mother. He will soon be renovating his new home with his girlfriend of three years, but other than that, everything’s open-ended. He’s ready to let life happen.

“Private dining is a possibility [though nothing is concrete]. I may even go back to becoming an apprentice and train at another restaurant for a while,” he added. “I’ve never taken a sabbatical in my life, so maybe I just need to do nothing for a while.”

Ibid’s final service will take place in the week of March 17. The exact last day is still undecided. Its six-course tasting menu is priced at $188.

Restaurant Ibid is located at 18 North Canal Rd, S048830. Tel. 9151 8698. Open Tue to Thur 6.30pm-10.30pm. More info via Instagram.

Photos: Restaurant Ibid