Najib and Rina (Photo: SooPhye)
A family that works together speaks as one. That’s what you gather from the refrains that pepper table talk on Serai Group (SG), the successful F&B business founded by Rina Abdullah and her son-in-law, Najib Hamid.
“We are blessed … There was an opportunity … The timing was right … Everyone put in the effort … With the right team, we make it happen … We want to make sure every dish we offer is good quality.”
These phrases piece together Rina’s journey from when she first set up Serai Thai in Shah Alam in 1990 right up to the opening of Meet Bros in the UK last month, officiated by none other than the Raja Permaisuri Agong herself.
The Asian-inspired steakhouse is a joint venture between SG and Palace Butcher Resources, which owns Me’nate Steak Hub. The long-term plan for Meet Bros — its name symbolises a meeting of minds, food and friends — is to champion the halal F&B industry by focusing on premium meats sourced directly from farmers and breeders, and expand in the UK and worldwide, says Najib, who is also SG’s managing director.
Must-trys at the Mediterranean-style set-up in Paddington, London are grilled beef (Wagyu, Angus, grass-fed) and lamb, chilli beef ribs and roasted barbecue lamb ribs biryani.
Palace Butcher Resources is a 100% bumiputera company based in Kuala Lumpur. In 2015, the year it was established, it took over Me’nate, a concept restaurant and premium meat hub with a central butchery that distributes meat supplies.
Meet Bros, which marks the start of SG going international, offers an opportunity to better understand F&B operations in London and ensure that standard operating procedures are met before they venture further, says Najib. The group plans to open more outlets abroad, not just under this brand but also others, serving Malaysian cuisine specifically. He is looking at Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
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Meanwhile, back home, there is a lot on the family’s plate with nine Serai outlets and seven Jibby restaurants in the Klang Valley. The latter, known for its green topography, light-filled interiors and Melbourne flair, is a brand Najib set up after returning to Malaysia in 2009, under the moniker he was known by during his 11 years in Australia. While Down Under, this hospitality graduate cooked for the likes of Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and Kylie Minogue, and handled the full spectrum of F&B operations working at various places.
World domination was certainly not in Rina’s mind when she set up Serai Thai, a restaurant serving Northern Malaysian and Thai cuisine, 33 years ago. All she wanted then was to stay put in Selangor — the family had just moved from Johor — so her three daughters could go to school while her hotelier spouse worked in Terengganu. The eldest, Qistina Taff, rolls back the decades.
“When I was in primary school, we frequented a Thai restaurant in Petaling Jaya. Then my parents had a conversation with us siblings about what venture mum should get into to keep us ‘grounded’ — we had to relocate every couple of years because of dad’s work. Since we enjoyed Thai food, I said, ‘Why not have our own place so we can eat in whenever we want to?’
“Mum was very courageous to get into a business for which she did not have the recipes or even know how to cook. But she has very good people skills and exceptional tasting memory, which is truly a gift. She is the true entrepreneur in the family, raising the three of us (my brother came into the picture very much later) while operating a restaurant single-handedly.”
Rina, who had worked with MAS as a stewardess, smiles at that and adds: “I came in with the service. As cabin crew, we know what service is all about, customers’ expectations and what we’d like to offer.
“The opportunity was there — Malays call it rezeki. An experienced cook asked me, ‘If you are interested in opening [a restaurant], let me join you’. That was how we started. Our first batch of staff, mostly from the north, was so good and things just fell into place. Some of them have been there since day one. They came in with black hair — now, it’s all white.
“The restaurant [it’s still there] kept me occupied and I took to it like a hobby, a housewife with children to bring up. There were no plans for expansion. But things happen.”
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As it happened, Qistina, an interior design graduate from Melbourne, was introduced to Najib, who was back on holiday from the same city. “I met her once, then returned to Australia. Three months later, I proposed and we settled down,” he says.
“Perhaps he found what he wanted in a wife,” quips the soft-spoken Rina. What she herself found was a young, dynamic chef with whom she had a lot in common. “I always remember the day Najib sat in our home. We hit it off. We had the same interests — cooking, travel, decor, flowers, food and the F&B business.”
Najib was struck by the “very entrepreneurial” woman who had started out doing contract construction of metal works. “She is blessed because she has good taste and is very passionate about that. She’s not a cook but is very determined about things tasting right. We clicked — my family is also in the food business.”
He noticed that Rina also had a good concept — she had opened a satay bar at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in 2009 — but the timing was not right. The mood then was not ideal for expansion and miscalculating the market, as his mother-in-law puts it, proved to be “a costly mistake”.
Najib, who had returned home convinced he would not work for another hotel or company, decided that rather than strike out on his own, why not join his new family, who was already in the industry? “That’s how SG began. The foundation was there … they just needed someone to boost the business.”
He started his culinary journey early, picking up pointers from good mentors, while working with skilled chefs, managing kitchens and handling marketing. One high point of his culinary career was becoming a chef de cuisine at the age of 26. “It has been a long journey, an interesting journey with a lot of lessons along the way.”
Timing and circumstances can also throw plans awry, Rina learnt. “I thought satay could be eaten at any time of the day but that was not the case. At lunchtime, people want their rice”.
Before this setback, there was the petrol hike that sent food prices spiralling and stalled footfall to Serai Thai. “For a whole week, my restaurant was quite empty and I was worried. I thought I might need to move out of Shah Alam.”
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Then Najib came along and they sat down to strategise and look at new concepts, cuisines and directions. “It is a blessing that he brought his expertise to the group. When you travel, you get creative ideas, but your chef might not be able to execute what you want. But this one knows exactly what he wants, he’s creative. Give him a place and his head will start thinking and working on design, food, everything, very quickly,” Rina shares.
