Having a hard time keeping up with Kuala Lumpur’s delicious street-vendor stalls, international hotels have recently seen their chefs step-up with creative F&B options for international groups.

Sheraton Imperial is offering creative meeting breaks and lunches that capture the city’s vibrant food scene with market stall set-ups and even live cooking stations in the ballroom. This can be expanded to a half-day programme where groups can prepare poppiah (spring rolls) and other local delicacies.

Take it to the next level with a cooking competition that carries delegates from market to table to create dishes for judging by the hotel’s chefs. The group will be divided into teams of four to six people, which are further divided into two, with one person responsible for cooking and the other for ambiance and service.

Culinary team
A mock market is set-up by the hotel’s culinary team. Each group is given a list of ingredients available at the ‘market’ from which to plan their menu. The team then has just two minutes to get what they need.

While the dishes are being prepared, the other half of each team will lay its table with cutlery, linen, glassware and flowers. The chef and other appointed judges will then review the food and table set-ups, and announce a winner.

Another popular option is the black-box challenge that has delegates preparing dishes from a set array of surprise ingredients.

The events team can customise recipes and menus to suit all tastes. The Chinese restaurant at Grand Millennium, Zing, has recently gone nonhalal and now offers a range of tasty pork dishes. There is an extensive dim sum menu including steamed siew mai with fresh scallops, pork trotters with black vinegar and ginger, and Sichuan-style hot and sour shrimp wantons.

Master chef Leong Weng Heng can prepare special menus for conference lunches including chilled abalone slices with spicy oriental sauce, stir-fried scallop with fresh lily bulbs and pine nuts and Hong Kong-style crispy roasted duck.

Signature Breaks
Le Meridien now offers the brand’s signature Discovery coffee breaks. Menus are centred around five elements – salt, vinegar, spices, sugar and chocolate. Breakfast shots with flavours including mango, chilli, and lime get meetings off to an invigorating start. Traditional coffee breaks include unexpected luxe items such as wagyu beef cheek on polenta.

The hotel recently transformed its Middle Eastern restaurant into Favola, a 75-seat Italian restaurant. There is also a private dining room that seats 20 people.

Traders Hotel has launched several snacks and drinks packages to help delegates unwind at its popular SkyBar after a day of meetings.

Beverage packages start at US$14 per person for two hours and canapé menus start at US$25. Items include tuna tartare with tomato granita, teriyaki chicken skewers and grilled Sumac-spiced shrimp.

For an interactive session, experienced mixologists can lead your group through a cocktail-making class. Learn how to make classic drinks or design your own. The group can enjoy its creations to the sound of a DJ that the hotel can arrange.

The main restaurant at the new Doubletree by Hilton (see column page 30) is Makan Kitchen, which serves a range of regional Malaysian cuisine from Nonya (Peranakan cuisine) to traditional Chinese. Each variety is served from different live cooking stations.

Off the lobby, Cellar Door is a relaxed wine bar that can also be booked for events with wine-tasting programmes available.