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The Story So Far
Anyone who has a penchant for Oriental cuisine must have
visited, at some point in time, the Blue Room in Valletta or
the Chinese Story restaurant at the Bay Street complex. The
common thread binding these two well-regarded establishments
together comes in the shape of a woman whom most people simply
know as Eve. In the space of three short years, Eve and “success”
have begun to look at each other rather fondly, although Eve
herself would be the last person to acknowledge that fact. In
his incessant search for the definitive formula for success,
KEVIN DRAKE this week talks to Eve and discusses with her the
finer points of perfection, oriental philosophy, life, death
and the drawbacks of artificial flowers.
Chinese story from ‘A Blue Room’
Most of the people who know you know you simply as Eve, what’s
your full name?
Eve Yong Qian. When Chinese people choose a name for their children,
the name is selected to reflect the parent’s expectations
and aspirations for the child. The name helps to influence the
character of the children. My name means swimming, diving. I
was born during the cultural revolution in the late 1960s. At
that time the Chinese leader Mao Zedong was a great swimmer,
he loved swimming, and so everyone was encouraged to follow
suit. The Chinese also say that girls (women) are made of water
and men are made of mud. Water reflects femininity, it reflects
women’s purity. So the “water” element is very
important especially for a woman. Lastly, my mother loved the
poetry of a very famous Asian poet whose name was Yong as well.
And so these three elements all played an important part in
the choice of the name that was given to me.
So, with a name like Yong does this mean that you are a great
swimmer?
Not at all! I’ve been in Malta seven years and I’ve
only been to the beach twice. I can’t swim at all actually.
The way my name is pronounced actually means diving, or a diver.
My mother didn’t want me
to just “float” on the water, she wanted me to dive
very deep down.
Are you a diver, do you “dive” into things
I think I’m a very down to earth person. I only do those
things that I’m interested in but then I do them very well.
You have to be focused.
Which part of China do you originate from?
Shanghai City. I’m very much a city girl! Cities make me
feel alive, wherever I am in the world. I’m always excited
by the rhythm, by the pressure of a city. In fact when I arrived
in Malta I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that people
could spend so much time in the sun, sipping coffee. The pace
of life is very different to what I was accustomed to but it
has managed to change me as well. Even nowadays when I go abroad
to any big city like London, I’ve come to prefer the slower
rhythm of Malta. I’ve become used to it.
What was life like growing up in Shanghai City.
Well, Shanghai was considered for a long time to be the pearl
of Asia. It was also one of the most important ports and trading
stops in the world. Nevertheless it is still a very westernised
city. Some time ago I was in Madrid and the moment I arrived
there I thought My God, this place in an exact
replica of Shanghai. Of course the cultures are very different
though.
You have impeccable English. Do many people in Shanghai speak
English well?
No I don’t! (laughs) But not
really, no. Not that many people speak English. I chose English
as my major when I was at Shanghai University so I suppose that’s
why. It was very fashionable at the time to study English, to
study languages. China was just opening to the western world
and everybody wanted to learn western languages.
Did you go around China much?
No. Unfortunately I didn’t. Travelling around the country
was considered quite a luxury. It’s a huge country and
to travel extensively means you needed to borrow money from
your parents. As a student I had very little money and very
little time to travel anyway. The pressure to succeed, to obtain
good results, is enormous. Here in Malta parental pressure is
minimal by comparison. There is so much competition in China,
even just for a job. You need to have a very solid educational
background.
Did you have that kind of pressure exerted upon you?
Not from my parents. They
didn’t really pressure me all that much. It’s more
a cultural thing. At home I had to excel, I had to be excellent,
because of my parents. I could not allow them to go outdoors
and feel inferior to others, to other parents, because of me.
I
had this urge to make my parents feel very proud of me. It was
a way for me to show my respect for them. Because of this I
spent a lot of time on my academic work, I studied very hard.
In China there are very strong parental ties, something that
I find very evident in Malta too.
So you studied English at Shanghai University?
