Christmas tree displays using recycled materials at Furama Bukit Bintang

By Laura Lee

As we say goodbye to 2019, I am thankful for having been invited to a few Christmas previews and being reconnected to some of my hospitality contacts and social media friends.

At Furama Bukit Bintang’s Spice outlet in Kuala Lumpur, we were treated to a buffet lunch preview, themed A Merry Malaysian Christmas, where our country’ diverse cultures are reflected in its buffet offerings.

They included dishes such as its grilled lamb Furama-style and salmon Wellington with nasi lemak and a widespread of desserts. 

There was also a live station where you can get freshly made crepe suzette to go with the various ice-cream flavours and other condiments.

Its Christmas Day lunch buffet, priced at RM78+ per adult, was quite a steal as it came with a complimentary entrance to the hotel’s Waka Waka indoor playland covering over 10,000 sq ft for the children to enjoy.

Senior citizens and children below 12 years old were given 50% discount while a group of 10 persons and above were entitled to 30% discount for the Christmas Buffet. I hope the hotel can continue to offer such attractive promotions for the coming Chinese New Year.

With Spices @ Furama sited on level 3 next to the hotel’s swimming pool, requests could be made to be seated outdoor by the poolside. We, however, enjoyed the privacy of its private room as they had a huge lunch crowd during our preview. 

To drum up the Christmas spirit, the hotel also organised a Christmas tree campaign using recycled materials which involved its various departments. 

They range from finance, reservations, housekeeping, front office, engineering, sales, security, kitchen, food and beverage to marcoms, purchasing and human relations.

We and the hotel guests are supposed to pick our top two favourite trees, which were placed at its lobby area. I wonder which of these Christmas trees made of recycled materials came up tops.

Furama Bukit Bintang is also doing a charity drive, aiming to raise about RM12,000 worth of funds to help children in need at selected orphanages and shelter homes by selling things like retractable cups for RM28 each. Those interested to purchase can view them at its lobby. 

Where to eat this Christmas and New Year’s Eve: Terraza Brasserie, Dorsett Grand Subang

By Laura Lee

I quite like Dorsett Grand Subang’s 'Around The World Buffet' theme when I went for its food preview held at its Terazza Brasserie outlet in early December as it had a wide variety of food to satiate one’s palate from seafood to Japanese, Western and local fare.

Getting there on a Wednesday evening from my office in Bukit Segambut, Kuala Lumpur was a bit dicey after the office hours but it was worth the while although I missed the hotel’s Christmas tree lighting service by Dorsett Hospitality International vice chairman, Datin Jasmine Abdullah Heng at its lobby.

Its area general manager Christina Toh was mingling with the media at Terazza Brasserie when I arrived while its new marketing communications manager Nora Jaswa was aggressively promoting the hotel’s community charity project TLC Carnival on 14-15 December.

In my excitement of catching up with a former church friend whom I bumped into, I took my time to embark on my survey of the cuisine that was laid out for us to review. 
I thus welcomed my colleague getting me a bowl of double boiled soup to start off my dinner while he happily tucked into the smoked salmon and Japanese sushi.

That's what's left of the smoked salmon when I left at past 10.30pm

Being a seafood and meat person, when I finally made my round, I went for its raw oysters and scallops, char grilled teriyaki beef striploin, lamb varuval and something spicy, stir fried squids with dried chilli.

What I had that night, including some loh hon hai or vegetarian dish

I tried its grilled wrapped seaweed salmon with cilantro sauce but found it slightly “fishy” because of the seaweed. 

That two slices of lemon didn't help dispel the fishy smell

On round two, I had its roasted herbs crusted lamb rack with green peppercorn sauce before I called it a night as I had another Christmas hotel food review during lunch that day. 

My colleague one two many of its inviting lamb rack that I had to finished them

Priced at RM150 nett for an adult and RM75 nett for children aged six to 12, Terraza Brasserie’s Around The World Buffet starts from 6.30 pm to 10.30 pm on 24 and 31 December.

