Under The Covers: Pursuing An Ideal

Its been a while since we had time to stop by - This time were looking further ahead - as to the reasons why we are here. Making that decision to step out and take a chance wasn't quite easy, and it did take a while and quite a bit of a reality check before realising that there might be no turning back. As expected, humans are not that fond of change and surprises in reality, though once they reach a point of acceptance, they progress much more smoothly than expected.

Looking back, we have always dreamt of an ideal - a happy, bustling developing community perhaps - where there is no suffering, little pain, and much of the worries and stresses of the day being non-existent. For many, this is indeed the ideal civilization - though when taking a step back into reality, we all know by now its probably quite impossible to reach such a status. Nevertheless, we still strive for it at the very least.

The idea of moving into FnB and entertainment focused heavily on the younger generation, people like you and I - whom knowingly or not, determine the future for our generations. In a time where social media reigns, sometimes I ask the question, can Facebook or Twitter ever be a replacement for real life? All of you would probably agree with me with a resounding "no". Despite that, when we look at the undercurrent driving these sites - it is clear the true answer could be as far off as "maybe". Have we been so privileged that we have started to miss the point? The fact that life is all about reality - and that anything else can never be a substitute? During the older days, children learned of various skills, handicrafts, painting, communicating with others - but in the age we know today, its more like the ability 'hao lien' on your Facebook.

In an age where we spend our time in virtual reality, we have decided its about time that we need to spend some efforts to create more value in the society. As there was a saying in business about the market, where only the true products of value will stand against speculation. We are essentially trading with value rather than anything else. However, in the information age, we have been putting too much value on things that apparently do not hold any significant worth! Will having the 'best' Facebook account guarantee the best relational skills on the planet? Not quite - but the other way round, yes! All these is a part of substitution, similar to replacing real food with processed food, and then bearing the consequences.

To sum it up, most of our young today spend their time entertaining themselves. Its going to take quite a bit to find ways to 'entice' them into activities that might actually create more value than simply 'hanging out', 'drinking and be merry' and 'gossiping'. Interest groups have always been an asset to the society as these groups pursue special interests which indirectly inject more value into the society - simply because interests and efforts are focused towards a common goal, other than the self. Its a long journey into working towards this ideal - but we are certain the first step needs to be made, the movement into 'alternative' entertainment in hope of passively fostering values into our peers. What happens after that is entirely up to the individual at hand.

All In A Days Work: Standing By

One of the more mundane tasks of being involved in a FnB operations is that of preparation. Unlike your daily mum's cooking which is fast and nice - FnB outlets have to cope with demand - and the possibility of screwing up a recipe when requested to prepare it hundreds, if not thousands of times.

All of this happens, of course due to human limitations - and unfortunately, we have to put on our thinking caps and figure out ways around the problem by introducing this thing called quality control, and also ingredients preparations. When going behind the scenes, most operations will try to 'cook' their food as much as possible before putting it on the 'waiting table' for customers to sit down and eat.

From our end - this occurs mostly by the mixing of sauces, cutting of vegetables - marinating the meat and pre-cooking certain dishes. Tedious work especially when the reserve levels are low. Demand is quite variable when it comes to FnB - kinda tied to the mood swings of our guests perhaps - When they are in the eating mood - everybody pops up and downs an elephant and at other times - everybody is busy at the movies - quite unpredictable behaviour honestly. Though we do see recognizable patterns throughout the year as guests tend to increase in flow during the end of the year and drop significantly over the middle.

Preparation is indeed difficult work - and there are many unsung heroes who keep your FnB outlets operating on a day to day basis - granting every guest a meal, despite having thousands running through the store every day. Sometimes the little guys deserve a break too!

All In A Days Work: Operating in Tandem

The act of pulling our operations together was done quite in development, mostly during the renovation works at the cafe. Being a FnB outlet, we have the need to tailor our operations to be cost effective, yet efficient to be able to serve a large number of guests who dine in regularly. As opposed to the more common 'home-cook' concept - we needed to have a system in place to plan for an unexpected number of guests who can appear at any point in time.

As most fast food outlets will have it, a limited-sized menu, large-shiny equipment of mass production, and also the unwavering wallet-choking (not quite - its still somewhat reasonable haha) rates so that they can be accompanied with offers and promotions. A very crude look at the system, but you will observe that many fast food outlets will do something similar in their processes that enable them to serve a wide range, and also huge number of guests.