English literature. But I didn’t finish the course. I decided
to leave the course before graduating because I was very intent
on going to study in America. If I’d completed the course
I would have been obliged to work for the government for two
years after graduation and during that time they would not have
allowed me to leave the country. I was very eager to go to the
States at that time but now, I think I’m more mature in
that regard.
So what did you do then? I take it you didn’t go to the
States?
At that time “joint-venture” luxury hotels were mushrooming
all over China and I so decided to go work in one of these four-star
hotels. My boss was a Filipino woman and I became her personal
secretary.
Are there any cultural or gender-related problems in China,
especially when you have women who are in command at the work-place?
I suppose so. But I don’t think it’s just a problem
in China. I think that it’s the same problem the world
over. It’s in the nature of men! (smiles)
What was it like to work with a woman as a boss?
When you start school its very important for you to have a good
teacher and it’s the same thing when you start work: it’s
important for you to have a good boss. I think she was a very
good boss and she trained me very well. The way she organised
things, the way in which she was a perfectionist, it “modelled”
me. She taught me how to have a good attitude towards work,
towards life. That was the most important thing I learnt.
And what is this attitude?
Basically that whatever you do you need to do it by applying
yourself 100 per cent and with total concentration. That is
what I try to do. My boss was very fussy especially with the
little details. She did not categorise the world or work into
“big” things or “small” things. Any mistake
was a huge mistake. There were times when I’d burst out
crying because of some shortcoming or other. I resented it at
the time but looking back I think I’m grateful to her.
I now pay a lot of attention to detail. For example, I’m
in the catering business. In a restaurant the first thing I
look at are the legs of the tables and chairs: Whether they’re
clean or whether they have dust or dirt on them. Those are details
but it means that if you pay attention to the details then you
pay attention to everything.
If your focus is on the chair-legs, does that mean that you
can’t relax when you go out to eat somewhere else?
I don’t think I ever relax! Especially since I started
the businesses. That’s why I always say that I can only
do catering for 10 years. Its such a demanding job. It requires
your total commitment day and night. Even when I’m on holiday
I don’t really think that I can relax. My mind is always
focused on work. This in no way reflects badly on the staff.
They try extremely hard and I’m very happy with them. But
when you have your own business it’s a bit like having
your own child. Other people may appreciate your child, may
love it to some extent, but it isn’t the same thing. The
degree of attention and of emotion is different when something’s
your own. The restaurants are my babies in fact! (laughs)
How did you end up in Malta?
My husband was working here and I joined him. In actual fact
I was then trying to go to America from Malta. I wanted to finish
my studies but my husband told me that if I really wanted to
study I could do that anywhere. So I stayed and started attending
the Psychology course at the University of Malta. It was a psychological
need in me to study psychology! More than anything else its
to find out who I am, what I am, what can I do, what makes me
tick. I’m still looking, still discovering.
English literature, psychology, business and catering?
I went into business still looking for “myself”. It
was a need for me to identify myself, to prove myself as a person.
At that time making money was not an issue at all. When I opened
the Blue Room I was seeking the response, the feedback and the
approval from people. That was very important for me. After
three years I came to the conclusion that what I needed to do
most was to get my own approval for what I do. If I manage to
get that priority in order than everything else follows. When
I opened Chinese Story (last November) I think I was still in
a frame of mind of needing other people’s response, their
feedback, their reactions.
Ultimately, what are you “testing’ though? Other
people or yourself?
Myself I think. Still, I now realise that one predominant element
in human nature is everybody’s need to seek approval. Its
not due to insecurity though. Well, not always. I’m a great
worrier. Perhaps its an oriental outlook: Nothing will last
forever. The bad things will pass but the good things will never
last. I’m a firm believer in that. When I’m in a fix
I encourage myself by saying that it won’t last. When things
are going well I warn myself not to become too complacent because
bad things will surely follow.
But that’s pessimism!
Yes (smile). I’m not really a pessimist but I try not to
over-react to things, to remain calm, whatever the circumstances.
I think that is the only way to look after yourself. Too many
people tend to over-react for the smallest of reasons. Stay
calm and live for today.
You’ve mentioned a number of “outlooks” towards
work, towards life in general. What do you believe in most?
