Sunway Hotel Georgetown - From RM99
Stay in the heart of Georgetown within walking distance from famous
New Lane haweker stalls and the UNESO World Heritage historic enclave.
Foodies, heritage buffs and holidaymakers can now enjoy an
unbeatable offer in conjunction with Sunway Hotel Georgetown's
15th anniversary celebration.
For Reservations call 604 229 9988
Employees of Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa not only graduated with flying colours recently, but also did the hotel proud by bagging the highest individual and group awards in the Malaysian Association of Hotel Training and Education Centre (MAHTEC) diploma in hotel management programme 2008/09.
The top scorers from the hotel were Jamaayah Rozali (front office), Ramiriz Osman (banquet), Vasudevan Krishnan (human resources) and Viviana Mohidam (food and beverage).
They were among 49 employees from 15 hotels in the Klang Valley who had pursued the course.
From left: Vasudevan, Jamaayah, Ramiriz and Viviana were among the 49 students representing 15 hotels in the Klang Valley. The diploma in hotel management programme aims to empower hotel employees with industry experience by giving them new knowledge and insight into the operations of other departments within the hotel.
The programme, which is interactive and practical in nature to enable sharing of ideas and best practices, focuses on enhancing competencies such as interpersonal skills, considered vital in the hospitality industry
Top student in the General and Business Studies category, Jamaayah, said that getting the diploma had boosted her confidence.
“We want our employees to grow professionally and individually.
“We also want to mould competent managers and sound leaders within the organisation who can make a difference,’’ said Denis Gruhier, the hotel’s group general manager.
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Hanley Chew |
“We are already in negotiations with four to six parties in the region. We are close to signing the agreements,” he said yesterday after a signing ceremony with Angkor Tourism Co Ltd to manage two hotels in Cambodia.
The hotels are Allson Angkor Hotel and Allson Angkor Paradise Hotel, located in Siem Reap.
The agreement would enable the hospitality and management arm of Sunway City Bhd to expand its presence in Cambodia, Chew said.
Chew said the company would start managing the hotels next month for an initial period of 10 years.
“We aim to achieve 60% occupancy rate for both hotels in the coming years,” he said.
Angkor Tourism managing director Kousoum Saroeuth said the company believed Sunway International was capable of managing the two hotels in Siem Reap well.
“Sunway has a good reputation and is performing well not only in Cambodia but also in Malaysia and Vietnam. So it is definitely an opportunity for us to take advantage of Sunway’s expertise and marketing network to develop better our hotels around the world,” he said.
The Malaysian hospitality group now operates and manages 13 hotels and resorts under two hotel brand names –the Sunway Hotel & Resorts and Allson Hotel & Resorts – in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, representing up to 3,000 guestrooms.
DIM SUM, a perennial Chinese favourite which means “touches the heart”, has been given a facelift at West Lake Garden Chinese Restaurant in Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa.
The restaurant has introduced a new range of Hong Kong-style dim sum of sweet and savoury varieties, featuring a selection of more than 35 tasty bite-size delights.
They are hand-made fresh daily by a highly skilled culinary team headed by executive sous chef Peter Lee.
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Baked item: Baked mini seafood tarts. |
“Everything is hand-made piece by piece and that is why these are art pieces,” he said.
His philosophy is to use only the freshest ingredients to create these dainty delights, while maintaining reduced sugar, fat and salt content.
The 42-year-old chef has 22 years’ experience in Chinese kitchens, and specialises in classic and contemporary Cantonese cuisine.
Besides best-loved items like har gao and siew mai, chef Lee has created dim sum with new combinations and textures, like steamed seafood dum-plings in fresh lettuce wraps, steamed lobster dumplings, and steamed lamb in salted black bean.
“The paste for the seafood dumplings is made from minced fish, prawns and fresh scallops, while that for the lobster dum-plings has fresh lobster mixed with prawn meat,” said West Lake Garden restaurant manager Alex Ngan.
The steamed lamb features lamb cubes marinated with herbs, steamed with black beans, black fungus and fresh bean curd.
For something with spicy, try the deep-fried spicy fish dum-plings – a serving of deep-fried dim sum drizzled with spicy Thai sauce.
Pastry fans may want to try the Shanghainese turnip puffs, baked mini seafood tarts and deep-fried sesame shrimp toast.
“The turnip puff is unique because its flaky skin is made from two layers of flour – a layer of normal flour and another layer of flour mixed with oil.
“Chef Lee wraps the skin a-round some shredded turnip, then deep fries the dish,” said Ngan. “The seafood tart features a paste made from prawns, scallops and fruits like honeydew and rock melon. The paste is stuffed into pastry cases, covered with pastry 'lids' and baked in the oven.”
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Bite-size delight: Steamed seafood dumplings in fresh lettuce wraps, with a little oyster sauce for its gravy |
West Lake Garden also has an a la carte menu offering nutritious double-boiled soups, fried rice and noodles, appetisers, desserts and other special dishes to complement the dim sum lunch.
