London & South East Premier Hospitality

Creating the perfect balance

Yongho, Fetter Lane, London
Written by Roma Publications

Yongho, Fetter Lane, London

Yongho – meaning ‘the balanced way’ in Mandarin – is a fantastic new Asian-inspired fast food restaurant situated on Fetter Lane, London.

Yongo opened its doors in January 2015 and serves up an authentic collection of Asian dishes, ranging from noodles and salads to meat dishes, as well as a selection of Chinese beverages.

Yongho is open Monday to Friday, from breakfast through to dinner, and boasts a menu that offers dishes which are both tasty and filling. Yongho’s offering includes a range of Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisine, with the likes of Hong Shao Pork Ribs and teriyaki chicken on the menu.

Keen to find out a little bit more about the concept behind Yongho, Premier Hospitality recently caught up with the man behind the brand, Yongho Owner, Austin Fang.

Speaking to Premier Hospitality, Austin, said:

“London is a multi-cultural city, so when conceiving this brand I decided what the city really needs is a good quality fast food restaurant which caters for the Asian market.

Yongho, Fetter Lane, London

“When people talk about Chinese food they often think about Chinese takeaways, where meals are not necessarily prepared using an authentic recipe, but I wanted to change this – I wanted to add variety. Also, some of the Asian fast food restaurants on the market try their best to deliver aspects of their culture, but they don’t include anything which appeals to the locality. I realised that if I want people to take on our ideas, then I needed to involve local designers and local chefs.”

Austin added:

“From the initial feedback that we have received since opening, around 90% of our customers said that they really enjoyed the taste of our food. The remainder said our food was quite adventurous – something that they had never seen before!”

Interior design and consultancy specialists Shaun Clarkson ID provided design work on the restaurant. Shaun Clarkson has been closely involved with the UK hospitality industry for more than 20 years, working on an array of high profile sites, from pubs and clubs to bars, restaurants and hotels.

Yongho, Fetter Lane, London

Internally Yongho has been designed with practicality in mind, so one side is laid out with customer seating and the other side of the restaurant is reserved for displaying food. Yongho includes seating for around 30 customers, however there is a strong focus on take away, as Austin is aware that many people will pop in for a lunch time meal which they will take back to the office.

Austin, commented:

“Before we opened the restaurant we conducted some research and found that around 80% of people take their food back to the office with them, so we reflected this in the design and space of the restaurant.”

When asked why he wanted to bring Yongho to the UK, Austin said:

“I think the UK is the perfect location for us as it accepts a global variety when it comes to cuisine. In turn I would like to take European food back to Asia, so this is part of my first plan.”

Yongho, Fetter Lane, London

Although Austin has big plans for developing Yongho on a wider scale, for now he has his mind firmly set on establishing the Yongho brand in the UK, commenting that he aims to “create five to ten sites in the first two years of opening.” It would seem that he is off to a great start already.

For more information on Yongho, please visit: www.yongho.co.uk.

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Roma Publications