DINING at Chalet in the old Equatorial Hotel Kuala Lumpur was an immersion into Swiss cuisine, with French, Italian and German influences. The Chalet interior was distinctive: with dark timber rafters, an Alpine horn and other Swiss artefacts.

What do I remember about the food at Chalet? Definitely the raclette cheese being melted under the salamander, scraped onto a plate and served with pickles and baby potatoes.   You would get a whiff of the melting cheese as you entered the restaurant, so popular it was then.