Born and raised in KL, this culinary arts major went from supplying cakes to founding The Fish Bowl, a popular chain of poke bowl restaurants based in Malaysia.
Now, Aaron Lim is the co-owner and chef at Kubis & Kale – a healthy food restaurant in Bandar Sunway, Selangor, made accessible for all.
Let’s meet the man leading the nutritious food scene in Malaysia!
To start off, how has 2020 been thus far for you?
Aaron: It has been a very challenging 2020, with COVID-19 to lockdowns, social distancing, and all – it hasn’t been great, or should I say… normal? But one thing is for sure, this has gotten us to take two steps back as a whole.
It has given us time to slow down and fix what’s not perfect, and to be able to focus on what’s in our hands.
And certainly it has gotten us here at Kubis new goals and directions. We’ve been able to come together stronger than ever as a team.
And I must say, the team is doing such a tremendous job altogether, and I couldn’t be prouder.
You’ve been heavily involved in the healthy food industry since 2016, what keeps you going?
I’m really driven by food, and i’ve always been motivated to serve the community.
One of the things I love about what I’m doing is to be able to witness the food doing the talking.
I’m always grateful to see everyone enjoy it.
I want to change the perception of healthy food being bland and boring, and show people that healthy food can be tasty, flavourful and fun too!
– Aaron Lim, Kubis & KALE Founder
And of course, to have such amazing partners and to be able to lead this amazing team at Kubis & Kale – this is what motivates and inspires me to be the better version of myself everyday.
What’s a typical day in your life like?
6am – Wake up, read some news, and make sure our BOH (back-of-house) is ready for the respective day. Daily SOP and work prep takes up to 1 hour via briefing from the phone.
7am – Head out to gym to workout – takes up to 2+ hours
10am – Have a quick breakfast and head to Kubis. Then we check all raw materials delivered by our suppliers and make sure our lunch service food/produce/stock is up to standard for serving. Then we have our morning daily briefing right after with a coffee (a must) – to make sure everyone knows what’s going on from BOH to FOH (front-of-house) to ensure smooth operation for lunch service.
12pm – You’ll be able to find me wherever needs my attention – service line, kitchen, service, dish wash, and so on.
3pm – Time for a quick lunch and then back to work. I spend my time mostly in the kitchen now to make sure that our production is up to standard.
6pm – It’s dinner service time at Kubis, so again, you’ll find me wherever my attention is needed.
8.30pm – Closing briefing for the team to debrief everyone on the entire day’s operational problems and feedbacks – the good and bad.
10pm – Closing, cleaning, I help make sure that everything is cleaned and scrubbed to standard and we’re well-prepared for tomorrow’s service. Then I’ll head home and have a quick dinner.
11pm – Shower time. Then I get packed up for the next day and I move on to paperwork, research, and preparing our new menu.
12am+ – It’s off to bed for me. Goodnight!
You founded The Fish Bowl in 2016. Why did you decide to launch Kubis & Kale in 2019?
Simple. To serve good, real, awesome and affordable healthy food.
Malaysia has fast become a healthier nation, and it’s more open to trying new and fresh concepts – so that’s where Kubis & Kale comes in. Kubis focuses on serving tasty, healthy food that is affordable to all walks of life.
– Aaron Lim, Kubis & KALE Founder
We believe everyone deserves to put good food into their bodies, and we’ve carried that responsibility till now.
We want to be that flagship store for all when it comes to healthy food – be it poke bowls, warm superfood, healthy juices and many more to come like tacos, breads, sandwiches, desserts and so on.
Tell us a bit more on Kubis & Kale. What are some must-tries?
We currently have 2 service lines, which are our Poke and Superfood lines. We have more to be introduced soon.
Our best-sellers are our menu from Superfood and it will be our Grilled Steak, Molasses Chicken Breast, and Herb Baked Dory. You should definitely try them out!
What’s something interesting that happened at Kubis & Kale that comes to mind?
One of our craziest days would be the water disruption incident that lasted for 4 – 5 consecutive days. Our reserve water wasn’t enough to withstand that many days.
And it was hectic and chaotic, especially for a restaurant like ours that relies on water a lot – from our BOH to food production, to the FOH and so on.
We had to transport water from elsewhere, and had to be really precise with our water usage at all times. And while transporting, every drop of water lost during transportation was a killer for us.
Get healthy and order Kubis & Kale delivery now
Location:
Kubis & Kale, Lot 2 & 4, Ground Floor, Jalan PJS 11/5, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
View the Kubis & Kale menu & order here: kubisandkale.beepit.com/
Follow Kubis & Kale on social media:
Want good food delivered to your doorstep? Just Beep it!