Other promotions
However, if you prefer to indulge in a Christmas Eve buffet supper at RM39.90 nett per person, you can do so at the hotel’s other outlet, Cafe Aroma, which begins at 11pm and lasts until 1am the next day.  

Grand Dorsett Subang is also doing a Christmas Day (25 Dec) and New Year Eve’s (31 Dec) hi-tea buffet at Terazza Brasserie from 12pm to 4pm priced at RM98 nett (Adult). Senior citizens, aged 60 and above, and children pay RM55 nett each.

For the New Year Countdown, the hotel is holding it at its Piano Lounge on December 31 night. Priced at RM60 nett per person, it includes a complimentary glass of selected drinks. Add in another RM39.90 and you get your supper meal.

How’s that as you ring in 2020? While you are here, don’t forget to look out for its Truly Malaysia 14-ft tall Christmas tree at the lobby and other Christmas decorations at its other dining outlets.

Malaysia Airlines' MHholidays launch with TUI

By Laura Lee

I first got wind of MHholidays’ upcoming launch from Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) Sales Department Head Roslan Ismail in March and was reminded about it again by him on 22 July at the Bunga Raya Complex in Sepang when I was there to witness our new Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020 livery on four airlines, including Malaysia Airlines.

The other airlines carrying the new logo and tagline were Firefly, AirAsia and Malindo Air

Despite being asked to give my card again to one of the airlines’ staff, I still didn’t get the media invite to MHholidays on 24 July. I had to call its corporate communications manager for external and media Adlina Mohamed Azharauddin on that day itself at 9.15am and was stumped to learn that the event is happening in the morning!  

I had given my card to their corporate com staff before this, including to one of their senior executive Norshafiza Zulkifli this year, who can send me post releases, including MHholidays launch, but not the media invites! 

That is not helping me very much to do my job when I’m covering the aviation beat for a monthly publication these last two years. Got Adlina to whatsapp me the details. 

I was sent the itinerary and not the proper media invite. Thought it was rather unprofessional coming from someone representing a corporate organisation and a national carrier.

I can’t help but remember what we Malaysians coin for MAB’s former name, Malaysian Airline System (MAS): Mana Ada System, which means “Where’s the system?” 

I managed to arrive for MHholidays launch when the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik was making his speech.  

The invited guests and media at the launch

For its MHholidays launch, the national carrier is working with Europe’s largest leisure, travel and tourism company TUI to enable travellers to tailor-make their holidays by combining their flights with hotels by tapping into TUI Group’s Global Distribution Network. 

Apparently, travellers can “unlock exclusive and affordable deals from Malaysia Airlines and save up to 80% off on hotels” following this new tie-up while the airline will be able to reach new customer segments and generate additional revenue.

According to MAB Group Chief Operations Officer, Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, MHholidays will have over 5,000 accommodation partners ranging from budget hostels to luxury suites and will be expanding its portfolio to include ground transfers and tours.   

Those booking packages on MHholidays can also earn Enrich miles on their flight portion.

To commemorate the MHholidays launch, a cake cutting ceremony was also held with Ahmad Luqman, Muhammad Bakhtiar and Frank Rosenberger, member of the TUI Group Executive Board for IT and Future Markets participating in it. 

To celebrate its launch, MHholidays is having a social media contest on Instagram from 24 July to 6 August where you can submit photos of your recent holidays or trips with Malaysia Airlines and complete the caption, “I deserve a dream holiday experience with Malaysia Airlines because...”  

You also need to tag @malaysiaairlines and include the following hashtags: #MalaysiaAirlines #MHholidays and #HolidayswithMalaysiaAirlines. 

The winner with the most unique caption and the most likes gets to win a packaged flight and five-star hotel stay in Bangkok, Kota Kinabalu or Penang. There are also five consolation prizes for a Junior Suite stay at Hotel Maya.

