In The Spotlight

Insights from some of the industry’s most influential figures

MICHAEL MA

Founder and group CEO, IndoChine Group, Singapore

Born in Vientiane, Laos to a Thai father and a Laotian mother, Michael Ma moved with his family to Sydney when he was a boy to escape the chaos of civil war. He grew up there, later moving to Singapore in the 1990s. Initially a commodities trader, he started the first IndoChine restaurant bar at Club Street in 1999, specialising in cuisine from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Since then, he has grown the brand internationally, to countries such as Germany, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and India, and exponentially, moving into resorts and hotels. Today, he oversees seven establishments in Singapore and a resort in Phuket, with expansion plans in the works.

Of his Teochew heritage, Ma says, “My family, my mother, my grandmother: we just love food. We grew up in this environment. Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese, you name it, we eat everything.”

Along with a food-loving, fun-seeking outlook, Ma adopts a green and sustainability-conscious ethos. From day one, he has been environmentally conscious, in ways such as never serving endangered species such as blue and yellow fin tuna, shark’s fin and caviar; and adopting energy-efficient technologies.

What are the nuances between Thai, Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian food?