KUALA LUMPUR: Restaurants and cafe operators were in high spirits as customers returned to dine in at their premises yesterday.
Checks by the New Straits Times in Brickfields here during lunch hour found restaurant operators arranging tables 1m apart as customers went in for meals.
Lovecity Cafe owner Rebecca Kaur Mahinder Singh, 50, appeared jubilant as she welcomed patrons after five weeks.
"I feel great seeing customers returning to my cafe. During the last few weeks, we had to turn down customers as dining in was not allowed." she said.
"Most customers want their dishes to be served hot and enjoy the ambience while eating.
"The response to takeaways was poor. Not many customers preferred the option. In a week, we only got one or two orders via GrabFood and Foodpanda."
While the two-per-table rule for dine-ins was a good start, Rebecca hoped the government would further ease restrictions.
"Most of my customers are meeting groups, comprising four to six people. So it will be great if the restrictions are gradually eased."
ABC One Bistro owner Ayoob Khan Mohamed Yakub, 57, said dining in offered hope to restaurants badly hit by the pandemic.
"Restaurants and eateries in Brickfields thrive because of tourism and social mobility.
"So the Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0 was a bottleneck for us, especially when we were still recovering from losses after last year's Movement Control Order.
"In tourist hotspots like this, the rental rates are very high.
"We are grateful that the government is allowing dining in as this can boost our business."
He hoped the government would consider extending operating hours till midnight and allow four people to dine in per table.
Piara Singh, 66, who runs the Singh Chapati House restaurant, said many patrons hesitated to dine in and opted for takeaways and delivery services instead.
"Most of them are concerned that they may contract Covid-19 as the new infections reported daily are still at four digits.
"So they are still depending on takeaways. Since this morning, all the orders I received were for takeaways."
A patron, who wanted to be known only as Fazil, echoed similar concerns.
"For me, it is not safe to dine in yet. The risk of infection is still very high."
Another patron, who wanted to be known only as James, called on the government to replace the MCO with a Conditional MCO as almost all restrictions, except inter-state travel, had been lifted.
"I don't see the necessity of implementing the MCO if we allow people to dine in and reopen almost every sector."