Asya Tan

tABLE & Apron, managing partner

UNIVERSAL BAKEHOUSE, CO-FOUNDER

Kicking off our birthday month with someone whose driving force & presence was there from the very beginning. Asya is our managing partner - a term not often used in the restaurant trade, but a vision we aspired for Table & Apron in our early years. 

Asya first joined The Kitchen Table (for you old-timers) in December 2014 as an intern. With zero experience in F&B, she was suprised she was even accepted in the first place. But with a passion for everything food since young & nothing to lose, this one-time hipster restaurant seemed like a good place to start.

“What really attracted me to the restaurant at the time was how different the concept was from your typical restaurant in KL. We used local ingredients to create local dishes with a twist, we served sharing plates, and the food was cooked and served by the same people who owned the restaurant.”

In three years, Asya climbed ranks, expanded her experience through stagiere stints in places such as Brae, Melbourne and Quality Chop House, London. Despite her adventures overseas (and satisfying her ever growing wanderlust), Asya found herself returning to her roots after building an appreciation for how restaurants often used their local produce, and being inspired by their level of hospitality she wishes for restaurants in Malaysia to reach one day. She had never thought of owning a place of her own, until she was presented the opportunity to be managing partner. Alongside the journey of managing the restaurant, Asya also co-founded and spearheaded the conceptualization of Universal Bakehouse next door. Such is the level of ambition she took on after becoming partner to the business.

“When you become a managing partner, you’re carrying the same torch and it is important you resonate and demonstrate the same core values as the company before you. I learned this after working closely with Marcus all those years, and found we shared the same vision and mindset in growing Table & Apron.” 

Despite this, Asya also lamented that one of her biggest challenges was how there aren’t many women in the F&B industry in Malaysia whom she could turn to for advice. In an industry where leadership roles are led by men, Asya has had to come to terms with forging her own path as a leader - a road less traveled.

‘Searching for talent fit with our team has always been a challenge as I think our country does not have a strong F&B culture where hospitality can be a passion. The responsibility of nurturing our own talent pool is therefore priority, not just for ourselves but for the industry as a whole, too. And hopefully out of this, people can see restaurants as a place to build a career in.”

Now 7 years down the road, she wishes for Table & Apron to continue growing and always contributing to ‘leveling up’ the F&B industry in PJ, as Asya has a strong belief that a restaurant is not just a place that serves food, but also a place that can contribute and impact the community with our actions and intentions. 

Click to read more about their stories