The business ended up keeping Fatimah and her team afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when the bridal industry faced major disruptions with weddings postponed or cancelled. Not one to stay still, she also opened a hair salon with her sister during this time, as hair services were considered essential and were permitted to operate.
An opportunity to step into F&B later came up, and Fatimah opened her first restaurant, 555 Halal Thai, in 2020. “I’m a hustler and I felt that it was a good opportunity at that time,” Fatimah said. Situated within the Gallop Kranji Farm Resort, 555 Halal Thai exuded countryside vibes and was meant to offer Singaporeans a unique dining destination at a time when overseas travel was off the table. The restaurant closed in early 2023 due to “a crazy increase in rental”.
Fatimah also started her own ready-to-wear line selling modest dresses, abayas and scarves. More recently, she embarked on her second F&B venture together with a few partners with the opening of halal Chinese restaurant Loong Dim Sum in Boat Quay.
“In Singapore, you can count the number of halal dim sum restaurants on one hand – there are fewer than five – and people even travel to Malaysia [to get their fix]. So we thought, why not open one here? This is our first stepping stone toward offering quality halal Chinese cuisine. We have bigger plans,” teased Fatimah.
The three-storey establishment also has an event space which can be used for hosting intimate weddings. Reflecting on her decision to diversify her businesses, Fatimah credits a key lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic: “You can’t put all your eggs in one basket. But if you group them together, it’s harder to break,” she quipped.
