specialty restaurant in Johor Bahru to much fanfare in late 2019, only for the Covid-19 pandemic to hit just months later.
Due to an absence of diners, with borders closed and people quarantining indoors, Wenlong saw his businessTo save their restaurant, Wenlong and his business partners dipped into their reserve funds and came up with takeaway-friendly dishes to tide through the pandemic. They were also the victims of loanshark harassment in Dec 2020. Although there was no debt owed, an unknown perpetuator desperate for money decided to extort Wenlong and his partners by splashing the restaurant’s entrance with red paint and sent a message demanding payment.Fortunately, Wenlong has seen an improvement in business since Malaysia and Singapore opened their borders for holidaymakers, despite seeing “few visitors [to JB] compared to the past”.
Wenlong's wallet-friendly pao fan with 'golden' seafood broth. Prices start from RM15 for the most basic fishball pao fan that feeds two pax.- about 20 per cent - but it’s still not back to like it was before. Covid-19 is still an ongoing thing, and tourists need to apply for things [like vaccination status approval] in order to travel here. Some people might think it’s too challenging to make travel arrangements, or they don’t dare to go overseas due to the coronavirus.
He’s optimistic that his restaurant’s business will pick up further once travel fully resumes. He chirps, “We are still very optimistic. I think once Covid-19 goes away, people will visit.”