Before departing, I decided to don on some accessories that have been provided and pose for a shot to commemorate making it to the long awaited MHholidays launch 

Gastronomic lunch at The Macanese Table by Fat Tea

By Laura Lee

At the Macanese long table media luncheon with my ex-colleague Peter Yap from The Sun

I have been introduced to Macau’s gastronomic delights by the Macau Government Tourism Organisation (MGTO) when its representative office in Kuala Lumpur sent me on its media familiarisation trips many years ago.
I had the opportunity to taste its authentic cuisine at fine dining outlets as well as its street food during those occasions. To be alerted recently that it is collaborating with Fat Tea Macanese Food Restaurant at Damansara Perdana to introduce Macao’s many unique flavours from 4-28 June from Tuesdays to Fridays with a specially created dinner menu, I certainly could not resist its media preview invitation.

The restaurant owners June Yap and Chef Susana Batalha were very generous. Instead of just debuting the dishes on its special menu – Macao’s Pork Chop Slider, Minchi and Serradura - followed by coffee or Macao nai cha or milk tea and pandan water for its The Macanese Table promotion all for RM42++, we were introduced to so many other items from its a la carte menu.

June (right) is pleased that their Macanese restaurant is the only one in Malaysia that is endorsed by MGTO as chef Susana listens on besides her

The media luncheon turned out to be quite heavy that some of us decided to ta pau or pack home part of our main course and Portuguese tart.

For our preview, our appetiser comprised a variety of buns such as the polo pork belly and char siew bun and mini cocktail bun. 

Those topped with the sesame seeds are mini cocktail buns with coconut inside. I enjoyed their buns

The salad is mixed with pine nuts

They were followed by the Rissole and nuts pork chop salad. 

For the main course, we were introduced to Portuguese meat loaf and Minchi rice, Piri piri chicken, Portuguese rib with rocket salad.

June tells us that the meat loafs are popular dishes for parties. This Capela or Macanese meat loaf comprises minced pork, edam cheese, olives, wood ear mushrooms topped with pine nuts, almonds and bacon.

Minchi, equivalent of a national dish in Macao, is a household favourite comfort food. It comprises minced pork, onions, diced fried potatoes, fried egg, chopped long beans, rice and topped with some chi yau cha or fried lard. It’s also priced at RM42 like its meat loaf dish.   

Minchi rice and the Portuguese meat loaf came together 

Meanwhile, the piri piri chicken dish is said to have its roots not only in Portugal but also in Africa. Macanese cuisine is very much derived from Portuguese sailors and settlers who brought European ingredients and other favourites from the major trading ports such as The Cape (South Africa), Goa (India) and Melaka (Malaysia) to Macao, according to Fat Tea’s a la carte menu.

Back to our piri piri chicken, it is marinated for at least 12 hours before it’s grilled and served with homemade piri-piri sauce. Its preparation time takes 20 to 25 minutes. 

The piri piri chicken is available at RM42 as a main at Fat Tea but if you were take it as a single plate, comprising a quarter grilled chicken that comes served with rice, fries or salad and its homemade piri-piri sauce, it’s RM24. 

These mains mentioned above, including its Portuguese ribs served with rocket salad which is priced at RM48, can be eaten by two or three persons. Although we were served small portions of Fat Tea’s mains, I was feeling full from all the samplings. 

I had to pack the Portuguese pork spare ribs with tomato salsa sauce and salad although we were given a small portion to try. We were served Macao milk tea as well.

I reserved my stomach for its Serradura or sawdust pudding as dessert is one of my favourites. You can top this Macao pudding, layered with whipped cream and crumbled biscuits, with ice cream for an extra RM3. Perhaps on my next visit to Fat Tea.

Me and my glass of Serradura. I had the pleasure to be catching up with travel writer-cum-author David Bowden and Cherry Lee, MGTO representative for Malaysia

Besides its weekly lucky draws on 12, 19 and 28 June where you stand to win a trip to Macao, there is also live performance by Sweet Notes jazz band on these Wednesdays. The first 100 diners coming for Fat Tea’s special dinner menu will receive an exclusive cutlery set.  