On the other hand, we have the traditional restaurant concept - where variety and the quality of the dishes are the focus of attention. However, they of course struggle with different issues - namely somewhat less throughput, high risk of wastage but a higher selling margin in return. Most cafe-styled concepts try to marry the two - but of course we will eventually end up with a 'rojak' where most cafe's still fail to produce their food  within a short time frame and instead end up becoming slower in overall as their drinks and beverages generally take longer to prepare, leaving guests with nothing on their tables for a longer period of time.This problem can of course be solved by adding solutions over it, but we are trying to find one that can solve the root of it bottoms up.

To simplify things, we came down to one golden rule: Zero Wastage, followed by the next golden rule: Stupidly Simple. Essentially, that's how we worked on our procedures and preparations for recipes and dishes from the kitchen where we needed to ensure that things will not be too difficult for a newbie to learn from. Also, we needed to keep our operations cost effective, so we tried to make use of just about everything that had side-products.

For example, we will use the clean cuts and 'prime' cuts of lamb to be used for our lamb chops, while smaller and less well shaped pieces were essentially boned and used for mince. The resulting fat was used for stew and sauce  preparations, leaving us with the bones - which well - went to our pets :D Its not that we intend to serve our guests with anything less than acceptable - We still practice the other golden rule "If you dare to have this yourself, then you can serve this to the guests," which serves as a very crude, yet somewhat effective means of ensuring all-round quality (don't expect 5-star performances though) without the need for a 5-star chef. Of course, we do have experienced cooks in the house, but we cannot discount the fact there are many occasions the best many not be available!

So how do we simplify complicated preparation procedures so that even a newb can perform them? Well, it does involve a little bit of simplifying, of course (Like the way we stock up sauces used in almost every dish - prepared only by the more experienced crew or suppliers) - but it mostly involves the idea of divide and conquer - Management tips certainly do make their way into a civilized kitchen, where complicated tasks are broken down into smaller, simpler, individual tasks to make up the whole. Nevertheless, balance comes into play since time is a key variable we need to keep small.

Another inside look at some of the things we do here at Myst.

All In A Days Work: Waffle Mania

Before we headed out to get Myst running, we had a little waffle stall running for about 2 months as a little past-time project. It was certainly a fun experience, and considering that none of us had any experience with a waffle iron before - we actually only spent 1 day in testing the machine before rolling out to the market.

How things happened were certainly very interesting as the operator for the desserts shop had requested us to start within a 3 day's notice if possible. Up for the thrill of the challenge, we obliged and rushed over to get the machine we have been eyeing at the Boulevard Mall. The waffle iron was made in Malaysia (*grin*), and it was much cheaper than many other imported models that were being used in the market.

Well, there are some interesting quirks about this machine. Ours was of the same size, but the depth of the iron makes its waffles much bigger - which required us to come up with a new formula for making money other than copying the Magic Byte clones out there in the market. Soon enough, we came up with a recipe of our own that we believe is somewhat superior in many ways as opposed to a power-based batter. Well, that's the way we look at it - We believe that fresh and natural ingredients are always superior to anything that passes through the manufacturing process.

Business was booming initially - though ever since we moved the waffle machine to our waffles bar in Myst Cafe, it has somewhat slowed dramatically, probably due to its location that new guests are unaware that we do have waffles for sale unless they look into our menu. Nevertheless, we still retain its signature size and taste, with a new variety of flavours including ice-cream waffles to accompany your meal at affordable prices.

There is also another catch to our waffles - The art of removing waffles from the iron ROFL. Naturally, anything cheap is not too durable either, and I guess the same goes for our dear local made waffle iron. It has went through some heating problems, and the biggest problem is the wear and tear of the non-stick surface. Removal of waffles has evolved into some sort of art where you can actually observe the bartender performing world-class stunts of flexibility in an attempt to remove the waffle in once piece while avoiding the searing heat of the waffle iron. Truly a sight to behold :D

Another random article on some of our daily incidences with the crew :D

New Affiliate: NERF Kuching

Just recently we were lucky enough to get in touch with a group of young enthusiasts of the global NERF community. Just what exactly does NERF stand for? Simply put, its an extension of those classic rubber-band 'lastik' most of us used to play back in our high school days - Less painful and more fun!

