DALLAS Chicken & Ribs owner Imran Shahid was perplexed when his customers kept asking him for 'chilli sauce'.
The Briton, who is of Pakistani descent, hails from London where ketchup is preferred. Fortunately, the 24-year-old caught on by the second day.
That was in April.
Since then, Mr Imran has also learnt that Singaporeans like the concept of 'all-you-can-eat' buffets.
So, he introduced a $10 buffet in June, where patrons can munch on as many fried chicken pieces as they want, at his outlet in Upper Cross Street.
Little did he know they would 'clean out his kitchen', he recalled with a laugh.
These are only two among many lessons the first-time food-and-beverage entrepreneur learnt in the last two months.
Mr Imran, who has a law degree and comes from a family of IT and property businessmen, took a loan of $100,000 from his father to start Dallas in Singapore.
Last Saturday, he closed the 40-seater restaurant to fix his cooking machinery, try out a new recipe and tweak 'a breading problem'. He had to turn away a couple of irate customers who had gone to his shop in anticipation of enjoying the buffet.
Little did he know that he would be misquoted in the HardwareZone. com forums, whose members are responsible for generating much publicity for the out-of-the-way establishment.
'I said we were closed for the day,' said Mr Imran in his slight Cockney accent. 'I didn't say we had closed down.'
The reason for the misunderstanding, said executive officer Johan Chen, 28, also a HardwareZone. com member, was that Singaporeans were not used to Mr Imran's accent.
While most of the misinformed forum members have since been corrected and business has since picked up, the buffet will return only on Monday.
But the bargain hunter need not fret - meals at Dallas start from as low as $5.
'This week, I want to see if people are coming for my chicken or just the cheap buffet. Also, I want feedback about my new recipe,' he said.
Customer feedback is important to Mr Imran, who isn't afraid to ask customers for ratings.
But this is also where one aspect of the culture difference between Mr Imran and Singaporeans surface.
'Some people are obviously quite uncomfortable when I do that. Back home, people are generally more relaxed,' he said.
Back home - Southfields in Southwest London - KFC is not halal and people prefer their chicken to be marinated with less spice and more salt.
These are not the only differences that he has observed.
'From the beginning, I knew that Singaporeans love their prata. So, I substituted tortilla skin for roti prata in my chicken wrap.'
He had chosen to set up shop in Singapore due to its image as a business hub. Two of his paternal uncles, also businessmen, are here, and Mr Imran remembered his pleasant holiday visits over the years.
Now, his goals are to break even and open a few more Dallas outlets in Singapore.
He said: 'I'm looking forward to completing my menu - there will be ribs, pizzas, veggie burgers, hot drinks and dessert soon. Maybe I'll introduce something that Singaporeans like, such as ice kacang.'
