Yen, pictured in the pink-hued Miss Ao Dai, says his target is to attract the most famous restaurants and for the mall to become his charity arm.
Those who know Section 19 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, well will have noticed a new, multicoloured building where visitors are greeted by a swirl of changing lights at the entrance.
They will also remember that New Ocean World Fine Food City (Ocean World) was where a packaging and tissue paper factory once stood.
One person who knows this story well is Ocean World chairman Datuk Steven Yen Wen Hwa, 76, the factory owner himself.
Yen has a 96% share of the land where this eye-catching building is located.
“We made the boxes for a tobacco company that was just next door, which made delivery very convenient,” he said.
Before plans started for the eight-storey lifestyle gourmet mall in 2015, Yen had already moved his factory to Klang in favour of lower operating costs.
The empty building was then leased out as a warehouse for 10 years.
“As the place was in such a good location, I began to think about what to do with the land.
“At first, I thought of offices and residential property but when I looked around, I realised there was already an oversupply of those.
“It did cross my mind to come up with a sports venue but then I realised there would be limitations.
“So, I decided to come up with a food mall,” said Yen, a Singaporean who is a permanent resident of Malaysia.
Constructed in 2018 and completed in 2022, Ocean World occupies a built-up area of 29,277sq m.
Yen self-funded the project with no borrowings, ensuring scheduled payments were made on time.
“There was a three-year delay due to restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 movement control order.
“Fortunately agreements had already been made on the pricing of the raw materials required, so there were no extra costs. I was also compensated for the delay,” he said.
Currently, 11 of the 23 outlets in the food mall have started operations.
They offer cuisines from Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Mongolia, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan.
Of the eight floors, three are occupied. Coming soon is a pillarless banquet hall which can accommodate 600 people, aside from a karaoke and cigar library.
“My target is to have the most famous restaurant names to open here,” said Yen.
At present, 90% of the restaurants here offer cuisines from South-East Asia.
The colourful New Ocean World Fine Food City in Petaling Jaya.
Ru Xuan, which specialises in seafood claypot porridge, and Eerdun, a Mongolian hotpot restaurant, are brands from China that are expanding into foreign markets.
Miss Ao Dai, a Vietnamese dessert cafe with pink interior, is a brand created from scratch by Ocean World and wholly owned by Yen.
One of the most challenging tasks, he said, was ensuring that documentation for his multinational workforce was properly carried out.
“We have a team liaising with Immigration Department’s expatriates submission division to apply for visas and work permits,” he said.
Another seeming challenge comes from the fact that Yen, who has a mechanical engineering background, had never previously owned a restaurant.
The closest exposure he had to food business was seeing his father-in-law manage restaurants.
“My father-in-law owned two restaurants in Singapore during the 1970s. One served Vietnamese food in Fort Canning and the other served Japanese cuisine near Jurong Pier.
“He also had a joint venture in a dim sum and Cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong,” said Yen.
But Yen, who has some 50 years of experience in the packaging industry, always had business in his blood.
His Vietnam-born parents owned a textile-dyeing factory in Saigon.
He is also the founder of New Toyo International Holdings Ltd Group, which does speciality packaging materials.
Particular about outlets that wish to be part of the mall, Yen said knowledge of the establishment’s background and a study on the suitability of their dining concept were a must.
“The first step is to have a taste of the food.
“The next thing is to have a look into their kitchen. If it’s messy, I’d say sorry and move on,” said Yen.
He does not charge rent but is to have 50% share in the business.
This means Yen will bear half of the renovation costs, have half of the profits as well as bear the same portion for losses, if any.
“The interior design must be agreed on by both partners.
“The other criteria is for Kangen filters to be used in their kitchen for health purposes,” said Yen.
Referring to Ocean World as his retirement project, Yen’s vision is for the food mall to become his charity arm.
“We have been open for eight months now. In that time, we have donated RM210,000 to seven schools such as SMK La Salle and SJK (T) Vivekananda.
“We have a team to see which schools are in need of support by talking to the headmaster.
“This is done a month in advance so that we can fix a day and choose one of our outlets to be part of the charity drive.
“Two weeks ago, Eerdun, an outlet that offers Mongolian-style lamb hotpot, donated RM30,000, which was its revenue for the day, to charity,” said Yen.
Moving forward, Yen is looking to donate the income of a chosen restaurant for charity programmes on a weekly basis next year once all 23 outlets are open.
