Prologue: Reworking History Pt. 1

After an extensive search for locations, the founders finally stepped upon its current location at the prompting of a close aide. It was at this point that I finally had the opportunity to walk alongside their experience day by day and relate them to you in this manner as I was finally engaged and drawn into the idea. Looking back, it probably began from 1 April 2010.

The space that Myst sits on was in a disheveled state when we first came upon it. The floor tiles were damaged in parts, one entire wall section was bare with a clear indication of forced tile removal. There was rubble literally everywhere. The lot was entirely without power or water with the main circuit having been removed for some reason. The drainage system was not in any better condition. Looking up, the ceiling was mostly torn apart with loose fittings, wiring and such.

However the was a certain gleam in their eyes as they eyed the interior. Apart from a glass door that we would probably not use, there was a gem amidst the rubble - an emerald green marble sink fitted for the wash basin. It almost seemed like there was a glimmer of hope to refurbish everything and to turn it back into something of value.

Yup.. Thats the sink. A little polishing would do it well.

After a short discussion, decisions were made, and refurbishing work began to reconstruct the lot into what it is today, a shadow of its past in some sense. The previous operator had apparently jumped in and opened a large scale Chinese dumpling (or siew pau) cafe by even leasing a second lot for production on the third floor. It was a pretty cocky move in my opinion - Unlike the founders, who had little to rely on other than the income generated by the salaries of their family members put together, years of saving on the part of their family, and nothing much more other than a desire to bring an idea into reality. We were 'lucky' that the occurrences of many coincidences actually allowed us to progress quickly through the start-up process. As for what happened to the previous operator would be quite an obvious guess - We could not afford to end up in a similar circumstance.

This "HOPE" Garbage Bag was an interesting find. Talk about bad choice of font -.-

The setting up of an operations from scratch is certainly a huge task to bear, especially in implementing a model that requires the involvement of many different individuals working together as whole. The only pool we could draw from from the little resources available was mostly from friends, family and 'nearby' students - mostly inexperienced with the FnB line. It is kind of interesting that Myst never did have a chef - recipes were developed from trial and error. The operations model was entirely experimental and never implemented before.

Made via trial and error - Still not so bad lah...

With little on our backs, we set out together to arrange for legalities, firstly - the Tenancy Agreement - which was signed soon enough, with a great financial setback due to terms set by the landlord - insisting that the rent must be paid for the first month barely days after a verbal confirmation was made. Tensions were high right off the bat as we discovered unearthed more and more skeletons while analyzing and taking measurements for the interior.
 

Yep.. no power.

A clear manipulation in implementing the power and water supply had all of us pretty much on our own, playing off against predators seeking easy meals from the market. It was an early call to exercise caution and wisdom in dealing with matters from this point onwards. After engaging the services of a contractor known to a close aide, the founders decided to have a little 'backyard game' while waiting for principal renovation works to be completed. This lead to one menu section in Myst dedicated entirely to it.

A view of the bar counter base frame

The start up plan for Myst incorporated a 1-month delay contingency plan - Nothing that special actually - Just planning to have 1 month of extra time before the proposed launching date. We live in Malaysia after all - so it was bound to happen in a way. This proved to be quite worthwhile after experiencing severe delays even in the principal renovation works (The conclusion: Never trust a contractor unless you are doing it yourself).

The bar counter going up with the kitchen divider in the background. This was the fast part. Then everything slowed to a crawl. -.-

Despite the delays and numerous hurdles we faced throughout the setup phase, nevertheless, our moods began to lighten a lot more as we progressed through the schedule. One notable mention must have been Amin, an Indonesian worker who greatly assisted us in working on the heavy woodwork that lines the interior, which is also a result of the work of our very own hands.

This is the only shot we have of our dear Amin who worked up about 50% of the woodwork by himself. Take note of the baldy heads in the background :D

Pieces slowly coming together. Next was resanding and painting. Then cleaning, and then.., and..

Time quickly came to pass, and soon, we realized we were running late on the schedule, as expected. There were other notable mentions along the was:

1. The amazing speedy approval of our food operator's permit by the council, which came just moments after being tempted to literally purchase the previous operator's permit for RM2000 (Which in itself is quite insane). We simply submitted a good-looking plan - talked nice to the officers (I don't understand the need for some 'apek's or 'taukeh's to talk like complete a**holes), who came, saw and conquered (duh...). Well, every 'taukeh' told us it would take at least half a year to wait for them. Strangely, we were the ones slowing down the application process at MBKS, and the total time came to 3 months flat - as projected.

2. The amazing speedy and numerous sharks lurking out in the sea all waiting for a free meal and nothing more. Strangely they don't even seem to care about working their way towards their next meal. During this time, one of the founder's had the opportunity to meet a certain Ms. who was desperately trying to resale a flailing operations at a heavily bloated rate, apparently to recover losses from operations. In her and the operator's own words as I heard, (That's probably why I hate parrots) "You are such a young guy with the energy to expand our business. We would much rather sell it to you than anybody else. Don't worry - we have many current customers and sales is going at a nett of RM10000 every month. I can't imagine finding any other candidate than you for taking over this business". Well, the rest was history - literally.

3. The amazing amount of work just about 3 individuals could complete in 1 month's time. We completed 13 huge wooden fences, individually cut, braised, connected, wired, painted. It was literally 7 days of work a week with no off, and no regrets at all - I personally learned what it truly meant to make the most of time. We all realised just how much could be done if only we could set our hearts towards it.

4. The amazing support of an amazing number of people whom we'd probably never be able to repay. It was also during this time that we were exposed to many industries and fields most citizens would never dream of approaching. It also unmasked the ugly truths and realities behind the systems that we have developed for ourselves.

With Myst physically ready for operations, this was the finished product, and also what you would be able to see today:

Seriously, this shot is overused :P

Next would be a near literal hell on earth.. well.. almost...