Third-Gen Owner Of Heritage Hokkien Eatery Westlake Gave Up Banking Career To Take Over Family Biz

Today, Westlake is run by 34-year-old Matthew Lim, who took over the bulk of the duties from his father, 77-year-old Robert Lim, in 2023.

It was Matthew’s grandfather, Lim Tong Law, who opened the restaurant in its present location in 1974.

Westlake began as a passion project, Matthew recounted.

His grandfather, originally a physical education teacher at what was then The Chinese High School and now Hwa Chong Institution, turned his love of cooking for friends and family into a part-time business, opening a stall in a coffee shop at Fook Hai Building in Chinatown.

When the space at Queen’s Road became available soon after, he seized the chance to transform the business into a full-fledged restaurant, with dishes like Salt and Pepper Fried Chicken, Hokkien Noodles and live seafood on the menu.

Grandad nearly closed shop decades ago

It was an instant hit. His grandfather’s students came to dine with their families, and word spread. The restaurant became so popular that tables were set up in the open-air area outside, even prompting a visit from safety inspectors.

At the age of 54, his grandfather found himself leaving a 22-year teaching career to run a restaurant, cooking in the kitchen as well as serving guests.

But, demand quickly grew so overwhelming that six months after opening, he considered calling it quits.

Things took a turn when the family rallied round. “My aunties – his daughters – helped out with the cooking. And, shortly after, my dad came back from overseas to help as well,” Matthew said.  

Robert, Matthew’s father, recalled how his own father would sit at the door of the restaurant, cleaning and preparing the seafood himself. People would also come to enjoy his mother’s chee cheong fun. “You might think it was just rice noodles, but my mother would personally cook it and prepare the sauces,” Robert said.

“Ultimately, my grandfather’s goal was to serve food to people and see them happy about the food they were eating,” Matthew shared.

The business passed into Robert’s hands with Tong Law’s death in 1999 at the age of 74, but his legacy continues. And, he is still remembered by his former students, who continue to visit the restaurant. “Even many of my friends’ parents tell me they used to be my grandfather’s students,” said Matthew.

Braised pork bun empire

Popular dishes at Westlake include an award-winning Hot and Sour Soup, Butter King Prawn and Roast Chicken. But, it was their braised pork buns that first put Westlake on the map, and the restaurant continues to be synonymous with the dish today: melt-in-the-mouth slabs of pork belly in a dark, savoury-sweet sauce, sandwiched into fluffy, steamed Chinese buns.

“When people think about braised pork buns, they think of us. It’s something that has carried on over the years,” Matthew said.

The recipe, developed by his grandfather and uncle, originally required chefs to get up at 4am to braise the pork so that it would be ready for lunch hour.

“Customers say our braised pork is fatty without being cloying. You don’t feel the oiliness when you eat it. The texture is extremely important,” Robert said.

The secret to the perfect texture is in the thickness of the cut, Matthew divulged. Meat is sourced from Germany and the Netherlands. The dish also uses a premium-grade soya sauce specially calibrated for the restaurant by their longtime local supplier. The buns, too, have been supplied by the same family-run business over the decades. 

“We don’t cut corners on these ingredients.” For example, if one batch of soya sauce happens to taste different, it gets sent back. “That’s how we have been able to keep our flavour consistent throughout the years.”

And, that’s why, he continued, “our braised pork buns have a certain taste that is only achievable with this combination of buns, soya sauce and meat. The buns have a tinge of sweetness, but, combined with our sauce and meat, you don’t feel that the dish is overly sweet. Because we really started from scratch, the taste we came up with is very different from any other kind of braised pork in Singapore. I honestly think it’s one of the best.”

Japanese tourists seek out Westlake

Interestingly, the restaurant is not just popular with Singaporeans, but has also drawn many Japanese visitors in particular, he shared, to the extent that the menus and signs even include Japanese translations.

Originally, Matthew had no plans to take over the business. While he, his siblings and his cousins grew up helping out at the restaurant during busy times like Chinese New Year, they each went on to pursue their own careers and interests.

Took a paycut to join family biz

Matthew landed a job at Citibank as a relationship associate in the commercial banking arm. When the pandemic hit, though, his father asked for help with new processes that required the use of technology. He found himself working two jobs, seven days a week. Eventually, he decided to leave his banking job to concentrate on running the business.

“It was definitely a decision I struggled with for a while,” he said. In addition to taking a pay cut, he had to give up having his weekends to himself. “I do miss the freedom sometimes,” he confessed.

But, if the business were allowed to fade away, “it would be a waste”, he said. “The people in the neighbourhood come here all the time to eat. Customers from Japan even fly to Singapore to try our food. It would be a pity if we just let it go. I thought, ‘I have to carry on’.”

Matthew was able to use technology to increase manpower efficiency and reach customers, like implementing a QR code ordering system and a reservations system, and getting the restaurant onto online ordering platforms. Additionally, he’s looking to expand the business into selling pre-packed food such as braised pork to supermarkets. “You can never predict how the business will move forward, so, we want to explore other options for doing business,” he said.

Hopes to reach out to a younger crowd

Although their regulars are loyal, “one of our current challenges is the need to reach out to younger people. If you ask anyone in their 20s, they've probably never heard of this place before. So, we are trying to bring a new crowd in to try our food. Hopefully, they will like it enough to patronise us.”

Robert, now semi-retired, appreciates that while Matthew “might not have much experience, he has been able to implement new things”. But, more importantly, he acknowledges that “young people may not always agree with older people about what tastes good. There are flavours that people of today aren’t familiar with any more.” 

Westlake may be a heritage brand, but “there could be things we need to change. It’s very important to think about these questions.” And, it is also important to give a new generation “the freedom to try things, and to make mistakes”.

Westlake is located at Blk 4 Queen’s Rd, #02-139, S260004. More info via website.

Photos: Westlake

Source: CNA/my

The original version of this story first appeared in CNA Lifestyle.

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