Found this classic off Google!

NERF basically stands for "Non-Expanding Recreational Foam". Sounds kinda lame at first, but who cares when you get the opportunity to shoot your friends in the head. Its a brand of 'blaster's' created by the Parker Brothers quite some time back, and it works its way to modernize the classic rubber band catapults into a truly fun and immersing experience.

While one could say that NERF is nothing compared to paintball - but its a great alternative for those who do not want to undergo the pain, sweat and dirt (Well, sweat and dirt is  more of a personal choice) - and more importantly a hole in your wallet.

So while we can't really lay pain on our dear friends everyday via air cannons, we can still 'NERF' them every other day. And its still great fun after all regardless of how you 'pwn' your friends.

Before we go, catch this infamous NERF vid:

NERF Kuching will be a great addition to our recreational groups going alongside those of particular interest including RPG's and collector's games. The hold weekly 'scrimmages' every week Be sure to check out their Facebook page for the latest news and updates on their weekly events!

DIY: Making Your Own Chilled Cheesecake

It was just recently that there have been quite a number of guests and friends wanting to make their own cheesecake. So here is a simple, straight-forward, yet somewhat delightful recipe that nearly everyone is be able to prepare with some basic equipment and access to the nearby supermarket.

There's no secret to the recipes I have used for my cheesecakes since several years back, it lies within the selection and the combinations of the flavours used to make something simple, exotic. Getting to the point, here is the recipe breakdown (For a 1kg recipe):

Ingredients:
300g cream cheese (Any brand will do, though its up to your preference)
300g whipping cream (You can use non-dairy topping too, they are somewhat similar)
2 tbsp of gelatine powder
1/2 cup of water
a little vanilla extract to taste
a little sugar to taste
and other flavourings of choice (e.g.juice of a lemon, chocolate powder, milo, you name it) to taste

100g of broken biscuit crumbs (any biscuit of choice - chunkier bits will be a little crispier)
75g of melted butter (I generally discourage using margarine as its taste is inferior and also probably unhealthy)

Equipment:
2 mixing bowls
1 Mixer
1 Baking Tray with a removable base (looks like pic below)

Refrigerator
Stove
Basic utensils

Method:
1. Whip the cream cheese with solid or powdered ingredients until they form a smooth paste.
2. Dissolve gelatine powder with water over very low heat until the mixture is smooth.
2a. Prepare the biscuit base by melting butter over low heat and mixing in the biscuit crumbs. Press firmly with a spoon. If the base is too brittle, add in more melted butter.
3. Whip in the gelatine mixture with the cheesemix.
4. Beat the whipping cream in a separate bowl until firm tops are formed, then fold in (Mix manually) the whipping cream with the cheesemix till smooth.
5. Pour everything into the baking tray, then add any toppings of choice.
6. Chill for four hours to set.

And that's it! The basics are really quite simple, but from there there is so much that you can do to give add a variety of new ingredients and add-ons to make a truly exquisite dessert. Here was a little something I did for a friend sometime back (Nothing spectacular, but it will still great fun):

The best part of doing it yourself? The whole thing will cost you only around RM25!

D&D - Moving It Out

Recently we were lucky enough that a reporter dropped by to take a look into one of our most unique worlds within Myst - Dungeons and Dragons, an RPG-based game set in a world where fantasy and imagination rule. Let the article speak for itself (Taken from The Borneo Post):

TOTAL strangers and from vastly different backgrounds, six young local professionals get together without fail twice a week and even on public holidays.

What is it that so compels them to willingly give up their free time for, and at the same time, has the power to bind them like a brotherhood cult?

It sounds extreme, but it isn’t. The young people are merely indulging in a highly interactive and mind-stimulating game of D&D (Dungeons and Dragons).

It’s a kind of Role Playing Game (RPG) that requires a high level of imagination and creativity — a game of fantasy usually centred on medieval times where dragons, castles and knights ruled. Basically, it’s about saving the world and good conquering evil.

The players have to assume the roles of imaginary characters in a fictional setting, acting out their part according to the rules and regulations set by the Game Master (GM) who also pens the storyline.

What’s unique is that the players have a crucial role in determining the conclusion.

