RESTAURANT operators are relieved with the resumption of wedding banquets and festive gatherings after receiving orders for November and December.

They have been without any business since last year end due to various lockdowns and standard operating procedures to fight the Covid-19 epidemic.

Now with the reopening and return of business, they told The Malaysian Insight that the small profits made over this period will help build the reserves of the restaurants for the next one to two years seeing that the epidemic has not slowed down.

Pan Malaysia Koo Soo Restaurants and Chefs Association president Wong Teu Hoon said many couples have called to ask for the details of wedding banquets as most states and territories have entered phase 4 of the national recovery plan.

He said his restaurant is getting wedding banquet bookings with November being the busiest month so far.

He said December 11 is a popular date for wedding banquets and many banquet halls are booked on that day.

“Our banquet hall can host up to five banquets in a day. Before the epidemic, we can host 11 wedding banquets a day,” Wong said.

He said under phase 4, the number of attendees for banquets is limited. Wedding banquets are now attended by half of the 500 guests as previously received.

People are also not allowed any interstate travel to attend wedding banquets and the epidemic has yet to taper off, he said.

“Restaurant operators must arrange for two Rela guards to check the MySejahtera app of guests and to make sure only those who are fully vaccinated are allowed to enter the premises,” he said.

“The duration of the banquet is also limited to two hours.”

There are also other rules for wedding banquets, such as each table is allowed to seat only six people, instead of 10 previously.

Wong said the menu and cost have to be controlled and the prices of dishes have been increased slightly for the restaurants to make a small profit.

Selangor and Federal Territory Chinese Restaurant Operators Association chairman Lam Tuck Loy said bookings for wedding banquets in Kuala Lumpur are relatively slow as people are still worried about the epidemic.

People are also worried about penalties imposed for any breach of SOP during the happy occasion, he said.

“The restaurants have successively put out advertisements for wedding banquets and festive banquets. They are also promoting their banquet menus,” he said.

“For the time being, major banquets are not ideal. Some elderly guests can’t eat with large groups.

“If the banquet menu is reduced, the restaurant’s income will naturally be less. But the manpower cannot be reduced, so restaurant operators must plan carefully their expenditure.”

Staff shortage

Loon Sing Group of Restaurants managing director Sia Boon Kong said the group has three restaurants in Johor Baru and one each in Kuala Lumpur and Nilai.

One of the branches has eight wedding banquets lined up from end-November to December, he said.

Echoing the comments of the other restaurants’ spokesmen, he said the charge for a banquet table has been reduced to RM600-900 from RM1,500.

“Because of a six-person menu, the smaller portion does not help the business. Instead, the cost goes up by 18%,” he said.

Sia said manpower and other essentials required, such as tablecloths, remain the same.

“We don’t expect to make money; we can only pay for the expenses,” he said.

Before the epidemic, the group’s restaurants hosted about 20 wedding banquets a month.

“We are also expecting bookings for January. Perhaps couples are waiting to see if the epidemic will be under control so as to avoid cancellations later,” Sia said.

He said the industry has already refunded the deposits for banquets booked and cancelled before the third wave of the epidemic.

“The money now earned by the restaurants is to prepare their reserves for the next one to two years because the epidemic is not coming to an end yet,” he said.

Sia, who is also Pan Malaysia Koo Soo Restaurants and Chefs Association deputy president, said in the two years since the Covid-19 outbreak, at least 4,000 big and small restaurants have closed.

Several chefs, kitchen helpers and foreign workers have changed jobs permanently too, he said.

“Nowadays, hiring people in the catering industry is also a headache. Young people don’t like kitchen work,” he said.

“Some of my former kitchen employees switched to growing vegetables and operating grocery stores during the epidemic, and they don’t want to return to their jobs.”

Koo Soo San Yuen Guild Taiping chairman Law Eu Wei said many couples have called to inquire about banquet reservations.

As Perak folk are only allowed to hold wedding banquets in mid-November, most of them asked about wedding banquets next month and January next year, he said.

“We can only take down the names and dates of those who are interested, and no deposit is collected, because we are worried about huge refunds,” he said.

“We are also open for small birthday parties, a maximum of three tables.” – November 15, 2021.