The double-boiled seafood soup and conpoy served in whole garden pumpkin and soursop with ice-cream served during this re-view are just a sample of what diners can look forward to sa-vouring.
Ngan explained that the soup contained dried seafood (scallop and sea cucumber), mushrooms, as well as bits of duck meat and turkey ham, and was boiled in superior stock for six hours.
“The soursop is made from a blend of soursop and honeydew, served with vanilla ice-cream, which makes it a sweet ending to the whole meal,” he said.
The restaurant offers a wide selection of Chinese teas to complement the dim sum, including pu erh, chrysanthemum, Dragon well and oolong.
West Lake Garden’s dim sum is served a la carte style daily for lunch. Prices of the dim sum range from RM7.50++ to RM25++ a dish.
CHOCOLATES are sensitive to temperature and humidity.
“You need to have the right temperature of between 16 and 18 degree Celsius when working with chocolates.
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Rich delights: The white, milk and dark chocolate tablets. |
The special room located within the pastry kitchen is much cooler than the rest of the kitchen.
It is equipped with a variety of moulds, chocolate products, freezers, melting machine and chocolates.
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Right texture: Chern stirring the melted dark chocolate. For shape: (Left) The various moulds used for making the Easter chocolates. |
The Easter bunny and chicks-making session for the media was under Chern's supervision.
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Perfect: Chern with his chocolate bunny. |
“In the olden days, chocolate blocks were used but now chocolates come in tablets of equal size to make melting them easier and to control consumption,” Chern said, adding that melting temperature for milk and white chocolate was from 26 to 27 degrees Celsius while for dark chocolates it was 29 to 30 degrees Celsius.
He also said that 70% of guests preferred dark chocolate to white while milk chocolates were a favourite among women.
The chocolates are melted separately in the melting machine before being ladled into the moulds shaped in the form of bunny, chicks and chicken.
Chern chose a simple bunny design for his demonstration and coated it with milk chocolate.
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Festive treats: Some more Easter goodies made and sold at Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa. |
“If there are bubbles, tap gently on the area to release them,” he said while tapping his choc-filled mould before pouring out the contents back into the melting container.
The process was repeated for three coatings.
After the third coating, the chocolate-coated mould was placed in a freezer at four degrees Celsius for about five to 10 minutes to crystallise.
“After this, you can remove the clips holding the sides of the mould to get the shape.
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Miniature: (Left)The chocolate bunnies and chicks. |
He also said that chocolates must be stored away from other food as it could absorb different aromas.
He said it was best packed or wrapped.
Easter Day chocolate goodies are now being sold at the hotel.
For details, call 03-7492 8000.
SUNWAY Hotel Georgetown’s Cafe Tropics has a buffet designed to suit everyone – its latest weekend Tai Kei Lai Chiak (everybody, come eat) hi-tea buffet.
Cleverly whipped up by Chef de Cuisine Seow Teik Poh, who specialises in Chinese cuisine, the items on the menu are halal. They are specially created to suit local tastes and to showcase the uniqueness of Chinese and Penang food.
“We are going with a yam cha (drink tea) concept for our hi-tea buffet. By making our dim sum and other Chinese dishes halal, everyone can come and enjoy the food,” says Sunway Hotel Georgetown communication manager Nur Hidayah Yoon.
Diners have much to expect from the cafe’s diversified line-up of Chinese, Malay and Indian dishes, salads and desserts. With a menu that changes weekly and rotates four times a month, guests can be surprised by the food served.
At the dim sum corner, there are buns and dumplings like Steamed Mini Pau, Steamed Ha Kow, Deep Fried Seafood Pearl, Pan Fried Shanghai Dum-pling, BBQ Mini Pau, Steamed Seaweed Flower and Stea-med Chai Kuih.
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Scrumptious bites:Chef Seow showing his Spinach Siew Mai with chicken filling. |
The Steamed Chicken Curry Pao reveals Chef Seow’s crea-tivity in blending recipes. The fillings are en-hanced by fragrant curry powder and spices that are used in Malay cooking. This unique chicken curry pao is a must-try.
Besides traditional dim sum, the specialties are T'ng Chai Chok (Hong Kong Porridge), Kuala Lumpur Chee Chong Fun and Yong Tou Fu.
The KL-style Chee Chong Fun, bathed in prawn paste, sweet paste, chili paste and sesame seeds, is served in soup and eaten with Yong Tou Fu. Mixed with all the different pastes, the soup will certainly give diners who are used to the local Chee Chong Fun a taste to remember. This dish is enjoyable and satisfying.
“We want to give our guests a chance to try something new and out-of-the-ordinary.
“The KL Chee Chong Fun gives them that. They don’t have to go all the way to KL to get a taste,” says the friendly Chef Seow.
Another of Chef Seow’s special dishes is the Kung Poh Chicken Meat, which is chicken breasts stir-fried with ginger, garlic, spring onion and dried chili. The dish is available every weekend because of its popularity.
Adding variety to the menu are Malay and Indian delicacies like Kari Ayam, Murtabak, Thosai, Mee Goreng Mamak, Vegetable Dalca and Roti Canai. Local favourites like asam laksa and rojak are also available for hawker food fans.
