Interview Chin Choon Kean (CK Chin) Part 2 - The Mango Tree Indian Coastal Restaurant at I12 Katong

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Expansion Plans : Currently there are only one The Mango Tree Indian Coastal Restaurant in Singapore. If there are interested parties, CK does not rule out the possibility of developing The Mango Tree Brand into a Franchise brand by virtue of its success through these 12 years. 

Menu Expansion - the menu has been there for the past 10 - 12 years since the inception of The Mango Tree and the items are pretty much consistent, with no major changes. Recently CK added more items to the Beverage Category. 

Menu Planning : done by CK with inputs from his three in-house Chefs. The menu is currently divided to include North Indian Cuisine(non-spicy), South Indian Cuisine (spicy), Indian Coastal Cuisine (Mainly seafood). Menu items :  totaling more than 30 items. 

Kitchen staff : CK employs 3 chefs to prepare food. Chef Rana currently is the Chef handling the Northern Indian Cuisine.

Central Kitchen : There is no central kitchen as there is only one outlet. 

Ingredient & Meat Sources : CK sources poultry from local suppliers, live seafood e.g. crabs, fresh chicken & mutton from local market, whilst the boneless chicken are sourced from suppliers who import from Brazil. Spices, sauces & condiments are ordered from local suppliers who import from India. 

Food preparation : The poultry & meats are marinated overnight for more than 8 hours to ensure they are thoroughly infused with the spices & marinate. The doughs for the naan are made enough for the day, the quantity are adjusted depending on the consumption at the restaurant level. The food e.g. Naan, grilled seafood are prepared  ala minute. 

Mission Statement : Experience the Mango Tree 

USP of The Mango Tree compared to otehr restaurants : Freshness, Quality, Purest Finest Ingredients. 

Ordering : Table Service is available. 

Payment : Credit Card Payment Post Payment.

Catering Services : Yes available, no minimum order required.

Booking of Venue : For corporate events 

Takeaways : Yes, available, with no minimum order required. 

Delivery Vendor : CK does own delivery 

Promotion : Currently no tie-up with Banks or Credit Cards yet.

Loyalty Programs : Not yet available . 

Merchandise on sale : Not yet available, even though patrons love The Mango Tree's chutney but they do not sell it yet.

Target market : expat Indians, PMEB, Shoppers 

Seating Capacity : Indoors(60) & Outdoors (40), totaling 100 pax

Signature Items ( ala carte menu ): Seafood items e.g. Spicy Prawn soup, Garlic Prawn, Garlic Crab, TMT Seafood platter, Meen Pollichathu. 

Restaurant is not halal certified as liquor is served. 

Famous Celebrities : Former President S R Nathan (loves Kerala Fish Curry), Shamugum, Prof Jayakumar. 

CK has 3 beautiful teenage daughters who are the Poster Girls for The Mango Tree and adorns the website. 

The legend of how the Mango Tree got its name : CK was jogging along East Coast Road where he noticed a vacant outlet. There was an old tree sited just in front of the vacant outlet. He managed to rent out the vacant outlet from the landlord to develop it into a restaurant. In the course of the construction works, many have asked him to chop down the old tree, CK has refused, and was told by one of his workers that it was a mango tree. To an Indian, the mango tree is a holy tree. Many Indian homes hang dry mango leaves on the front of their doorway, many Indian temples adorn temples with dry mango leaves too. So CK named his restaurant after the mango tree at the old East Coast site - The Mango Tree Indian Coastal Restaurant. 

The Mango Tree Indian Coastal Restaurant is located at : 

112 East Coast Road, 

I12 Katong, #03-11, 

S(428802) 

Tel : 66049661, 66049662