Not sure of if the cutlery sets are still available by now but it sure is a great place to check out if you are interested in good Macanese food and a cosy ambience in the Klang Valley. Chilean and New Zealand wines are available to go with your special dinner menu. A glass of a Chilean Terramater Shiraz or NZ Misha’s Sauvignon Blanc costs RM15.

Well, this idea of promoting Macanese gastronomic delights is not a first for MGTO for it has done such collaboration with a New York-born café in Bangkok in 2017 to introduce distinctive Macanese cuisine besides promoting its culture and tourism.

Travel Media Escape @ KEJORA from a foodie perspective – Part One

By Laura Lee

A group photo at Matic Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur before our departure to Desaru, Johor on 26 March 

My three-day trip to the southeast parts of Johor covering its eco-tourism products in Bandar Penawar, Desaru, Tanjung Balau, Tanjung Sedili, Teluk Sengat and Johor Lama turned out to be like most media familiarisation (fam) trips. It was filled with lots of wonderful food experiences throughout the three days.

Upon arrival at our first stop at Teratak Penawar in Bandar Penawar, Kota Tinggi, we were greeted by the local boys playing kompang and ushered to have our lunch at the bottom open section of this elevated traditional Malay house which operates as a farmstay.

The nasi ambeng laid out on the enamel trays were placed on the mengkuang or weaved screwpine leaves floor mats.
Since each tray has four sets of rice, we were eating in groups of three or four with our hands dishes such as chicken, fried bee hoon or rice noodles and serunding, the Malay version of our Chinese meat floss except that theirs is spicier.

Sharing the nasi ambeng with Nurul and her husband Kamarul Mansor from Malaysianews TV, who was busy taking video

While we ate, we were entertained with melodious numbers played by a live band comprising young men and a female member.

Datuk Azlie Halim flanked by tow of the participants from Batam

After our meal, to cuci mulut, we were served sliced oranges and locally grown rock melons.

We could see from atop Teratak Penawar the greenhouses belonging to Taman Fertigasi KEJORA (TFK) where jade and rock melons are grown and harvested. These melons are graded and packed at a store near TFK's entrance.

According to South East Johore Development Authority or KEJORA website, TFK was established in 2012 with agrotourism in mind. It uses the fertigation system whereby water and fertilisers are applied simultaneously via an irrigation system.

This system can produce about 1.5 tonnes of jade melons from 2,280 crops in two months. Alas, there weren’t any jade melons during our visit. Only rock melons with their orange sweet and juicy flesh.

The staff cut some for us to taste. They were juicy and sweet, which encouraged me to get one.

Just because mine had a tiny scar, its price was knocked down from RM7 a kg for top grade to RM5 per kg. I happily paid RM10 for my two kg rock melon.

Since I have covered it the review on my dinner at Els Club on my Facebook during the trip, I will skip it here. If you are wondering what was my verdict, I gave it a thumbs up.  

The next morning when we were back at this golf clubhouse for the Ocean Course for a briefing on the projects undertaken by Desaru Development Holdings Sdn Bhd at Desaru Coast, I looked out for its chef.

Shaiful Lizam, its Chef de Cuisine gave credit to his team as well but revealed that his secret lies in using fresh ingredients and preparing the food three to four hours before our dinner.

It’s Dragon Fruit Festival @ Sepang in May!

By Laura Lee

The Dragon Fruit Festival @ Sepang, one of the major annual events in Selangor, is held this year in May but it will be on in June for 2020 and 2021. I just love this fruit, especially when made into a fresh juice and recently discovered that there’s more ways to eat and cook with this fruit.

Ahead of Visit Sepang Year or Tahun Melawat Sepang (TMS) 2020 which was soft launched at the recent ITB show in Berlin, Tourism Selangor jointly organised with Movenpick Hotel and Convention Centre KLIA a two-day/one-night media trip from 9-10 April 2019 to visit some of its attractions here. 

Among them was a visit to the HL Restaurant & Café, whose operators are also involved in HL Nursery Trading and HL Dragon Fruit Supply. 

They wowed us with their food and beverage presentation first, fed us with good local dishes whipped up by their Indonesian staff before they took us on a walking tour of its HL Farm planted of course with dragon fruits.

