A Golden Moment with Restaurateur Lindsay Jang

As part of our campaign Golden Together, we’re introducing “Golden Moments”: a seven-part interview series highlighting women who are barrier-breakers empowering others to do the same.

This week, we spoke to the entrepreneur and restaurateur Lindsay Jang about how she went from a small town in Alberta to changing the Hong Kong food world with innovative, community-based and award-winning businesses like Yardbird HK, Ronin, Roti Tori and Sunday’s Spirits. Here, she gets into how collective effort yields the greatest rewards.

You grew up in Edmonton, moved to New York, London and now you live in Hong Kong, can you tell us about that journey?

I was born and raised in Edmonton where my parents owned a Cantonese Chinese restaurant. After high school, I moved to New York to study theatre. While I was there, I worked in the service industry to make money and I ended up getting really into it because New York is such an iconic place for food and beverage. I got a job at Nobu which was my first fine dining experience. I worked my way up through Nobu, and then, I had my daughter.

My partner at the time and I wanted to live somewhere new, so we traveled around for nine months before settling in London where he got a job as a chef. After six weeks of being there, the restaurant offered to relocate him to Hong Kong where he’d be the executive chef. So, we went. Even though my Dad’s side has roots in the city, I didn’t know anyone or have any sort of community there. But what was nice about it was that it reminded me of New York, and ultimately we found a niche we could develop in the restaurant scene.

The restaurant industry is notoriously difficult to get into and stay in and yet you have multiple businesses. What drives you to pursue new success?

Part of it stems from the feeling that I’ve still yet to accomplish something. Another part of it is knowing what I could have done better. Every time my team and I start something new, it’s a collective push to try to do it again based on what we’ve learned. Because they’re restaurants, it’s also fulfilling to be able to plant your flag down somewhere and create something tangible.

What keeps your work exciting?

The feeling of finding my own groove. Yes, it’s hard work to open a restaurant, but it also feels very natural. When I see people discovering what we’ve created for the first time, it keeps it fun. Teamwork is also extremely key to the process, so their happiness and loyalty is very rewarding.

Can you tell us about a Golden Moment you’ve experienced along the way?

Having worked my way up through the restaurant industry, I was often counting pennies. About six months into Yardbird, when we knew it was going to work, I remember feeling a sense of freedom. I could think about things that were out of the question before—the small things like a little more space, better opportunities for my kids, and being able to pause and enjoy the moment.

Do you get a sense of resilience or energy from the community you’ve built around you?

Absolutely. For me, community is a long game.

When people say it’s a small world, you don’t really know what that means until you experience certain things. I got into this industry because someone gave me a chance. And I’m so proud of the people in my team who’ve gone on to start their own businesses.

Of course, I’m also always looking for people to join my team. I think that’s where a lot of the excitement comes from—adding a new person into my corner of the world who brings all sorts of new and interesting perspectives with them.

What does Golden Together mean to you?

It’s about being excited to age together, changing priorities,and working on ourselves. Golden Together is about establishing a sense of comfort with where you are in life.

Photography by Eugene Kan