JOHOR BARU: The hospitality business in the city, dormant in the last two years from Covid-19 constraints on travel and socialising, has come alive with the reopening of Malaysia's borders.
The influx of Singaporeans is threatening to become a deluge as visitors make a beeline for the mouth-watering Ramadan buffets offered by hotels.
Missing for two years because of Covid-19, Singaporeans are returning with a vengeance for the shopping and food in the southern capital.
And Johor Baru hotels are leaving no stone unturned to attract the throng.
Pulai Springs Resort general manager Sunny Soo had prepared his resort in anticipation of the deluge from Singapore.
"Since the borders reopened, we noticed that there were quite a number of Ramadan dinner bookings coming in from Singaporeans. We believe many made a day trip to shop and then berbuka puasa before heading back to Singapore.
"Several took up our Ramadan room package, which comes with stay, breakfast/sahur and Ramadan dinner. We noticed some families taking this chance to have a short staycation at the resort to enjoy the local delicacies available at the buka puasa dinner," he said.
So far for Ramadan dinner, things are looking positive and we are quite excited to see the daily bookings coming in. In fact, the covers daily are much higher than compared to last year.
It was no surprise that Soo was not the only executive buoyed by the resurgence in the hospitality business after two lean years.
Thistle Hotel Johor Baru general manager Robert Lee was crowing about the "gastronomical feats" on offer at the Arabian Night buffet dinner at his hotel.
A preferred place to stay for Singaporeans, the hotel has been readied to welcome back new guests and regulars who have kept away for two years.
Lee said his culinary team has prepared an Arabic-themed buffet showcasing over 10 live stalls and over 200 dishes from Middle Eastern and local cuisines.
Guests have been flocking in to savour the mouth-watering menu, which includes fresh durian. Their evenings are serenaded by daily performances by popular violinist Aqmal Daniel.
"Over the past week, we have seen a surge of Singaporean guests joining our buffet dinner and have experienced a full house," said Lee, with a smile that was as broad as the Causeway.
"Sadly, we had to reject many walk-in guests and some upcoming dates are already fully booked," he said.
He said in the coming weeks he expects more Singaporeans and Malaysians to grab the Ramadan buffet on offer.
Similarly bullish sentiments were expressed by Mahadi Mathana, general manager of Impiana Hotel Senai.
"The reopening of doors between Malaysia and Singapore has come at the most opportune time during the holy month of Ramadan.
"At Impiana Hotel Senai, we have a very Malaysian buka puasa atmosphere. We called our buffet Citarasa Muhibbah Buffet at RM99 per adult and RM40 per child.
"Our chefs have cooked over 150 different dishes. Just to cite a few favourites are whole roasted lamb, udang sambal, ikan assam pedas, and daging masak rose," he said.
Catering to successful companies who want to express their corporate social responsibility, Impiana Hotel Senai has tailor-made buka puasa buffets, according to our guests' budgets.
Renaissance Hotel general manager Kanit Sangmookda said they are seeing bookings picking up from Singaporeans who are seizing the opportunity because of the good exchange rate.
He said the weekends were almost fully booked and the hotel has to turn down walk-in guests.
"This year our Ramadan buffet is rocketing high with the borders now open and people able to dine in with families. After two years of MCO (Movement Control Order) and CMCO (Conditional MCO), people just want to get out of their homes and simply dine with their families.
"People are spoilt for choice as our Selera Ramadan has over 600 dishes, and live cooking stations serve a wide variety of freshly prepared dishes with different flavors. This simply whets diners' taste buds to make the Iftar at Renaissance an unforgettable experience," he added.
The price is for the Selera Ramadan is only RM168 and RM84 for children aged 6 to 12 while those below six can dine complimentary.
"We do not want to turn any of our guests away and we try as much as we can to accommodate them despite a heavy increase in daily numbers," said Sangmookda.