Upon arrival at its restaurant, we were served its Lokal dragon fruit juice, a must try “smouldering” beverage using dry ice to create the effect. 

Our cameras and handphones continued to flash and click as its Sepang HL Jumbo Buns were brought out for photography and sample tasting. I tried only a morsel of it as everyone was milling around it.

Surprise, surprise! We were given one each to take home when we left the place. 

Although there was a halal certification placed outside the glass shelves where these buns are placed to say that the chicken used for the curry are certified halal, I learnt recently from one of my Malay travel mates that she was wary to taking this delicious bun made of dragon fruit which is filled inside with chicken curry as it was prepared by Indonesians.

I would gladly have taken hers home if I had known that day. We were advised to eat the bun immediately that day itself and at best not later than the next day.

It’s a huge bun and we have been stuffing ourselves during this trip, including our last stop at Mitsui Outlet Park's LeTen, a Chinese Muslim Restaurant that serves Asian cuisine, including dim sum. I just couldn’t take it for dinner when we returned home. 

We ate my colleague’s jumbo bun first the next day in the office and kept mine in the fridge for almost a week. After steaming it, mine was as good as newly prepared. Love its spicy curry where you can dip the bun into it. The bun is pinkish hue due to the dark red colour of the dragon fruit used.

How the bun looks like when it's opened and how our dragon fruit juice is topped with an appetising dragon fruit salad 

After our delicious lunch at the restaurant, which I had posted earlier in my Facebook, we walked around its farm, where they had a close-up building that houses swiftlets inside. That’s to produce bird’s nest, and another story.

Owing to the farm’s proximity to the KL International Airport, we could see airplanes flying above us every now and then. 

Noted for their anti-oxidant properties and a good source of vitamins C and E, the dragon fruits with the red flesh variety grown here are exported to Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. The red variety is more expensive and sweeter than the white variety. 

Just outside the farm is a stall that sells these fruits to the public according to their grades and sizes.

We bought two higher grades ones at RM7 each but forgot to remove them from the plastic bag due to our hectic schedule. One of them spoiled after a few days. It’s a safer bet to keep them in your fridge.

Durian feast at Tonka Bean Café and Deli's Selera Serantau Ramadan preview

By Laura Lee

What I enjoyed most at my recent Ramadan preview at Impiana KLCC Hotel was the durian “fiesta” held outside of its Tonka Bean Café and Deli. The hotel is one of the few that serves durian as part of its “berbuka puasa” offerings, and theirs are good durians from Raub, Pahang. 

Its staff can’t open them fast enough for us to taste. We could only get two or three pieces to be fair to the rest but there’s no stopping you going for a second or third round if you care to queue for it.  

Small round table stands are placed outside for you to put your platter of durian and have a tete-a-tete with those who enjoy durians and are willing to share their varieties with you as some come bitter sweet and others real creamy. 

If you are thinking of coming just to whack durians, forget about it as I overhead a staff saying durians will be served from 8pm although its Selera Serantau Ramadan buffet dinner starts at 6.30pm. 

As you enter this open-air section you, the fruits are attractively placed here. Mangosteens are available too. They are supposed to be “cooling” after eating all those heaty durians.

One of the highlights of the buffet spread at Tonka Bean Café and Deli at all times is its vast variety of Baskin Robbins ice cream. I certainly had to squeeze some room for it despite taking so much durian that night.

One of the chef’s signature dishes is Sup Gearbox Meletup!, which I refrained from having it that night after taking so much durian. I certainly did not want to meletup or explode and raise my blood pressure. 

I could see the couple at my table enjoying this soup, sucking out the bone marrow from those huge joints with the plastic straw. Don’t worry if you think this dish finishes fast as I could see the chefs replenishing it.

Other signature dishes not to missed are its Kari Kepala Ikan Selatan and Nasi Briyani Gam Kambing Istimewa. For those who know how to enjoy the former, some of them like to go for the cheek of the fish head where the flesh is smoother while others would even go for its eyes.  