It helps that they are on the same wavelength about making Serai a multi-brand business, taking it from a kampung operation to international levels.
When SG was offered a lot at Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang Jaya, it was all hands on deck as the family seized the chance to forge ahead again. Western and Malay options were added to their menu of popular northern-influenced dishes so that everyone who came in would find something to enjoy.
People can be fickle about what tickles their fancy but SG sets store by the taste of its food: It has to be something people want, remember and keep going back for more.
Comfort food, something homely that different members of a family can enjoy around the table, is a winning recipe, they found. Being creative and innovative are also important because people eat with their eyes before tucking in.
“I always believe that whatever we like to eat, my guests would like too,” says Rina, for whom fish with kicap makes a simple treat when she’s eating at home.
On top of giving clients a lot of choice, they make sure every dish offered is of good quality. Maintaining that is the reason this matriarch holds on to the ladle. “We design the food and know what it tastes like. One thing I’m very thankful for is when something tastes a certain way, my taste buds lock it in — you cannot change it. Once you do, clients will know,” says Rina, who takes feedback seriously.
“If they complain that something is not right, I check and identify the ‘problem’ and rectify it immediately. Customers know what they’re talking about because they’ve been to our restaurants. They know when something changes and you would be surprised that they are right.”
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In fact, there is always a flurry of messages when the SG team gets any negative comments. “We make sure we test and taste and keep improving. The learning process never stops,” says Najib.
Covid-19 was a major challenge that forced them to close outlets temporarily and re-strategise in order to keep their then 400-odd employees. Among the things they did was ensure that staff had a roof over their heads and would not go hungry by providing essentials like rice and oil. And true to what a family would prioritise, “the milk was on us for everyone who had a baby”, he says.
“We could not afford to lose any of our staff because the moment you reopen, you need them. Ours is a very labour-intensive business and all these people have been trained. They add value to us,” says Rina.
Rallying together comes naturally for this family whose members have found their niche in the business.
Rina credits her husband for guiding her in Serai’s first set-up as well as SG’s back-end operations. Shahryir Ahmad Taff started his career with the opening of the Rasa Sayang Hotel in Penang, and later was involved in the management buyout of Tanjong Jara Resort.
Qistina is project director, which sees her managing every outlet the company sets up. Looking West, she says: “For Meet Bros, we’ve planned that every location will have a standalone identity so customers can look forward to visiting each of them.
“For London, we took over a lot that had a unique Mediterranean [feel]. We felt that it would go well with our steak concept. We did a minor facelift of the entrance façade and created the open-concept beverage bar and pizza section. Our furniture and fittings were customised and brought in from Malaysia. The kitchen was our major refurbishment, to accommodate our style of food preparation.”
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Youngest daughter Atiqah, who did fashion marketing in Melbourne, joined the family business after working at a few branding agencies here. “It was perfect timing,” she says of the “nudge” by Qistina to be a part of SG. “I’ve always liked the creative world and had a passion for arts, lifestyle, decor, food. Times are a-changing and I enjoy finding ways to be creative and stay in trend.”
The company has also brought in professionals to take charge of the financial side of things. “To me, the heart of your business is your cash flow and where the money goes,” says Najib. These are people who tell him he might have this and this, but do not get excited. “You know, I might run too fast, so I need someone to tap my back and say, ‘Slow down. We cannot catch you’.”
The chemistry between him and Rina makes for a good combination but both can get carried away sometimes, he admits. “We’re like, go, go, go all the way, without brakes. But we know we have to make sure the foundation is strong, so we need to hire more people and come up with new ideas. It’s not just about opening restaurants but how you survive because you don’t want to make an expensive mistake.”
On top of the SG brands, Najib has various other projects on his hands. Does he ever worry about spreading himself too thin?
“People ask me how I do it ... I don’t know how to answer. It’s my passion and things happen naturally. It’s not easy to manage multiple brands while following the trends and what’s in the market. Everything has to be well planned. Hard work, strategy and building up a good team are very important.
“There was a time when I did feel burnt out, that I’d had enough. But there is this little voice inside me that always reminds me we have to give back to the community and create job opportunities. Also, seeing our brainchild accepted by the market is definitely something that keeps me going and pushes me further.”
Rina puts it simply: “The more restaurants we open, the more energy we get.”
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Expansion plans for the group, mapped out for the next two years, include new openings at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in the third and fourth quarters of 2023. On the cards are Serai and Jibby Chow outlets and its first QSR (quick service restaurant) at Terminal 1, Jibby Chow Chicken Rice. “We intend to grow this brand and scale it up to at least 100 outlets within five years,” says Najib.
Among SG’s airport ventures is a partnership with SSP Group, a leading operator of F&B outlets in travel locations worldwide. In London, a hotel has asked that they take over its restaurant, but with their hands full for now, the family is understandably wary about biting off more than they can chew.
However, as an extension of their business, Najib is looking at setting up a small resort. He imagines having Arya resorts — named after his daughter — by the river, on an island and up a mountain. Sabah is a possible locale.
Not allowing vision to precede execution, though, he says: “It’s very competitive out there and the challenges are really crazy. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support and input of everyone and we know we’re blessed.”
With the business in good hands, Rina and Shahryir are thinking of handing the helm to the young ones. “It’s time for us to enjoy our retirement. That’s what our children have been wanting us to do.”
She looks forward to travelling along the old roads instead of highways and spending time in small quaint towns left behind by development. She also wants to do more social work and spend time with family, siblings and friends, and attend classes.
“I will still go around and taste our food for as long as I can, as that’s something I am proud of and passionate about, to ensure our guests still enjoy it. I will train my children to understand the original taste of our food and to maintain it. Serai has served three generations of guests. Very soon, it will be the fourth!”
This article first appeared on June 19, 2023 in The Edge Malaysia.
