Valentine's Special: Restaurateur couple share what it's like being partners in life and work

Toh and Suren love to discuss food and movies. Photo: The Star/Raja Faisal Hishan

Partners in life and work Suren Krishnan, 39, and Toh Tsun Yee, 37, who own an eatery in Petaling Jaya, first met over 20 years ago through mutual friends.

“We were introduced by a friend who thought we’d look ‘cute together’,” says co-owner Toh.

“It was at a yumcha session after work,” says owner and chef Suren. 

Although we met, we didn’t get together immediately because we were just friends. And we were also seeing other people at that time, reveals the couple from Kuala Lumpur.

“We would go out once in awhile but it wasn’t anything serious. We only got together 10 years ago so this will be our 10th anniversary together,” says Toh.

The turning point

Suren and Toh were first introduced by a mutual friend. Photo: The Star/Raja Faisal Hishan

“It was very weird how we got together. I saw a post of his on Facebook and I messaged him and said hey, we haven’t met up in a while, we should meet up,” says Toh. “And this time, it felt different.”

“Previously, we went out but I guess we were at different places in life and also mentally. But this time, when we met up, it all just seemed to click and fall in place,” says Suren.

The couple dated for around five to six years before they decided to start a business together.

“I was previously a chef for WonderMama in Bangsar,” says Suren.

“And I was in the healthcare industry selling medical devices,” says Toh.

Suren started a pop-up stall selling food as a pet project in Damansara Uptown and then subsequently, when the couple saw a shoplot up for rent in Petaling Jaya, they decided to take the plunge and venture into business together.

“It wasn’t pre-planned. We just drove past this street and noticed that this shop was available for rent so we called and asked, and the package was good, the rental was within our budget, so we decided to just do it,” says Toh.

Valentine’s Day celebrations

As partners in life and business, Suren and Toh spend 24/7 together. Photo: The Star/Raja Faisal Hishan

“Every year on Valentine’s Day, we’re always busy because the restaurant is open for business, for couples to celebrate the special day together. But this year, we’re closed (we’re usually closed on Mondays) so we’re planning to do something special together,” says Suren. “We haven’t decided what though."

“As a restaurant owner, it’s great to see people have that one day in the year – Valentine’s Day – as a reminder to celebrate their love. I think it’s cute to see how people celebrate Valentine’s Day each year and the grand gestures they perform. Someone once put a ring into a dessert at a restaurant I used to work at. It wasn’t even a wedding but just a ring to celebrate their relationship. So they had to be careful not to choke when having their dessert,” he says.

“We’re not really ‘grand gestures’ kind of people. And I’m not big on surprises so we just do simple things to appreciate each other whenever we can. And we take time to laugh about life and try to see the funny side of things,” says Toh.

“We are literally together 24/7 because we live together and we work together. When we opened the restaurant, there was a huge learning curve – how to work together and live together, and still get along,” says Suren.

He shares that it was only then that they realised that there were “small things” that they could do every day to keep their relationship intact, not just as business partners but also life partners.

“While we might not say that every day is Valentine’s Day, if it’s our off day and we’re free, we’ll go out for a special dinner. But we don’t usually make a grand gesture out of it,” he adds.

The couple says that they don’t mind having to work on Valentine’s Day and are pretty much used to it.

“We love to cater to people, and we love having couples in for Valentines’ Day at our restaurant, so we don’t mind having to work on that day,” says Suren.

“We also love to celebrate at home. To express your love to each other, you can do it bit by bit each day,” he says.

Favourite date activity

Toh and Suren love to try new food together and discuss it. Photo: The Star/Raja Faisal Hishan

“We love to watch movies together – blockbusters and action-packed – and the most recent movie we watched at the cinema is Spider-Man (:No Way Home),” says Suren.

“Before the pandemic, we used to go every weekend, but now, we’ve to be more selective and go during less crowded times and to less crowded locations,” says Toh.

“This was one of the activities we used to do together before we opened the restaurant. And we’d have these geeky discussions after the movie,” says Suren.

Toh adds that they also talk about food ... a lot.

“We do go out to try different kinds of food although not as often as before. We try not to talk or critique food as much now since we’re in the food business,” she adds.

Even so, as restaurateurs, it’s hard to refrain from analysing the meals they enjoy when dining out, they reveal.

“It’s so intertwined. Inevitably, we’d be in a half-work mode because we’d compare what we’re having to what we do at our restaurant. We often try a dish and then analyse why it’s so delicious. Is it the service that makes everything so good at a particular restaurant? It does apply to our work, but it’s just an observation and a talking point too,” says Suren.

Partners in work and life

Being together 24/7 was not easy initially, the couple admits. Photo: The Star/Raja Faisal Hishan

At the beginning, it was tough having to both live and work together.

I’m glad we had six years of dating and before that, several years of knowing each other as friends, says Toh.

“Starting a business with your life partner is difficult especially the first few years,” she says. “It was so stressful, we had to manage our finances carefully. And our point of view on business decisions on how to approach things in the restaurant might differ,” she adds.

Toh says that they had to consciously refrain from “taking the problems back home” and learn how to speak to each other – as business partners and then as life partners and lovers – without offending each other.

“It was very tough in the beginning,” admits Toh.


“We argued a lot. But we always tell each other, it’s OK to disagree, but we must make it a point to have a conclusion after the disagreement. We try to come to a healthy compromise and resolution to the issue after that,” she says.

Most of the time, the disagreements are about their differing ideas on how the business can be better, shares Suren.

“But the baseline is that nothing is as important as the relationship. Yes, we know it’s intertwined but we shouldn’t let it impact our relationship,” he adds.

The couple enjoys going on trips together as time out from their work/business and their last trip was to England in 2019 before the pandemic, for a friend’s wedding.

“The past two years have been a roller-coaster ride and this year, we want to expand the business and space and hope that we can train more staff to handle things at the restaurant so that we can take a break. It’s not been easy but we’re still here. We’re still together,” says Suren.

“And we still laugh about it. And we can take it one day at a time,” concludes Toh.