With over 200 specially prepared traditional local favourites to choose from amidst the soothing sounds of a live traditional ghazal performance, it’s not an easy choice to make what to try. 

This whole marinated roast lamb is one of its highlights

Anyway, you have until 10 pm to savour the widespread offerings from its Ocean Treasures counter to its dedicated counters for Western and Chinese cuisine, and live stations.

The hotel is starting its Ramadan promotion from 5 May to 4 June and pricing it at RM148⁺ per adult or RM74⁺ per child. For those who missed its 30% early bird discount, there is still its 25% early bird discount which is valid until 4 May.

The discount reduces to 20% during the first and last week of Ramadan from 5-9 May and 30 May-4 June respectively. For group bookings, there’s the “Buy 10 Free 1” offer from 10-29 May.

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s Employee Enrichment Programme Partners and Ramadan Rhapsody

By Laura Lee

C&G signatory for the MoU was represented by its Head of Sales for East Asia, Victoria Horrox while the Convention Centre was represented by Pyor, who also exchanged some documents with GO1 Partner Activation Manager Aizat Hashim

The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre has partnered with United Kingdom's City & Guilds (C&G) to launch a ‘Competent F&B Specialist In Business Events Industry’ training initiative, which will not only provide global recognition for its in-house training programmes but also take its talent development to another level.

At the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony held at its venue on 21 March 2019, 10 of its in-house trainers received their appointment letters from C&G, which will enable them to start their training sessions.

Thumbs up from Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre General Manager Alan Pryor and its in-house trainers, including Vickneswaran (fourth from left) with their C&G appointment letters 

Kudos go to the convention centre’s human resources team for securing this collaboration with C&G, which has given over 500 work-based qualifications through 8,500 colleges and training providers in 81 countries worldwide. 

Its Director of Human Resources Muhammad Vickneswaran Abdullah said phase one of this training initiative, expected to kick off in May, will cover culinary, beverage, food safety, people management and banqueting skills. 

Its phase two module will be more venue-centric, focusing on event coordination, audio-visual and information technology-related competencies, meeting designs and set-up. It will be rolled out by mid-2020. 

“This will be offered to industry players and stakeholders as part of our contribution to the overall development and enhancement of the Malaysian hospitality and business events industry,” Vickneswaran added.

At the same event, the convention centre also unveiled its new learning management system, EduClick, developed in collaboration with GO1 Learning (M) Sdn Bhd, a leader in online learning and education.  

EduClick will provide employees with opportunities and flexibility to grow and enhance their skills via an ‘on-the-go learning’ platform where 60% of it will be conducted online while the rest will be practical.  

So far, over 100 employees have registered for its first round, Vickneswaran remarked.

                                    Ramadan Rhapsody

The dessert section

On a lighter note, I was back to the Convention Centre the following week for its Ramadan preview and was impressed by how it has maintained the quality of its sumptuous and extensive contemporary and international spread. 

It has also come out with new offerings such as ocean prawns topped with the durian, not the fresh fruits though.  

I love its new beverage, salted caramel teh tarik which was frothy as its staff had “pulled” it well and after going for a few rounds of buka puasa previews, its famous roasted Harissa whole lamb was attractively decorated to catch your attention. I had a few slices of it served with rosemary sauce.

A wide variety of sauces and condiments to go with the roast lamb

I was more than happy when I could lay my hands on my old favourites like its deep fried cempedak and was recommended by others at the preview to try its apam topped with durian puree.     

On the far right is its ocean prawns topped with durian sauce. I also tried its sliced fried lekor and goreng pisang.

As a business event venue, the Convention Centre also has a corporate buka puasa promotion for 100 persons and above throughout Ramadan from RM128 nett a person apart from its promotion for the public which is tagged at RM150 nett per person. 

Companies taking up its corporate buka puasa promotion have the option to personalise them with various Chef Action Station’s add-ons. 

Reservations are required for corporate events. For more information on its corporate buka puasa enquiries or bookings, call +603-2333 2877 or visit www.klccconventioncentre.com.