Din Tai Fung, the Chinese restaurant that popularised xiao long bao (soup dumplings) in Singapore, is doing a minor Google.

An apartment in Orchard area has been rented and converted into an upmarket quarters for its workers to rest, nap, surf the net and chill in.

This has been done to attract talent and hopefully change the minds of younger Singaporeans who are reluctant to have a career in F&B.

At Lucky Plaza Apartment

BreadTalk Group runs the Din Tai Fung franchise in Singapore.

The 1,550ft² rented flat is in Lucky Plaza Apartment.

According to Business Insider Singapore, the lounge cost S$70,000 to set up.

Per month, it will cost another S$20,000 to maintain.

It’s a five-minute walk from Din Tai Fung outlets in Paragon Shopping Centre and Wisma Atria and caters to about 150 staff.

It officially opened on Thursday, Jan. 17.

Staff rested in restaurants previously

Before this dedicated lounge was set up, staff usually rested in the restaurant’s back areas during their breaks.

However, it has always been untenable to carve out space in the restaurants just to serve as resting places.

With a dedicated lounge, servers, chefs and cleaners can rest, shower, and eat during daily breaks.

This lounge is a first in the F&B industry in Singapore.

The apartment is equipped with WiFi, showers and beds.

Employees do bring their own sleeping bags, pillows and even bed sheets since the beds are shared.

Chef-cooked meals

For meals, Din Tai Fung chefs cook for all restaurant employees.

At the lounge, the meals are dispensed out of a refrigerated vending machine.

Employees then heat up the food in microwaves in the apartment kitchen.

With three meal choices daily, a variety of different cuisine is made available, which sees a total of 60 meals on rotation.

Meal choices include non-Chinese cuisine such as beef rendang, pasta with meatballs, mussels in curry and Korean fried chicken.

Employees can also get free massages at the lounge, as a result of a partnership with the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped.

An attraction

The restaurant division CEO, William Cheng, told Business Insider that the idea for a lounge started about four years ago.

That was when the government began introducing the foreign worker levy.

Cheng said he thought a lounge would help differentiate the brand and attract younger workers.

Staff attrition at this local company for 2018 was about 25 percent -- lower than the national average of about 30 percent.

Another two lounges will be open in April near the BreadTalk IHQ and Junction 8.

By the end of 2019, the company hopes to have seven lounges.

They will serve the 450 staff across eight of the chain’s 22 outlets.

H/T Business Insider Singapore

Top photos via Din Tai Fung and Google Maps

Content that keeps Mothership.sg going

??
Property hunting can be a chore, but we made it into a game. Sort of.

???
Pretty pastries and cheese fruit teas. Instagram-worthy cafe without breaking the bank.

??
Earn some CASHBACK right now! Don't say we never jio.

?
Find out which decade you should be born in.

??
Here's how to pair your CNY snacks with beer to look like a true blue connoisseur.