Mr Alan Lo on eating, drinking and working in Hong Kong.

Nosy, insecure beings that we all are, we like to know what makes successful men tick, and see how green the grass is on the other side. Well, it keeps us occupied, anyway – which might explain why we have spoken to everyone from a master chocolatier and world-champion boxer to a fashion designer for our My Working Day series. And today, it’s the turn of the restaurant owner.

Being a restaurateur is something that many of us, with the requisite funds and time, would relish. So we spoke to Mr Alan Lo – co-founder and executive director of Hong Kong-based restaurant group JIA, and co-founder of Duddell’s – to see what his day entails.

Mr Lo opened Duddell’s Hong Kong in May 2013 and launched the London site in a Grade II listed building last year. He is also heavily involved in the art scene (including The Design Trust, Art Basel and Tate Modern Asia Pacific), which is reflected in his flagship restaurant. He recently partnered with MR PORTER on an exhibition at Duddell’s called Oh…My Toy! from artist Mr Michael Lau.

For the past five or six years, with Duddell’s, I’ve wanted to create a space for those who are passionate about art who can come together to eat, drink and socialise. And for the space to become a platform for people to exchange ideas.

I collect art and I sit on two or three art boards. But being a restaurateur is my bread and butter.

I wake up around 8.00am. I have become a morning person in recent years. I have two children – a four-year-old and a 17-month-old who like to wake up early.

I live on Kennedy Road in Hong Kong, a 10-minute walk from a beautiful café called Commissary which is an LA-inspired café. I stop there on my way to a workout at PureFitness, grab a coffee and catch up on some emails. I do boxing once a week, and I have a personal trainer who helps me out. I’m in the food business, so I eat and drink a lot. I need to do some damage control.

I’m not in my office a whole lot. I meet a lot of people throughout the week. We run a number of venues in town, so we end up camping out there. Apart from Duddell’s, I look after Classified – a collection of around 11 neighbourhood cafes in Hong Kong.

I have breakfast at around 9.00am, which often becomes a meeting. I’ve been looking for The Wolseley of Hong Kong, but it doesn’t exist. The Mandarin Grill + Bar at Mandarin Oriental Hotel is lovely, however.

Once every two weeks, we have our operations meeting with the team at Duddell’s Hong Kong, and we skype the team in London as well. We do two calls a week regarding marketing, social media, and on operations. Once a month I have an important meeting with my classified team as well.

For lunch, I tend to beat the crowd and head out at about 2.00pm. We do a lot of collaborations with brands and auction houses – their offices are in central Hong Kong. There is a great Japanese bar called Sushi Sase. I also like the Tate Dining Room & Bar on 210 Hollywood Road. The chef Vicky Lau was voted Asia’s best female chef a couple of years ago.

In the afternoon I am very busy running around. I have offices in Wan Chai as well as the industrial, cool part of the island. I’m in between the two offices depending on which day of the week it is. My desk is a complete mess. I have art and design books on there, presentations, auction catalogues and VIP passes. On a slightly lazier afternoon with hours to spare, I can sneak into one of the galleries to see what shows are on.

I never really finish work. I have meetings until around seven. Often I will put the children to bed and come out for a late dinner at 8.30pm.

I love La Petite Maison, which has just opened in Hong Kong. They have one in London too, a block behind Claridge’s in Mayfair. The food is solid, very well prepared and simple – which we all love these days. No one wants to eat a four-hour meal any more. After dinner I might go to a tiny little hole-in-the-wall bar called The Old Man, tucked away in an alleyway in Sheung Wan. It’s super-cool.