I’m a very spiritual person. All people, at the end of
the day, are spiritual beings. Our energy changes forms: Today
you live, tomorrow you will be a part of the “other being”.
You will not be living but you will still exist. I don’t
have any hard and fast denominational faith but I do believe
in some superior spiritual “being” existing around
us.
On to more mundane matters, why catering?
I was at University here but I wanted to do something tangible
with myself. I love art, for example, but I don’t think
that I have the talent to be an artist. The academic road is
a very very long one. You have to invest all your time, all
your years, and you still never know where you are. So, I think
that business was a bit of a short-cut for me.
A short-cut?
A short-cut in finding a way how to prove myself to myself.
To determine my goals and my capabilities.
But why business and catering? You must have felt some sort
of positive pre-disposition towards it?
I knew nothing about business. I went into catering because
I felt that I could also make something artistic out of what
I do. I felt that I had something to give. I would never dare
to do something “different” for the sake of being
different. But I was convinced that I could apply a different
approach. I also think that I was quite lucky too.
Do you risk? Are you disposed to take gambles?
Business is a big gamble because you can never tell which way
it is heading. I will take risks but I don’t “gamble”
because the risks I take are calculated risks. Common sense
and instinct play a very important role in business for me.
Risk and luck. Which is the most important?
I would say that calculating your chances properly accounts
for about 70 per cent of success. Luck 30 per cent.
You mentioned a different “approach” in what you
do. Can you elaborate?
I want everything to be refined. Dining out has become such
an important part of our culture and it can be a wonderful experience.
It is also an excellent opportunity to relax. I want my customers
to feel relaxed, to really enjoy the good things in life. For
this to happen you have to provide them with a refined environment.
Isn’t it ironic that you place so much emphasis on your
customers relaxing when you yourself admitted to not being able
to relax?
I was a very relaxed person until I started out in this business!
(laughs). But its impossible for me to stop now. Today its my
bread and butter too but it’s definitely much more than
just that. It provides me with a purpose, with my sense of satisfaction.
Do you equate success with results obtained or with the satisfaction
that you derive along the way?
With both. I believe that if I do something and work very hard
at it, I will still obtain satisfaction from the fact that I
have done my best, even if what I did failed to get the desired
results. That’s the process. But ideally the results should
always be there as well.
What motivates you most, the “end” or the “means”?
I don’t really think about that very much. I do the things
that need to be done here and now. You can’t
really focus on the results too much. Otherwise the ‘results’
will dominate whatever you do. I usually tend to follow the
basic plans that I would have laid out for myself at the beginning
of something. So far my goals and the actual end results have
been pretty much the same. So far so good.
Do you have many goals in life?
I used to have many. I’ve always wanted to do something
useful, to be useful. To have a feeling of
usefulness most of all. To myself mostly, I suppose. It’s
the “proving yourself’ element all over again. I have
this very strong need to achieve. I’m also a bit contradict-ory
in the sense that I give a lot of importance to what people
think, to what people say. At the same time, if I feel strongly
about something, I will carry on regardless of what anyone else
thinks. For example I was heavily criticised for making the
restaurant (Chinese Story) a no-smoking restaurant. But I had
faith in my choice because in the long run it will be good for
the restaurant. So I will stick to my decision.
Are you quick to decide, to make decisions?
I’m secure in my decisions. Although I’m a worrier
it doesn’t mean that I’m insecure. I have faith in
myself. That faith, however, needs constant feeding. I’m
over 30 now and I’ve reached that time in my life when
I should be mature enough, when I should have enough common
sense to make the right decisions.
How important is change to you?
I’m not afraid of change because change gives you new opportunities.
Without change you die as a person. That’s why I prefer
fresh rather than artificial flowers. Fresh flowers reflect
change, they reflect the life cycle. They die but then the cycle
begins again. And that’s why life is so important. Because
there is death. The notion of death makes your life much more
precious, more beautiful. Without it life would be meaningless,
something you take for granted.
Have you changed a lot as a
person?
