DANIEL LIM
ENTREPRENEUR, APOLLO DINING
THE QUINTESSENTIAL RENAISSANCE TALENT,
Daniel studied fashion design then graduated to producing fashion shows. The tasteful stylist then turned his eye towards building villas in Bali with a trusted group of friends, each lending their own aptitudes. Today, he’s best known as a purveyor of Apollo Dining, a restaurant that combines fiery Southeast Asian flavours with the earthy focus of Italian culinary traditions. Here’s a peek into his creative brain:
You’ve done well in such seemingly unconnected industries. How do you do it?
I think as a creative person I like challenging the boundaries is various disciplines, and inspiration can come from many places. The concept for Apollo Dining was modeled around the Apollo oven which is used for roasting. I think it’s important to live in the moment and open your senses to new ideas. Every person has a unique perspective that needs to be expressed. If you gave a single theme or object to ten separate artists, each of them would interpret it differently.
What’s it like running a restaurant?
Nothing like my expectations. There’s a lot less entertaining and you really just have to be around to do anything that needs to be done. You need a lot of inspiration to run a restaurant and I get mine from the places I’ve been to, the food I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying.
What’s your personal style like?
My style is understated lux, I’m usually dressed in linen, what you might call resort wear. It might surprise some people but my go to colours are monochrome and neutral tones that are very classic. I also use fine jewelry as a key accent to my style - they can make simple outfits looks instantly polished.
What do you do when you have a day off?
I go horse riding. I’ve been doing that for a year now. And when times were better, I love travelling overseas. Travelling is a great source of inspiration and new ideas.
What are the biggest misconceptions about you?
I’m very reserved with people I’ve only just met. And that can come off as me being a bit serious or difficult to handle. But I’m really a crazy fun person to hang out with once you get to know me. AM