Uncle Don’s

September 05, 2020

Uncle Don’s, a chain of fusion cuisine family restaurants and gastrobars  (Dukes & Duchess) with 21 outlets now in Malaysia, was started by Ian Ong Ming Hock and his buddy, chef Don Daniel Theseira. The restaurant group is wholly owned by Uncle Don’s Holdings Sdn Bhd. Its 4 member board of directors include Jahnel Aquaron who is chief operating officer and co-founder and Atkins Risha Abraham who is in charge of all aspects of the IT infrastrastructure of the company.  

The first Uncle Don’s opened for business in January 2016 at SS2 Petaling Jaya at a set up cost of RM400,000. The brand slogan “ Dine like a Don everyday” is now popularly known among regular customers.  Ian Ong was a law lecturer for several years before he ventured into the F & B industry. He said in an interview with Options that he lost a lot of money in the early years of his business ventures before he made it with Uncle Don’s. The restaurant group launched its 11,000 sqft central kitchen in September 2018. Uncle Don’s has won several awards including The BrandLaureate Master Brand Builder of the Decade for 2019-2020 and the Golden Bull Award 2020. The family restaurants generate revenues of between RM350,000 – RM600,000 per month while the gastrobars generate RM200,000 – RM250,000 per month.


Read more

  1. An Introduction to Uncle Don’s. https://uncledons.com.my/
  2. The Star. 3 July 2019. Asia Poly ventures into F&B sector. https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2019/07/03/asia-poly-ventures-into-fb-sector
  3. Shareholders Agreement between Asia Poly Holdings Berhad and Uncle Don’s Holdings Sdn Bhd.  2 July 2019. http://disclosure.bursamalaysia.com/FileAccess/apbursaweb/download?id=95724&name=EA_GA_ATTACHMENTS
  4. Options. Jose Barrock. 14 October 2018. The man behind Uncle Don’s . Ian Ong on how he found success with the cult-status eatery. https://www.optionstheedge.com/topic/food/man-behind-uncle-dons
  5. The Star. 14 December 2019. Yvonne Tan. Uncle Don’s Eyes listing. https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2019/12/14/uncle-dons-eyes-listing