Always behind the scenes and out of the frame of the cameraman’s lens, the elusive restrauneer Bob Wong shares his thoughts on the past, present, and future of Malaysia’s F&B landscape.
To those not in the know, Bob Wong appears rather nondescript for a man of his calibre – he started Faces (a fixture of Kuala Lumpur’s club scene in a previous era) and owned Zouk alongside Lincoln Cheng (prior to it being sold to the Genting Group), in addition to G6 (the Gardens Mall rooftop club).
Being a well-known personality to insiders of the F&B (food and beverage) industry, his name still arises in discussions about Kuala Lumpur’s nightlife – even after his departure from the clubbing scene.
Despite having a hand in establishing some of the Klang Valley’s most visited eateries and watering holes, as a surprisingly humble and hands-on restrauneer, he effortlessly blends into the background and is occasionally mistaken for a veteran member of staff – but it wouldn’t bother him in the least.
Despite his objections, we were able to get the elusive Bob Wong to pose for this portrait shot.
Even while building his latest project, Roofino – an open secret of a restaurant perched on the rooftop of the 34-storey KL Trillion building (on Jalan Tun Razak) – Bob Wong could be found working alongside Indonesian labourers, sketching his vision on bare walls, coordinating on-site activities, and welding the same metal frames that went into Roofino’s décor.
Being hands-on, Bob Wong had been involved in welding the metal frames that went into the Roofino Skydining and Bar.
When asked how a restrauneer came to know how to weld, he replied simply, “When you’ve got no money, and when you start to build something, you do what you have to do.”
The fact that Bob Wong knows how to weld his own steel frames sets one up to wonder what other skills the man might possess – and even to people who know him as the “Disco King” or the “King of Clubs” – it may come as a surprise to learn that he was among Malaysia’s first male hairstylists when the local fashion industry was in its infancy. It was apparently during this time, lounging among photogenic faces at after-parties when Bob Wong first entered the club scene.
While the experience of going to a club to unwind is purely recreational for most people, Bob Wong recognised the untapped potential for commerce in Kuala Lumpur’s relatively young club scene. Having spent some time on the spender’s side of the bar, he acquired an understanding of the basic ingredients required for a successful nightclub – which were, as he put it, “Four black walls, great music, a great DJ, and cheap booze.”
In 1985, Bob Wong tested his theory with Faces, “In those days, you didn’t need the best designs. What we had was a basement of an old bungalow, and with a very small budget, we knocked down a few walls, put in the longest bar we could fit, and made sure there was good music.” Bob Wong explained.
The simple set-up was punctuated by what could be called the highlight of the joint, as Bob Wong described it, “We could hang around the bar and see who was coming down the spiral staircase.”
In the days before smart phones and instant messaging, there was no way of knowing for certain who would show up – the experience of seeing someone enter Faces from the feet up was a moment of held breaths that was worthy of being represented in slow-motion.
With populations scaled up, and portable technology enabling meetups prearranged to the minute, the magic has apparently faded.
“It’s a little more impersonal now.” Bob lamented, describing the current landscape as being occupied by thousands of pubs and clubs – all trying to differentiate themselves with similar three-piece bands and trying to outdo each other with drinks served at near-cost prices.
Sensing the decreasing returns of the nightclub scene, and considering himself to be a responsive entrepreneur more than a club owner, Bob Wong left clubs behind to focus on an adventure of a different kind – restaurants.
Bob Wong still owns the half a dozen Modesto’s restaurants around Malaysia – and after having spent three months building and the past two years operating Roofino – he now has his attentions set on another rooftop project, this time on the PJX (Petaling Jaya Exchange) building.
With this new restaurant, Bob Wong hopes to reproduce the success of Roofino by providing reasonably-priced fine dining coupled with a panoramic view of the Klang Valley. He summarises his formula for the future of food and beverage establishments with a simple but thought-provoking question – “Why would you want to charge for the view?”
The view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline as seen from the outdoor seating area of Roofino Skydining and Bar.
Read more about the Roofino Skydining & Bar, in the Golden Triangle edition of the Best@ series.
