Tiger Tales

Business: Shu In For Success

 

The flamboyant owner of Hanuman, Jimmy Shu’s culinary talents are matched only by his sharp business acumen. Mark Pettifor meets the man.

If sourcing for the best raw materials, hiring craftsmen to build culinary masterpieces, and keeping the customer at the forefront of every decision are the keys to a successful business, look no further than the Hanuman restaurant in Darwin.

Add Shu’s penchant for hard work, his gentle, humble demeanor and his infectious enthusiasm and passion for what he does, and it’s easy to see why he is one of Darwin’s most successful businessmen.

Hanuman is famed in the Northern Territory’s capital for its gastronomic offering – a mix of Thai, Indian and Nonya cuisines that have been a favourite with the locals since the early ’90s.

The recipe was so successful that Jimmy opened another Hanuman in Alice Springs in 2001. In fact, Jimmy is opening a Chinese restaurant where the current Hanuman is and taking his famed dishes to an alfresco setting near Darwin’s entertainment centre.

BEING JIMMY SHU

Jimmy snaps into animated conversation when his favourite topic – food – is on the agenda. His happy ready smile and child-like enthusiasm are absorbing. Jimmy’s Darwin restaurant is dark and intimate, and the exquisite lighting allows for high density seating in an intimate way. Cool jazz plays in the background.

Shu explains how he judges any similar restaurant by three dishes: massaman beef, green curry and tom yum. “If a restaurant gets these three right, then there’s a good chance the flavours of all their dishes will be good. If one of these is out of balance, it will reflect throughout the whole menu.”

He should know – his life has always been about restaurants. Born 57 years ago in Sri Lanka to Chinese parents (from Shantung province), he spent his youth cooking for his father, who owned a Chinese restaurant in Sri Lanka for 38 years.

He also knows about dedication and sheer hard work: for six months of the year, his father would source for 100 kilogrammes of prawns every two days. As the eldest son, it was Shu’s job to peel them.

“There is nothing you can do to get the smell of that many prawns off your fingers,” he says. “I would touch my nose in class or lie down exhausted with my hands near my face, and there was always the lingering smell of prawns.”

The chef now recognises that all his hard work with his father was worth the effort. “I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but now I look back and see that working for my father for all those years helped give me strength and determination to get the job done.”

Another art his father imparted was the knack for locating the best and freshest raw materials. Even today, you can often spot Shu hand-selecting from local markets like Parap and Rapid Creek.

But perhaps the greatest gift Shu Sr gave his son was the knowledge to run a business.

TOP OF THE TOP END

Shu moved to Melbourne in 1974, where he worked his way through Asian-themed restaurants like Shakahari, Monsoons and Isthmus of Kra.

In fact, it was on a fish-sourcing trip to Darwin for Isthmus of Kra (one of three restaurants he was running then) that his business genes kicked in.

The short version goes that while he was walking through the back door of Christo’s (now Crustaceans On The Wharf), he met a Greek restauranteur, had a meal with him, and just like that, was offered a partnership on a new restaurant.

After checking out the competition, Shu made up his mind in 24 hours to take up the offer, and that was how Hanuman became a reality in Darwin in April 1992.

It cost him AUD350,000 (SGD418,350) to set up, and he admits it was losing about AUD4,000 (SGD4,781) every month for the first two years, but his faith finally paid off – today, the restaurant turns over AUD1.5 (SGD1.79) million per annum.

GOING GLOBAL

Apart from the two Hanumans in Darwin and Alice Springs, Shu is also opening up a Chinese restaurant called Redstar on the old Hanuman site. Cross-state, he also owns the successful Near East in Melbourne, which offers a sophisticated fusion menu spanning five cultures. His plans include Cairns and another restaurant in Northern Territory.

Most excitingly, Shu has been travelling to and from China, and a restaurant is in the works “in Chongqing, because they love their spicy food! It’s hotter than Indian food. I think maybe they have no liver!”

SECRETS OF HIS SUCCESS

Shu names three: the best ingredients, an elegant yet casual ambience, and chefs from the countries where his dishes originate.

There are seven chefs at Hanuman, each specialising in fare from their own region. “We have the UN in the kitchen,” jokes Jimmy. Each chef knows at least two cuisines, and Shu insists they have a learning attitude, no matter how much experience they have.

OPT FOR ORIGINAL

All Hanuman recipes are original – Shu does not copy. Shortcuts are also not tolerated. Hanuman’s head chef, who is from Mumbai, describes the attention to detail: their blend of Garam Masala is slow-roasted overnight to bring out all the flavours.

And it pays off – the place is constantly packed and anyone who is anyone in Darwin frequents Hanuman.

The biggest money-spinner, shares Shu, is the kangkong or water spinach. Must-orders include green chicken curry, Thai fried snapper with three-flavour sauce, duck curry and massaman.

LEAVING A LEGACY

At this rate, Shu looks like he is onto a food empire that is bound for global domination. He is also prepared to groom his successor, his second daughter: “She’s likely to follow in my footsteps when she finishes year 12.”

And if he’s as good a teacher as his father was, it looks like Hanuman will be around for a good long time. Tiger Tales