Their part (or rather act) is not transcribed by the GM – they themselves determine the flow of the game. It’s a more sophisticated and intellectual form of story telling that pools the players’ collaborative efforts.

RPG is played here exclusively by those who took it up while studying abroad. It’s a hit among college students and also appeals to computer game buffs.

The only people known to play the game in Kuching are a five-member group comprising Jerome Wei, Jonathan Isaac, Alvin Katek, Roy Eng, Remington Ling and Lim Kheng Sen.

Sheela Kym, who just joined the group, is the only female member.

While many readily dismiss RPG as a waste of time and childish, the group will spring to its defence in a flash.

Explained Wei: “It’s an interactive game that involves deep thinking and stimulates the mind.”

Eng put it this way: “It’s a game that requires vivid imagination. The Game Master has to come out with the storyline while each player has act out a character to fit the storyline.”

Jonathan said it’s a highly interactive game that improves one’s oral skills and also helps one to think out of the box to overcome the obstacles that crop up so often in the story.

Ling believed RPG could boost one’s confidence in public speaking as it involves a lot of conversation while Lim said it helps improve one’s command of English in which game is played.

Despite their different opinions of the game, they all agreed on one thing – it’s a form of escapism that transports them to a world of fantasies inhabited by dragons, swash-buckling heroes and villains, fair maidens and chivalrous knights.

“You need to be open-minded. Only then can you appreciate the game. Basically, you are stepping into a world of fantasy,” Jonathan pointed out.

With the crinkum and crankum of blockbusters like The Lord of the Ring and Harry Potter to fuel young minds, it’s no wonder RGP is popular among college kids.

Most members of the Kuching group have been playing the game even before their college days, either alone via computer or with others online. They met by chance and after discovering they had the same interests, decided to get to know each other better by coming together to share a common hobby.

“Previously, it was just sheets of paper and dice. Figurines were too expensive and hard to come by. Now these miniatures are more easily available,” Wei noted.

Usually, the game is played with sheets of paper and dice but when it comes to the conclusion, the table is set with figurines representing the characters in the story, complete with a huge model of a fire-spitting dragon.

Explained Eng: “Sometimes, we do set the table with models and miniatures. So we don’t have to use visualisation.”

A game lasts about four hours.

“It’s all about saving the world, good triumphing over evil. But the mission is treacherous and perilous,” he added.

Though it sounds fantastical, it’s also very pragmatic and structured, Eng said, adding that just like a real battle, tactics and strategies were necessary to defeat the enemy.

“The game is as practical as it is fantastical.”

The earliest RPG is Dungeons and Dragons created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. It was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules Inc (TSR). Its early success led to a proliferation of similar game systems but D&D remains dominant in its  genre.

As of 2006, about 20 million people have played the game with more than US$1 billion in book and equipment sales.

All In a Days Work: Homemade Ice-Age

When we first purchased a second hand industrial-sized refigerator for our stores, little did we know it had its quirks of its own. This fella built on ice on a daily basis thanks to some poor engineering design (Made in Malaysia - actually Kuching >.<).

For those in the know, a refigerator provides cooling via its cooling rods which channel coolant throughout. Interestingly, for this particular unit, it had only one motor (or condenser), which basically limited it to a one shot on/or off and similar cooling for both the chiller and freezer sections. Naturally, we would have some problems such as the chiller being too cold at times and such. Many household refigerators douse the problem by simply fitting in a fan called a blower which would eliminate the problem of ice forming in the chiller section while the freezer cools down. This works by distributing the heat or more accurate cold evenly to avoid ice-forming on the cooling rods that pass by the chiller section. Another side effect, we experience a literal flood every night thanks to the forming and melting of the ice.

Well, thanks to some genius who wanted to save a couple hundred of bucks, theres no blower, and the result a super thick ice-wall or what the crew calls the Ice-Age that occurs once every month. Annoying as it may be, it actually does generate some inhouse fun every month especially when the guys go around the machine literally 'breaking the ice'.

And yes, we actually need an ice-pick (small one la...) to break through the 6" or-so wall that forms over the course of a month. Clearing out the chiller is one thing, followed by about an hour of ice fun, and rearrangement right after. Honestly, I believe the guys have somehow managed to convert this annoyance into a good practice of management to keep the chiller maintained after all.

