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Yardbird founder Lindsay Jang on finding time for family, Hong Kong’s best restaurants, her wellness business and her Rolex Oyster Date Perpetual

Lindsay Jang at The Upper House in Admiralty, Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Lindsay Jang at The Upper House in Admiralty, Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong
XXIV 2021

  • The serial entrepreneur is also behind Ronin, creative agency Hecho, Sunday Grocery, Sunday Spirits and Family Form, a wellness residency at The Upper House
  • When she is not teaching classes, Jang is on the phone running her restaurants, agency and other businesses, as well as looking after her children and her passion

Lindsay Jang is a serial entrepreneur in Hong Kong known for co-founding the popular Japanese yakitori Yardbird and seafood-focused izakaya Ronin (with former partner Matt Abergel), as well as curated convenience store Sunday Grocery and boutique beverage company Sunday Spirits. The couple came to Hong Kong in 2009 from Canada thinking they would stay only for a short time, but the city is now home and the base for a creative agency, Hecho.

They’ve done it all this in their 10 years in the city, plus managed to raise two children: Lili, 13, and Ronin, 10.

Lindsay Jang photographed at The Upper House in Admiralty. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Lindsay Jang photographed at The Upper House in Admiralty. Photo: Jonathan Wong
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More recently, Jang has started Family Form, a wellness studio residency at The Upper House, which she describes as “a dynamic and immersive physical and mental workout which involves mat-based full-body sculpting”.

“Before I was into F&B, I was actually into health and wellness,” says Jang, who admits the new business has not gone to plan because of the pandemic, but says she has big plans for it. “My focus and passion is health and wellness [and especially] a holistic idea of fitness and ageing. I like the term pro ageing. What has become important to a lot of people now, and what people are really starting to understand, is that prevention and taking care of yourself is the only way forward, otherwise you’re just going to be sick. This world is toxic.”

Lindsay Jang has balanced restaurants and wellness businesses with a family. Photo: @lindsayjang/Instagram
Lindsay Jang has balanced restaurants and wellness businesses with a family. Photo: @lindsayjang/Instagram

With so many responsibilities, time is of the essence. Jang says her typical day starts around 6am. “If I have my kids – I split my kids 50/50 with their father [Abergel], who lives a three-minute walk away from me – I’m up by 6-6.30am to get them up and ready for school. And then I head straight to my fitness studio,” says Jang.
“On most days, I teach two classes in the morning, and I’m working in between, usually on my phone or on emails. By 1.30pm I’m usually done and then I start my meetings for the restaurants or the agency or anything else I have to do.”

“Since Covid I have missed connecting with friends and family all over the world,” says Jang. “I used to travel 40 to 50 per cent of the year. I spent a lot of time in Korea and LA. We were going to open a restaurant in LA. We were doing pop-ups with the restaurant all over the world.”

Lindsay Jang and one of her children. Photo: @lindsayjang/Instagram
Lindsay Jang and one of her children. Photo: @lindsayjang/Instagram