Pavilion KL

I took one morning off shopping around when I was in KL visiting FHM 2009 from 12th to 14th of August.

I popped in Pavilion and made a round. I had long-envied to come to see the interiors. When the project was under construction, the developers came to Sibu and used Premier Hotel to promote their serviced suites.

Pavilion is a posh shopping mall with magnificent interiors. Perhaps it was still too early in the morning at the time of my visit, the whole place seemed quiet.

I love the ambience there. It really made shopping a pleasure.

On the basement, I dropped in Old Town Kopitiam for a kopi-o. When I asked for a picture to be taken, I was declined.

McDonald's At LCCT ( KL)

McDonald's at LCCT, KL is doing brisk business.

On the day of my return from KL after visiting FHM 2009 on August 14, we popped in the fast-food restaurant to fix a quick meal. It was jam-packed with fast turnover.

I understand that the outlet is running 24-hour and it is bustling throughout.

Only the well-connected guy could clench the franchise, my source told me.

I absolutely have no doubt about it.

Culinaire Malaysia 2009

A very artistic food decoration.

A scene of cooking competition.

You would see for yourself all the excellent presentations.

Vegetable- carving.

Culinaire Malaysia 2009 was well attended.

Table setting.

A show-off of cake decoration skills.

A themed food presentation.

Another mouth-watering dish on display.

Culinaire Malaysia 2009 was held alongside FHM 2009 at Kl Convention Centre from 12th to 14th of August.

Culinaire Malaysia was essentially the foremost cooking competition of its kind, helping to reinforce Malaysia as one of the centres of culinary excellence in the region.

It was quite an eye-opening experience visiting the show.

Food & Hotel Malaysia 2009

An array of assorted chocolates to entice the visitors.

Thai curry for sampling - it was deliciously good!

These ice creams are perhaps the best I have ever sampled!

Cake counter with samples for tasting.

Coffee with decorative topping.

A free coffee-making demonstration.

One of the fun things of FHM was that visitors were given wonderful opportunities to sample! Take the example of coffee - if you are a lover of this beverage, you would have a good time tasting a variety of it.

Coffee is my favourite. I let no coffee to slip by at the exhibition without popping in my head to get the aroma of it.

International Hospitality & Tourism Seminar 2009

In conjunction with FHM 2009, MAHTEC (Malaysian Association of Hotels Training and Education Centre) organised a one-day seminar titled "International Hospitality & Tourism Seminar 2009" on August 13 primarily for the benefits of the member hoteliers.

We grabbed the opportunity to register for it.

MAHTECH called on the members to boost revenue during this challenging time by maximising sales and profitas through extracting the highest price possible for perishable products or services. "The seminar is intended to help participants to gain more insight into the world of revenue management," Y.Bhg. Datuk Mohd LLyas Zainol Abidin, President of MAH, said in his opening address.

MAHTECH pulled in some of the most experienced industry experts from the United States of America, Italy, South-africa and Iceland to get the participants enlightened.

A total of four papers were presented, all with the objective to gear the participants towards boosting their revenue in these challenging times.

1. "Operating during these Challenging Times" by Mr. Joe Mclnerney, CHA - President of AHLA

2. "Blue Ocean Strategy - How To Leverage Value Innovation and Breakout from the Competition in the Hospitality Industry" by Mr. Luciano Pezzotta, Owner & Managing Director: Blue Ocean Garden Co. Ltd.

3. "Managing Growth in a Recessionary Economy: The Case for Service Excellence and Accountality in the Hospitality Industry" by Mr. Pieter J Roux, Managing Director-PSD Development (Pty) Ltd and PSD Distribution (Pty) Ltd.

4. "An Amazing Network of Chefs: the WACS Family" Maximizing the Returns in Food & Beverage by Chef issur Gudmundsson, President-World Association of Chefs

FHM 2009

FHM or Food Hotel Malaysia is essentially Malaysia's official Food & Hotel Show.

It was a grand event not to be missed by hoteliers and restaurateurs. For a stretch of 4 days at KL Convention Centre, the 10th Malaysian International Exhibition of Food, Drinks, Hotel, Restaurant & Foodservice Equipment, Supplies, Services and Related Technology exposed visitors to a wide range of the latest trends in the trade-related equipment and services.

I flew there to take part with my GM and F&B Manager to get ourselves updated.

The whole exhibition was really quite business-as-usual. I noted one show that particularly stood out was the spectacular teh tarik showmanship by En. Mior Sazali.

The booth was promoting teh tarik ingredients and Mior was there showing off his skillful pulling techniques to pull in crowds. Aromatic teh tarik was prepared on the spot for sampling.

I found the teh tarik irresistibly good! Thank you, Mior, for your very entertaining performance.