Another one of our little arcs that run around the cafe every month - Life can be fun and entertaining no matter where it is!

Introducing: Premiums!

Its been a while that we had the idea of premium dishes cooking, which are basically bigger, nicer and 'more fulfilling' dishes, drinks or desserts for our guests who have more than the capacity to 'appreciate' it (In the terms of cash, of course :D). Premiums are where you pay for the ingenuity, we feel. Of course, in the end it is up to the guest to decide if it is worth that standard - please feel free to leave behind feedback on our menu.

It certainly took quite a while to come up with innovative and fresh ideas for dishes and mocktails. While ramping up the serving size is certainly an easy way to introduce a premium, what is truly needed is the originality and energy which would drive its 'core' - which would then be reflected in the product itself, something fresh and unfounded in the food industry.

Similar to chefs, but without the 'top' or qualifications to go with it, we believe that good food rests merely on the heart and soul of those preparing them. It does not matter whether one has experience (though experience would certainly speed up the learning process), but a cook with the desire to, well.. fill the stomachs of guests to bring out a huge smile on their faces would certainly do his/her homework well to ensure that given the time. Here, we are all about originality and taste with just about any ingredient one could easily get his hands on - something we all could do and identify with rather than to think of truffles (Which in my opinion is exquisite, but well - kind of on a different genre of food I guess).

Without further ado, we are glad to present to our guests some of our latest creations - some which are in our Premiums, while others are on the standard menu (actually created sometime back):

1. Mixed Sauce Noodles (Or originally known as Fried Sauce Noodles - a Taiwanese dish)

When undergoing training for FnB, we were introduced to this somewhat simple yet intricate dish where noodles are boiled and covered with minced meat (originally pork) with a hot and spicy sauce, mixed with a variety of fresh vegetables to go with it. Surprisingly, the dish was quite appetizing in fact. While we were scouting around the kitchen, we wondered how well such a dish would go with our Black Pepper sauce with minced meat - and there you go. We now offer the same Taiwanese-FuZed dish without pork(!) but with the choice of chicken, lamb or beef in a blend of spicy black pepper sauce. Certainly a unique twist to the more common Fried Sauce Noodles.

2. Paninis-FuZed Style (Premiums)

The panini is basically an Italian flatbread sandwich. Well, thats all there is to it. And whatever you put in between is pretty much up to you. While there is an original recipe and preparation to it, were not exactly following the original after all, and thats something we would like to have as our signature in preparing dishes. Our paninis are filled with whole chicken slices with our Jolly Roger's sauce and a light mix of fresh vegetables, which bring together a taste many would (probably) long for.

What really makes these guys interesting is of course, their preparation style and presentation which truly makes it a novelty when you see someone taking a bite from a strange 'bread' or 'bun' few usually munch on.

3. The Submarine (Coming Soon)

In some cases, the only thing we innovate would be size - and as many times as this has been done before, well, it still works when you dish out an extremely huge serving. Our submarine does dish out a little uniqueness as its filled with mushroom sauce rather than the common blend of chili, tomato and mayonnaise. Be on the lookout for this fella sometime in the future.

4. Sambal Fried Rice (Premium)

Nothing much beats a spicy sambal fried rice for its fans. Nevertheless, there are still ways we could work on it and make it even more interesting. Our Sambal Fried Rice comes with a touch of curry and spices, and also a mixture of more than 11 herbs and spices (Supposedly :D) added with a touch of fresh pineapples and accompanied with a lamb side dish to make it a wholesome spicy experience. The coleslaw goes extremely well with this combination too as it somehow provides a soothing touch to wane the spiciness a little when needed. To top it off, were making it big so the average guy would be quite satisfied with its price.

Be on the lookout for more of our original premium dishes now that this range has been officially launched.

Event: Soul Dance Anniversary Dinner

We were honored to have been selected as the hosting venue for Soul Dance Studio's 2nd Anniversary Dinner 2011 on 3rd April 2011. Led by Decole, Soul Dance has certainly created waves within the local dance scene and beyond. We would also like to congratulate them on bagging two recent wins, the most recent one at the Back to Plaza Astana Street Dance Competition just earlier today.

In conjunction with their anniversary, Myst is also proud to announce our latest affiliation with Soul Dance Studio as an official affiliate under our wings of performing arts. This marks our first affiliate member in this arena, and we hope to draw more participation from other groups in the future.

