Twenty-three MCG and AAM members met at the EQ for an impressive and informative behind the scenes tour of the spotless kitchens, 50^th floor roof-top bar (Blue), French restaurant (Sabayon), the Sanctum Spa, Gym and pool (29^th floor), and Nipah Restaurant (ground floor)where we had an incredible buffet lunch.

The EQ Hotel, located on Jalan Sultan Ismail, has 440 guest rooms and a staff of 200-250.

We were greeted warmly by the EQ staff including Syakeel Suresh Govindasamy (Executive Assistant Manager-F&B), May Koh (Director of Operation F&B and Events) and Faizel who was our guide through the hotel.

As we were a large group, we were divided into two groups. We all had our temperatures taken and were given a yellow sticker to wear. Before we were allowed into the kitchens, we all donned hair nets to help keep the kitchens sanitary.

The first stop was the pastry kitchen, where Chef Paul Kelly showed us some of the incredible pastries and cakes that we would have at the buffet lunch. All the breads, cakes and pastries are made in-house with top of the line ingredients. Chef Paul’s kitchen turns out between 4000 – 5000 bread rolls per day and they use approximately 200 kg or flour per week. All this is done by four bakers. Chef Paul orders all his ingredients through the purchasing manager. Since there are many hotels in KL, they try to get their orders in quickly to get the items they need on a daily basis.

Next, we went to the butcher chef’s kitchen, where Chef Dino showed how all the meat, poultry and fish are kept in separate walk-in refrigerators and there are designated prep surfaces for each.

The back of house in the hotel was spotless. Every hallway, elevator and venue is cared for with the highest standards.

We were even taken to the Loading Dock to check out how each department receives its deliveries. At the loading dock, there is a special lane for all employees to check in. Each employee must have their temperature taken and recorded and use hand sanitizer before entering the hotel.

Of course the best was saved to last. The buffet lunch was divine. The hotel gave us a 10% discount on the buffet. There wasn’t a dish or dessert that was left untasted. To a person, we all raved about the food, the service and the staff.

Margaret Shendal