Q: What are your hobbies? How do you spend your weekend?

A: My hobby during the weekend and spare time is traveling around the world to enjoy great food and relax away from my busy work schedule.

I can also experience being an ordinary diner, eating in local restaurants in different countries, learning how to offer the most delicious and thoughtful services to customers in the future.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Perfect happiness for me is the life I am living now. Leading a team of young and passionate professionals, opening more restaurants around China and having a lovely family that has supported me over the past 25 years - that's perfect happiness.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Building the Xiao Nan Guo Group into a global group offering a complex of leisure activities including dining, hospitality and entertainment will be my life's greatest achievement.

Give three words to describe your impression of Chinese businessmen.

Smart, brave, confident

What kind of experience has shaped your thoughts the most?

I think learning is the most important thing in my life. It was taught by my parents during my childhood.

The direct path toward success with great passion is to always be curious about anything new and being ready to learn from it all the time.

I am fond of thinking, observing, and trying to explore the detailed stories of everything in life I've never had the chance to personally get involved with.

What's your favorite dish? Why?

I am not a good cook. I think that is a kind of advantage in running a restaurant. It enables me to taste the dishes in a more innovative way.

I am quite good at rating the dishes to tell whether the customers will like the food or not.

Steamed fish and vegetable salad from Xiao Nan Guo are my favorite dishes. They are both very fresh and delicate.

How do you balance your business and family life?

Luckily, I have a lovely daughter who has supported me thoroughly through understanding my busy work schedule and frequent business trips.

I tried to squeeze a certain amount of time to talk to my daughter from time to time and hopefully I have been a good mother for her.

China Daily

(China Daily 01/31/2013 page15)