When you learn that Korean fried chicken chain Jinjja Chicken is actually a local brand, your first reaction might be: "Jinjja?"
That is a common expression in Korean for surprise, something along the lines of "Really?"
For 10 years since starting his restaurant chain in 2015, Singaporean Bernard Tay kept a low profile, not wanting to broadcast the fact that Jinjja Chicken is a home-grown brand. He co-owns the halal-certified chain with a partner who is also Singaporean.
Now, with eight outlets under his belt in Singapore bringing in about $10 million a year and employing 170 staff, he is finally ready to reveal Jinjja's local origins.
The 45-year-old says: "It is time to let people know that we are proudly 100 per cent owned by Singaporeans. We are a Singaporean brand and we are also doing well overseas. I hope people will support Singaporeans who dare to sell cuisines which are not local."
The brand has three franchise outlets in Indonesia's Medan, two in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and one in Brunei, with another opening there in August.
Mr Tay admits it is a common misconception that the brand is from South Korea. In the past, he had chosen not to correct that assumption. Even his friends and business contacts assumed he had bought the franchise.
"When I was starting my business, they asked me why I wanted to sell Korean fried chicken instead of chicken rice or local delights. There is a stigma that if you are not South Korean, you can't cook Korean fried chicken well."
This hesitation stemmed from the fear that customers would shun the brand for not being authentic.
He grimaces when he recalls an incident on the opening day of his Northpoint City outlet in October 2017. A local customer, who was about to order, asked the cashier if the boss was from South Korea.
When the cashier pointed to Mr Tay - who was standing nearby - and said the boss was Singaporean, the man walked off, muttering that the food could not be good since the boss was not South Korean.
That incident made him turn down most media interviews - until now.
He chose to sell Korean fried chicken as he is a big fan of the dish, and he spied a gap in the market for a more affordable option than the pricey versions sold at Korean restaurants here.
Then 36, with eight years of experience working at his family's food business, Molly's Nonya Kuehs, he decided to pursue his dream of running his own restaurant.
He left the family business, took a $250,000 bank loan and pumped in over $100,000 of his savings to set up Jinjja Chicken's first outlet in Bugis Village in October 2015. He also applied for halal certification to cater to a wider customer base.
"Everything was at stake. It was a 'show hand' moment for me," says Mr Tay, who has a diploma in mechanical engineering from Singapore Polytechnic and a bachelor's degree in administrative studies from York University in Canada.
At the time, he and his wife - a homemaker - had two young daughters. The couple now have three and they are aged four, 10 and 13. His wife, Ms Christine Tay, 44, joined Jinjja as marketing director in 2016.
Apart from the ins and outs of operations, Mr Tay's aunt, who ran the family business, also gave him lessons in business ethics.
"She told me a business can be profitable, but business owners must not be greedy. 'Always remember the customers who have supported you', she would tell me," says Mr Tay. "Working there shaped me into someone who believes in running a business ethically. I value ethics as much as I value profits."
While working there, he set up a trading company with his cousin to import and export sauces for the kueh factory's use. In the course of running the trading company, he befriended South Korean contacts, who gave him the recipes for the soy garlic and yangnyeom sauces he still uses at Jinjja Chicken.
He engaged a branding company to come up with the name, logo and brand story, and a chef friend developed recipes for the menu.
He then imported ingredients directly from South Korea, such as a yuzu concoction for making Yuzu Tea ($4.50) at his restaurant.
The menu comprised items such as Jinjja Signature Wings, with prices starting at $8.90 for six pieces.
With zero culinary knowledge, Mr Tay helped out in the kitchen, from peeling vegetables to washing dishes, pulling 14-hour shifts with no days off.
Two months into opening, he ran into financial difficulties.
Business was poor for the first three months and, by December, he had $6,000 left in the corporate account after paying the monthly rental and the junior crew.
He felt ashamed and guilty about telling his restaurant manager and the two assistant managers that he did not have enough money to pay them on time, and told them to take money from the till for about a week to make up their wages.
He owed suppliers up to $100,000 for three months and could not draw a salary for himself the first nine months of starting his business.
The turning point was when a blogger made a post about Jinjja Chicken on Dec 23 that year. On Christmas Eve, customers had to queue an hour for their food.
But it was not enough to get the business out of the financial doldrums.
In January 2016, Mr Tay spoke with his wife about selling their three-room HDB flat in Whampoa to pay off mounting debt. By then, he had lost 9kg from stress and worry.
But the business stabilised the following month as the outlet built a pool of regulars.
It broke even in two years, giving Mr Tay the confidence to open a second outlet at Clementi Mall, spending $300,000 to set it up. Though it did well, he closed it in June 2024 due to a sharp rental increase.
A series of outlets followed at Northpoint City in 2017, then Changi Airport Terminal 2 and Jewel Changi Airport in 2019.
While the outlets thrived, he received a wake-up call in 2019 to pay more attention to his health.
Three of his arteries were blocked and he underwent an angioplasty to insert stents. He slept more, spent more time with his family and avoided work calls after office hours.
But it did not put him off Jinjja Chicken's expansion plans, with more outlets opening at Westgate, Nex and Sengkang Grand by 2023.
In 2022, the original restaurant moved out from its Bugis Village location to nearby Bugis+.
He rebranded the outlet at Changi Airport Terminal 2 in 2023, reopening as Jinjja Kitchen. Besides Korean fried chicken, it serves new items such as Kimchi Tofu Jiggae ($13.90), made from fresh chicken broth, and a South Korean brand of kimchi.
Its latest outlet, which opened in February, is Jinjja Kitchen at Festive Mall at Our Tampines Hub, which introduced housemade pizza made using sourdough and toppings with a Korean twist.
Bestsellers include the Korean Chicken Sourdough Pizza ($13.90 for a nine-inch pizza), which has a sauce of gochujang blended with a little cream and a topping of marinated chicken slices with shiitake, leek and mozzarella.
The Bulgogi Beef Sourdough Pizza ($13.90) has marinated beef slices, onion, cherry tomato and cucumber strips.
Come August, a new Jinjja Kitchen outlet is set to open at Jurong Point. The plan is to have two more Jinjja Kitchen outlets, bringing the total to five.
Mr Tay also aims to take the Jinjja brand to Thailand, Vietnam, China and possibly Australia via franchising.
While his business plans are moving apace, the fear of failure still dogs him.
As he puts it: "Though the company is stable now, part of being an entrepreneur is fearing that my business might fail. That keeps me on my toes and from getting complacent. After 10 years, I am still motivated to go to work and do my best every day."
