With 16 years of experience in the culinary world in several Asian countries and one Michelin star under its belt, one of the highest-rated Chinese restaurants has finally arrived in Indonesia: Putien opened its doors in Pantai Indah Kapuk this November.
Jakartans can now head to the north of the city to indulge in Putien’s signature dishes, like the savoury Putien Lor Mee, the sweet and sour Deep Fried Squirrel Fish, and the hot peppery Deep Fried Pig’s Trotters with Salt and Pepper. Putien was named after a city called Putian, located in China’s Fujian province and known for its beautiful landscape with majestic mountains and the vast ocean on its horizon, always providing the best harvest from both the land and the sea. Its culinary heritage has been described as unpretentious, simple and pure.
Putien CEO and Founder Fong Chi Chung, who comes from Fujian province in China himself, moved to Singapore in 2000 to set up a factory selling electronic parts – but in the end, Mr. Fong and his wife opened a small coffee shop named Putien serving Heng Hwa cuisine because they missed the cooking of his hometown. It turned out to be an excellent decision, as Putien has developed into a full-fledged company with 28 Putien branches in Hongkong, Malaysia, Shanghai and Indonesia. Despite the fact that they both had no professional background as chefs, the husband-and-wife duo overcame all obstacles during their first couple of years and stayed true to their mission of always using high-quality ingredients for each dish on the menu, according to the restaurant’s principle: to serve the best food for the family with love.
“We want our customers to feel at home as every dish at Putien is served with love – it’s just like feeding your own family,” Mr. Fong said at the grand opening of the restaurant. “Winning the Michelin star, or any other award, was not necessarily our goal, because when we do our best, the stars or awards will automatically come along. We have managed to stay on top of the game for years because we always use the freshest ingredients and present an original taste. This is our core strength,” he added.
Looking into the future, Mr. Fong revealed ambitious plans. “We want to be the best Chinese restaurant globally, and by employing the best chefs from our homeland China, we can make it happen. But in the end, we want our customers to always be happy and be satisfied with our food.”
