GEORGE TOWN – After a one-year hiatus, Ramadan buffets in hotels are in full swing now as hoteliers hope that it will mark a rebound in their business after over a year in the doldrums.
Operators are putting all their hopes on the food and beverage department to start the cash flow going, compensating for the lack of room occupancy during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Director of communications of G Hotel, Christina Tan, told The Vibes that they will only see an increase in occupancy when the state borders re-open. Before the launch of their Ramadan buffet spread, they were relying heavily on takeaways.
“Though we earn very little from it, at least we can look at covering our cost. With borders closed, some companies support us by having their meetings and events here, but since there are no outstation guests, there is no need for them to book rooms.
“This year, our spread is almost the same as two years ago, but much cheaper – with almost 50% reduction,” she said.
G Hotel, located at the hip Gurney Drive stretch, has rolled out their Citarasa Muhibbah Ramadan Buffet promotion at RM99 for adults. Since iftar is only memorable when shared, they are offering a buy three, get one free deal.
Highlights of their spread include fried Koay Teow, roast lamb leg and Assam Curry Fish. The star of the show, surprisingly, is the tau fu far with a soft and smooth, almost jelly-like consistency, lightly sweetened by aromatic gula Melaka.
Hotel Royal, situated at the heritage city's buffer zone, is serving over 100 local and Middle East specialities at only RM78 per pax. Executive sous chef, Rozairy Roslan, also known as Chef Authentic Cuisine, was adamant about creating mouth-watering classics, ones that will make you reminisce about kampung flavours.
Their spread of classic sambals and kerabus is impressive, but the winner goes to the richly flavoured nasi biryani and mutton dalcha. Praises were also ringing for the bubur lambuk, an all-time favourite during this season.
At the Golden Sands Resort, a sister property of the iconic Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa property, the element of offering mouth-watering delights near the beachfront is their claim to fame.
Its veteran director of communications Tunku Sulaiman Tunku Abdul Rahman hopes that the people can begin to enjoy dishes which they had missed for te last year when the movement control order (MCO) had discouraged anyone from venturing outside.
Other hotels are also taking this opportunity to do their corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Iconic Hotel at Bukit Mertajam is currently serving their ‘Singgah Iftar’ Buffet Dinner, with a mouth-watering line-up of specialities like the roast lamb, fried pomfret, choice of pickles and an array of delectable traditional desserts, namely kuih seri muka, onde-onde and cucuk badak at RM98 per person.
RM1 will be contributed to the Badan Kebajikan Rumah Warga Emas Darul Hanan Pulau Pinang per full-paying adult.
Seberang Jaya's The Light Hotel, however, extended an invitation to small businesses to operate within their Ramadan campaign. A cake stall run by two sisters Ashma Bee Sultan, 56, and Mariam Bee Sultan, 45, is one of the Ramadan buffet attractions at the five-star hotel.
Executive Chef of The Light Hotel, Halim Mohamad said serving a variety of traditional Malay desserts by the ladies at their small booth is a way to add variety to the spread.
“The hotel opened participation at the end of last year and asked interested cake traders to send samples of their cakes for selection.
"A final selection round, there were five participants, but we chose the cakes made by the two siblings because it tastes original and delicious," he said.
This year, The Light Ramadan buffet themed 'Eats Malay Heritage' and 'Tabaq Al Maghribi' highlights the traditional Malay dishes and Moroccon delights priced at RM90 per pax.
They are hoping for a good reception from the public so they have the funds to spur on until herd immunity is reached and people can travel again. – The Vibes, April 29, 2020
Additional reporting by Sofia Nasir