As an affiliate, Soul Dance Studio will gain the privilege of being a premium member and also a valuable partner in steering the Myst network in the future. We are still looking forward for more partners in hand to pull together an ideal. Drop us a message to find out more!

Photo courtesy of Michelle

Event: Sarawak Bloggers Anniversary Dinner

It was with great pleasure that Myst was chosen as the host for the 1st Sarawak Blogger's Anniversary on Saturday, 12 March 2011.  The Sarawak Bloggers have made a long way since their humble beginnings about one year ago. Take a look at their web portal here.

Everyone had their share of light refreshments, snacks, food, and a huge load of cake to top it off thanks to the sponsorship of generous bloggers. The event signified the 'grounding' of the Sarawak Bloggers being an online community, thus bringing bloggers together.

Being one of the affiliates for Myst, we are proud to have the Sarawak Bloggers working alongside in expanding and developing the network. We are looking forward to further affiliations and partnerships in the future to further drive our vision forward hand in hand.

Below was the group photo courtesy of Willie who took the shot for us:

Stay tune for further updates! Coming up next will be a short announcement of our upcoming affiliate to be part of our network! For a more personalized coverage for the event by our rep, click here.

Event: Gathering of The Dentists

We had the golden opportunity to cater for the annual general meeting for the 'Dentistry Ministry' for pretty much the whole of Sarawak on the 21, 22 and 23 February 2011. Serving a total of 130 pax, this is one of our first major external event since catering for Sri Datai's 60 pax Christmas lunch.

Being naturally short on resources due to our 'small business' nature, it was indeed quite a challenge to serve up a breakfast, lunch and tea consecutively for 130 pax with barely more than 5 kitchen crew, mostly which are inexperienced and drawn out from the 'fresh meat' squad.

Anyways, before running into the details, photos of the event (our apologies for the blurry shots as we do not have proper shooting equipment):

The good news: They loved the food! For any cook, one could not delight more in their guests liking and finishing their food. At every meal, nearly everything was finished despite our efforts in doubling the portions even for the second day.

A big thanks to all the crew who served and prepared the food during this time. We are proud to announce that there was no chef at the helm of the whole event, but rather a Computer Science graduate - I'm not sure, but I'm about as baffled as you are to how it all worked out :D

The kitchen crew got up as early as 4a.m. to begin ingredient preparations and each meal was allocated between 4-6 hours of preparation. With 5 crew, that equates to one crew serving 6.5 guests per hour. Not very heavy at first sight, but if we were to break it down, it equates to serving 1 guest every 10 minutes with all courses (usually 4-5 courses per meal) inclusive of preparation time and everything. Thus, our estimation was just on time on nearly all accounts, minus one meal where the organizers wanted their meal earlier - So the kitchen simply told them if they were to serve earlier than agreed upon, there would be less food - literally :D

The biggest surprise for the whole event was actually the lack of experience that most of the crew 'had'. All our kitchen assistants (or at least 75%) were completely new to our kitchen, and some had never even touched a 'kuali' in their lives. Thankfully, we didn't ask the fresh meat to go 'goreng nasi' LOL.

With the tiny kitchen churning out food for double its normal capacity, we naturally ended up utilizing most of the space in the cafe - converted into a mobile mass production centre for 3 days. Due to limited storage, we had to acquire most of the stock only the day before preparation. Thus you could probably catch an overloaded white Myvi full of vegetables, poultry, potatoes, fruits, and more running round the city at 5a.m. in the morning :P

All in all, it was great exposure and also a good benchmark to test our capacity for future events. Don't worry though, if your event requires food for 1000 pax, we would happily mobilise our kitchen to adapt to your needs (If that means occupying public space too haha).

With that, we hope to see you around at our next event! All thanks to the Ministry of Dentistry!

All In A Days Work: Quality Assurance

No matter how much we would like to be called a networking point or events business, Myst is still essentially an FnB operations that serves food, drinks, desserts and the like. As such our KPI's fall solely under one criterion:

Customer Satisfaction.

I'm not sure how people think. But then again, this guy is starting to look freaky.

