Mr Ng’s prices at TJBBQ are at the lower end of the market.
“I started at S$80 because I’m not a chef. I’m a photographer,” he said.
At first, his friends and family found the price point a bit steep. But as he gained more customers, they started telling him that he was undercharging, so he increased his price to S$88.
Customers also started to ask for add-ons to the menu, and he recently revised his prices to S$118 per person, after building his confidence from the 81 groups he has hosted so far.
“So far, I’ve noticed that private dining is like cafe hopping. The formula is the same – I try and I’m paying S$150. Next door is also asking for S$150, so I go next door.
“Unless I’ve tried a few and I think I still like this one better, so I’ll book this again,” said Mr Ng.
TJBBQ is open for lunch or dinner on Fridays, Saturdays and eve of public holidays, as those are the days that his children, aged 14 and 16, do not have school the next day.
While his wife is supportive of his career switch, it took her about three months to adjust to the interruption to their lives and the flow of strangers through their home, which she found awkward.
“I said, ‘Give me a year. If one year later, nobody’s booking, then I’ll shut it down,’” he shared, noting that his income has increased since he adjusted his prices.
WHAT ABOUT THE NEIGHBOURS?
When Mr Ng was conducting his dry runs before opening for business, he used to barbeque and smoke the meats in his balcony area in front of the common corridor.
Neighbours complained to the town council about the smell, and he asked to talk to them to mediate the issue.
Town council representatives visited him to conduct checks and found that he was not blocking the common corridor since his arrangement complied with the 1.2m rule. Nonetheless, they advised him to find alternatives.
While he was unable to reach the neighbour who filed the complaint, he decided to move his cooking indoors and converted what used to be a storage room into a barbeque room. Since then, he has not received any complaints about noise or smoky smells.