I hope so and I hope that I continue to change, to become a
better person. I respect wise people very much but I believe
you can only become a truly wise person when you are middle-aged
– its only then that you can tell what is what. Although
as a woman I don’t particularly look forward to growing
old, as a person I’m ready to accept the changes. I’m
looking forward to being different.
Are there any conflicts between family- and professional-life
?
I have a baby daughter who’s almost two. My daughter’s
nanny is a great help to me in that regard. Although my daughter
probably looked at me as her sister and her nanny as the mother
figure up until some time ago, I think that now she is old enough
to recognise me as her mother. I think my daughter needs me
more as a guide for her life, as a teacher, rather than someone
who satisfies her basic requirements. I see my role in her life
as being the one who can teach her how to become a good person.
I don’t think that anyone else can take over those responsibilities.
I look after the
priorities.
Are you very much a “priorities” person?
Definitely. I also compile lists of things to do, but for other
people! I think I’m pretty good at delegating.
What’s good management?
Recognising what other people are good at. Nobody’s perfect
and nobody’s useless. You have to identify other people’s
abilities and focus on those strengths. Then again, I don’t
like to concentrate too much on what a person is good at for
a particular period of time, their temporary abilities, if you
like. Its easy to learn skills. I prefer to look at a person’s
inner qualities, their potential.
Are you a good judge of character?
Quite. I have a good instinct for people. I think I am intuitive
about people. It’s obviously female intuition (smiles).
What about being a woman in a predominantly man’s world?
I don’t see my role as being one of competing against other
people. I’m not in it for that. Then again I’m constantly
competing against myself, re-evaluating my standards, setting
them higher. I don’t think that there are any particular
advantages or disadvantages in being a woman in this business.
I don’t believe that it’s that
much of an issue. I think it’s
more about one’s personal style of doing things. The man/woman
question might become an issue if you allow it to. I don’t
socialise much because I am very committed to my work, and anyhow
I believe that familiarity does breed contempt so I like to
keep a safe distance.
And being a Chinese woman in Malta?
I don’t really think that that’s an issue either.
I’m quite convinced that most people look first and foremost
at the person and not where they’re coming from.
Do you see yourself as a
workaholic?
Yes. A self-confessed one. (Smiles). For example I stopped working
only two days before I gave birth to my daughter. I put so much
of myself into my work it becomes very hard to think of anything
else. You have to be very focused. I don’t believe in pure
genius. In order to succeed you need to be completely concentrated,
totally focused on what you are trying to achieve. Otherwise
its just a waste of time.
In order to be focused do you need to be obsessive?
Yes, I suppose so. Perfectionism is a kind of obsession isn’t
it? I tell my staff that I am a perfectionist and I also encourage
them to become perfectionists too. Nobody’s perfect but
you must make the effort. You have to at least try to become
perfect. I think it’s also a natural impulse. Everyone
tries to do a good job of whatever they’ve set out to do.
Do you have “big” goals, big dreams?
I think that I’ve already passed the “big dreams”
stage in life. Maybe its maturity that prompts me to believe
that reality is far more important than dreams. My goals are
far more modest now. Maturity gives you the ability to choose
your goals properly and then its up to you to go for them. I
do see myself as an ambitious person. I don’t think that
you can achieve any success without ambition, it’s the
basic element, the basic requirement for success.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Not any one particular piece of advice. I think its more an
accumulation of different pieces of advice.
And the best advice you could give others?
Focus on education. If you intend to create a large building
you need the basic bricks. The foundation of success is education.
What is success?
Probably everyone has a different definition for that. For me
it’s a sense of satisfaction. The satisfaction you get
when you’ve achieved something.
Do you see yourself as a successful person?
(Laughs) Oh, no, not at all. No. I’ve just started! And
I’d be quite surprised if others do look at me that way
too.
Do you plan to be successful?
Well, (pause), I think I’d have to say yes. I’d call
it a determination to “do” something. Success is not
really something you “plan”. But I think everybody
has this urge to become successful one way or another.
What is the secret of success?
Throw yourself into whatever you do a 100 per cent. Dive in!
Are you a happy person?
Yes. I don’t think I’d be able to tolerate doing anything
I didn’t like. I do have to feel happy doing what I do.
And I am (smiles).
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