Zen meets Suyen: Ben Chan brings the flavors of Japan to Manila

My brother Carlos sent me right after college in San Francisco to work here in Osaka. I had long hair — a Bee Gees-style haircut,” explains Ben Chan, the visionary retailer behind Bench. He then adds half-jokingly, “To discipline me.”

Ben worked for a steel company owned by his brother’s Japanese friend, got a proper haircut and a natty business suit; a lot of things have happened since those heady, bell-bottom days. Ben founded a company that became a global lifestyle brand and the rest, as we should say, is Benchstory. Now, Ben Chan, the chairman and CEO of Suyen Corporation, is with Suyen executives Virgilio Lim, Nenita Lim and Bryan Lim traveling through the Land of the Rising Sun to visit food establishments that the corporation will launch in Manila this year (Maisen and Pablo), as well as to drop by St. Marc Café at Ginza and Shinjuku. (Back home, the café is packing people in at the Mega Fashion Hall and in Greenbelt 3.) A few journalists have come along for the ride on a chartered bus with its lounge-like space at the back that would be perfect for a rock band like KISS or Cheap Trick, two American bands so beloved by the Japanese — now, if we only had bottles of hot sake.

Those first trips to Japan were revelatory for the Bench man.

“I was drawn to the unique way the Japanese did things,” he says. “It’s their attention to detail that fascinated me.” He got obsessed with Japanese packaging: how gifts are wrapped, how store items are also wrapped instead of shoved into shopping bags. “There is such reverence in how they do things.”

When he set up Bench, Ben realized that he must put a lot of thought into packaging, and this idea made the brand stand out from its competitors. “Others used ordinary bags and boxes, but you could tell that Bench made more of an effort in its merchandising. I learned all of that from my stint in Japan.” 

He travels to Japan four times a year, usually to Tokyo. You probably never heard this before, but the retail icon loves people-watching in Shibuya and Ginza.

“The upmarket Tokyoites are very fashionable, so well-dressed, and they are connoisseurs of quality,” Ben explains. “And then, at the other end of the spectrum, are the younger ones who wear the most outrageous fashion, the Harajuku crowd. It’s so much fun and quite inspiring to just watch them.”

Japan is an endless source of inspiration for Ben.

“The Japanese are so ahead of the rest of the world. You can say they are 10 years ahead of everyone. Their ideas are so advanced and cutting-edge. Yet, on the other hand, they have preserved their traditions so well. It’s this combination of extreme modernity and extreme traditionalism that makes Japan outstanding.”

Japanese culture is superior in so many ways, Ben amplifies. “They raise everything to an art. The sense of aesthetics is so important to them; everything is aesthetic. Nothing is done half-baked. Everything must be executed to perfection.”

Ben says he was sent by his brother to work in Osaka as a disciplinary measure; the younger Chan learned all about discipline and much, much more.

“The Japanese are among the most disciplined people in the world. It shows in everything they do. There is a prescribed order, and people follow it. Then, there is Zen. I think this is the core of Japanese life. Zen aesthetics is about simplifying everything to its essence. This makes their aesthetics so clean and serene. There is so much sacredness and reverence in even the littlest things. In Japan you realize that culture matters so much. If your country has a strong culture, it will always be a source of inspiration. It will always give its people roots and a sense of pride.” 

Whenever Ben visits Japan to go people-watching, explore Dover Street Market in Ginza, or check out Japanese fashion brands, he usually has breakfast first at St. Marc Café, lunch at Maisen or dessert at Pablo.

“Saint Marc Café of course is all about the Chococro. It’s sourced from the finest chocolate ingredients in the world, and that’s why it’s so unforgettable. Maisen is really known for having the best tonkatsu in Tokyo; you can ask any local and they would tell you that. Pablo, for me, is the best cheesecake in the world. They took the New York cheesecake and raised it 10 levels higher. It’s completely unique. There is no other cake in the world like it.”

And whatever he encounters abroad (hip objects, awesome dishes, great ideas) abroad, Ben has only one thing on his mind: bring ‘em to Manila. 

“When we opened Paul (French bakery-coffee shop; there’s one at the ground floor of the Bench Tower at The Fort and also at SM Aura) we were overwhelmed with the tremendous response. It was concrete proof that Filipinos are ready for the best in the world. We Filipinos are not just enjoying the best, but demanding it.”

Why St. Marc, Maisen, Pablo or even an affordable udon place such as Marugame Seimen in particular?   

“My strategy for food is to just go for the best. Only bring it in if you know it’s the best. It’s very fulfilling to see Filipinos lining up for good food. And it was a natural progression that we would bring in food concepts from Japan. That’s where the best in the world is. It’s a culture of perfectionism. And since they are Asian, I think their take on food is a bit closer to the Filipino palate. There’s a natural synergy.”

Okay, let me say this like an overture for an opera: in the next few paragraphs we will meet Ben Chan as baker, preparer of porkchop, and even as a cheesecake-shop signholder — hands-on, self-effacing and ever-so-fashionable.