Managing their Mischief

SINGAPORE – We are so used to seeing Cynthia Koh and Michelle Chong looking glamorous, starring as leading ladies and gracing magazine covers that it is difficult to think of them working at a restaurant. I mean, erm, how much tip would even be appropriate? Yet, with their eatery Mischief, which is co-owned by former DJ-turned-12 Cupcakes boss Daniel Ong, Koh and Chong may have little choice but to roll up their sleeves (or hem their gowns) and help out.

Although it must be said that Chong, who once played a shopkeeper in Eating Air, might not be the best poster girl for the service industry. “After my A-Levels, I got a job as a sales assistant at Scotts Shopping Centre,” she said. “I went for one day and didn’t go back, because they didn’t let me sit down! Who stands up the whole day? I said, ‘If there are no customers, can’t I just sit down for five seconds?’ They said no. That was my one-day experience as a salesperson.”

Koh had a better track record when she worked as a part-timer for a cosmetics brand. “If the company knew you were a good part-timer, they would always use you during promotions,” she said. “They could throw me at some ulu (far-flung) departmental stores and I could still survive!”

So perhaps it’s a good thing that they’ve left the day-to-day operations to Ong instead. Both ladies’ will primarily be in charge of promoting the restaurant on social media.

Nevertheless, we’ve put forth several challenges to the Mischief makers, to see how they would solve some common problems faced by restaurateurs in Singapore today. Read our exchange below to see how they fare:

Q: They say it’s never a good idea to go into business with your friends. What would you do if you fell out?

DANIEL ONG (to Cynthia Koh and Michelle Chong): Have you guys quarreled before?

BOTH: Yes!

KOH: It’s a very stupid thing. We refused to meet each other for dinner.

CHONG: We were supposed to meet for dinner.

KOH: The week before, I told her we were supposed to meet for dinner.

CHONG: Plus Apple Hong, who was in the same drama as us.

KOH: So we usually have hangouts. It was her turn to look out for where to eat. So we said Michelle Chong, we know you are very busy and very forgetful, we’ll remind you again that you’re supposed to make a booking on Friday. She got very caught up with something that she bought online that didn’t get delivered. She was so flustered about it that she totally forgot about the reservation. So Friday night we were hanging around like wandering souls. Every restaurant was packed. I got upset with her, and she got upset with me for not understanding why she was upset about the delivery.

CHONG: Poor Apple was like don’t be angry lah! Don’t be angry lah!

ONG: You just wasted two minutes of my life!

KOH: Friends go through a lot of phases. You have to draw the line between friendship and partnership. You cannot lump things together.

Q: What would you do if people kept coming up to you for autographs?

KOH: It’s okay! Just instagram. (Rattles off a bunch of hashtags)

CHONG: All of our meetings are going to be held here from now on! All of our Huat Film meetings, Left Profile meetings. Let’s not go to Porn’s (Left Profile artiste Pornsak’s Thai restaurant) anymore!

Q: What would you do if you can’t find enough people to work at your restaurant?

ONG: It is very, very difficult to hire people now. F&B is going through one of its toughest phases ever. Hiring is tough. 12 Cupcakes, for example, we had to close two of our stores on Valentine’s Day due to lack of manpower, because all the ‘Xiao Mei Meis’ (young girls) are in love. It is one of the most lucrative days for us, but we have to close. That’s how dire the situation is now.

CHONG: When I Instagrammed, I didn’t ask for waiters, I just said I was opening a restaurant, then they wrote to Left Profile to say they wanted to be chefs at Michelle Chong’s restaurant. They didn’t even know what the restaurant served! Obviously we don’t have as many followers as some of the bloggers or influencers, but I think we are quite influential! We are quite hip and happening. (Laughs)

Q: What if a customer finds a cockroach in his or her food?

ONG: Ew! You pray and hope first of all that it will never happen. I run this kitchen like a laboratory. Everything must be spotless. If I cannot put my face on the floor, it’s not a kitchen.

CHONG: If that happens, I will hold him responsible. (To Daniel) I’ll make you eat the cockroach!

ONG: But if that ever happens. The entire bill is waived, your drinks and food are waived and we will re-do the dish for you. But I’ll waive the whole thing.

CHONG: Maybe if they want I’ll put them on the Noose. I don’t know what I can do to help. (Laughs helplessly) Or maybe if they want to appear in my movie ... I’ll give them a cameo, so maybe they won’t complain!