Career Path: University (Maths) > Trainee Accountant > Family Business
“Awarded OBE"
My Story: I was born in Guangzhou, China and spent my childhood in Hong Kong. I came to the UK in my teens. I completed my secondary education in Manchester, followed by attendance at York University, from where I graduated with a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy. I embarked on a career as a trainee accountant. Very soon my father requested that I join the family business, the Yang Sing Restaurant. With very little business and managerial experience, I worked hard to develop my own unique and individual style which contributed to the success of the Yang Sing.
Funny Story: My funniest hospitality memory is of the Christmas after the Yang Sing was devastated by a fire in 1997. We had 6,000 Christmas bookings and no building!!! G-Mex (now Manchester Central) kindly allowed us to use their banqueting facilities for the Christmas season and we moved over there ‘lock, stock and wok’ having only 24 hours to set up a Cantonese kitchen and restaurant facilities! One evening, everyone was very busy preparing and serving Cantonese Christmas banquets and suddenly the water supply ceased! Some frantic checking took place, but after 15 minutes (without any plumbing works taking place) the water began to flow again. It turns out that there was an Oasis concert at G-Mex that night and the 15 minute water free period was the interval of the concert, when everyone was using the loo!!!!!!!!