Other classic local favourites include Radish Cake (Chye Tau Kuih), Otak-otak and Pumpkin Cake made from blended semi-dried pumpkin, rice flour and dried shrimps.
For salad lovers, the Kerabu Chicken Feet, Pineapple Salad, Carrots with Raisin and Cu-cumber Raita are good choices.
The warm and cold desserts available are sure to please one’s sweet tooth. They have Hong Tau Sa (Red Bean Porridge), Yi Mai Fu Chok (barley with bean curd stick), Fa Sheng Wu (Peanut Butter Cream) and Nyonya Ice Cream, which is ais kacang with co-conut milk and condiments.
To go with the yam cha concept, the cafe serves Chi-nese and jasmine tea.
The food is light and suits diners who want to sit, eat and spend as much quality time as they want with family and friends during the weekend.
Cafe Tropics is a place that offers an exotic mix of local and western cuisine. On weekdays, the cafe offers an all-day dining a la carte menu with dishes from RM9.90 onwards.
The most sort after items on the menu are the Club Sandwich, Jumbo Hotdog, Mee Mamak, Hokkein Fried Noodles and Chicken Chop.
“The popularity of the food is due to the reasonable prices,” explains Sunway Hotel Georgetown food and beverage manager Ronnie Goh.
Cafe Tropics opens from 6am to 1am and operates 24 hours for room service.
THE time has come again when mistletoe, fruitcake and gaily wrapped presents give way to red lanterns, mandarin oranges and red packets.
Florists, food suppliers and decor stores are stocked choc-a-bloc with supplies to cater to those on the Chinese New Year shopping trail.
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Heralding spring: Floral designer Cheng Yoon Seng looking through the latest shipment of pussy willow. The pussy willow is one of the spring flowers for Chinese New Year, said Cheng. |
“We're already purchasing decorative items and food ingredients for Chinese New Year according to the theme 'Spring into Prosperity',” said Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa assistant director Wendy Kok during a shopping trip for festive ingredients and paraphernalia on Tuesday
Led by Kok, Chinese chef Lim Kok Tong and floral designer Cheng Yoon Seng, the shopping trip was to Petaling Street. It was to show the hotel's tradition of preparing for the Chinese New Year.
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Tantalising: Dishes such as Braised Shark's Fin Soup with Crab Meat and Roe are rich with ingredients selected by Lim. |
Managed by Hiah (Gan) Siek Kee, the shop has been in existence for the last 40 years, wholesaling all manner of dried and canned foodstuff such as abalone, oysters, jellyfish, scallops, sea cucumbers, fungi and herbs.
“For dried oysters and sea cucumbers, make sure you pick those that are not too dry and hard. The sea cucumbers, especially, should be soft enough for you to easily bend it a little without breaking it,” said Lim while selecting sea cucumbers that cost RM420 per kg.
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Pretty bouquet: Cheng demonstrating a Chinese New Year floral arrangement suitable for the home. |
Dried mushrooms were also on the list, with those from China costing some RM60 per kg and those from Japan, RM450 per kg.
“We buy an average of about 50kg of dried seafood during Chinese New Year, and if the demand is very high, it can go up to about 100kg,” Lim later revealed.
The next stop was Lee Wah Florist Sdn Bhd, one of the oldest and most established flower wholesalers in the city.
Set up more than 50 years ago, the florist is run by sisters Apple and Orange Lee.
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Expensive: Abalone can cost from RM16,000 per kg a whopping RM5,000 each at Kwang Yeow Heng Importer & Exporter (M) Sdn. Bhd. |
Saddled with the task of decorating the hotel interior and exterior, Cheng went about selecting peonies, plum blossoms, pussy willows and forsythias for her floral arrangements.
“These flowers are spring flowers and appropriate for Chinese New Year, which is all about embracing spring. The flowers are from China and usually brought in a month before the festival,” said Cheng, adding that other auspicious plants included lucky bamboo, chrysanthemums and gladioli, as well as lime and kumquat trees.
“Blooms and living plants signify growth and new life,” Kok added.
Meanwhile, decoration for the hotel's facade was purchased from Nan Thong Gifts & Decor Sdn Bhd.
Red lanterns, wall decorations, streamers, poetic couplets, and giant and miniature mystic knots and more set the festive mood in the store.
“We'll be using mystic knots, lanterns and ang pow decorated kumquat and lime trees for the hotel exterior,” said Cheng, adding that the flowers and decoration were estimated to cost about RM15,000.
The shopping completed, the media adjourned to the hotel for a floral arrangement demonstration and a much-awaited lunch at the West Lake Garden restaurant.
Among the dishes available at the restaurant this Chinese New Year are nine types of yee sang, Steamed Estuary Garoupa with Mandarin Orange Peel and Soya Sauce, Braised Shark's Fin Soup with Crab Meat and Roe and a variety of other seafood and desserts.
The Chinese New Year menu at West Lake Garden will be available until March 4.
“Don't forget to make reservations,” Kok reminded.