One of our friends did advise us on referring to customers as guests - and it is something I really find interesting and applicable - simply because, by addressing our customers as guests, we automatically push up their statures at least by a little. Being in service line, it is only logical that we should treat our customers with utmost respect, thus they are guests. Little things in our patterns of thinking - but I realised that after spending some time addressing them as guests - I actually began to develop a little more respect for the people who dine in with us. And that is certainly a good thing for just about any field in actuality- because I believe the most important element of a business deal or partnership is satisfaction for both parties.

Well, we have other KPI's under the main criterion of course. Amongst them includes, quality of service, quality of food and beverages, quality of the environment and the like. Quality assurance in FnB is of course, ensuring quality of the dishes we serve, and drinks we make. Other aspects such as quality of service is more subjective - though there are base principles to refer to as well.

In ensuring that the quality of the kitchen is maintained, I myself (as the supervisor of the kitchen - I also develop the recipes for the menu) have to constantly conduct quality checks on the dishes coming out from the kitchen. In simple English, its called picking food (not with my fingers of course! Ahm) or in Hokkien (as it is always funnier this way) - 'nie chai'. Kids, don't try this at home - Or you might just lose your dinner :p

Leftovers: The bane of FnB

Then comes the bane of FnB, a taboo not to be uttered under the worst circumstances: Leftovers! And substantial amounts of it! I understand that everybody has different tastes, so there is a slight possibility that our excellent food and drinks did not quite match the guest's palate. On the other hand, the much more likely scenario (as our crew are well, bumbling !@#$ - Hey, I do respect them a lot - its just that they lack .... technical ..skills) is that some 'idiot' just screwed up the recipe or cooking procedure. At this point, I am informed by the server that the guest did not 'eat up'. Then there is only one thing left to do - Become a recycle bin lo..


Yes, yes.. I know the dangers of hand and mouth diseases. One of my crew even asked me if I could get AIDS by eating infected food ( -.-"). Well, lets just sat I guess I am willing to sacrifice my life for the future of Myst :P But what to do? I need to know if the food was up to standard bah.. Maybe we might have some sort of food testing technology in the future to determine the 'deliciousness' factor of a dish >.<. Disclaimer: When tasting leftovers, we still observe the golden rule: Do not do anything to to the food which would make you not want to eat it yourself. If were still willing to taste it - at the very least its from the untouched parts lah!

There was a time I was sharing this with a friend, and when I thought about it from the third person's perspective, we just bawled over on the floor laughing. Seriously - imagine the supervisor chowing down on just about every plate (and then downing it with a half-finished drink) than has more than a nibble left behind by a guest -.-

Ah.. well.. there is a always a price to pay for excellence. Hey, not every item left behind is bad! I actually realised how great our food was at times - so don't blame me for finishing good leftovers!

Sarawak Bloggers: Gathering of the Tribes

On the 15th Jan 2011, we had our first opportunity to meet up the Sarawak Bloggers and some of their members in person via the event called Gathering of The Tribes, somewhat of a Tribal and Tattoo convention held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching over the weekend.

Here is a summary of the event by our representative who managed to get an invitation for the event.

We hope that this would be the beginning of many more events, activities and programs with our partners and affiliates as we build our community around us! A big thanks to the Sarawak Bloggers for providing us the opportunity to be there!

Prologue: Reworking History Pt. 2

After completion of the physical works (About 2.5 months in total - particularly due to minimizing labor costs vai DIY) to get the outlet operational - then came the daunting task of pulling everything together - Implementing a system of operations for the business, and to ensure that it is one that can also generate sufficient income and eventually be profitable to further develop the idea.

This post is a little bit more of the step-by-step procedures to get a FnB outlet into operations - and also the interesting bumps we encountered trying to implement them. Talking about business, it reminds me of a time when we purchased a door sign reading something like this:

Somehow or somewhere we actually developed the business model after these principles LOL.. Oh well...

Generally, FnB operations doesn't seem quite complicated, but then again:

The general sections in an FnB outlet would be something similar to Bar, Kitchen, and Front. We had to then address each section individually:

FRONT
Scope: The serving area, hand wash basin, restrooms and basically everywhere a guest is allowed to access


The front's sole purpose is literally to serve guests well from arrival, seating guests, serving them the menus, receiving orders, moving orders to the kitchen, serving out dishes and drinks, presenting the bill, and finally sending off guests as they leave and cleaning up the dining area. Not that complicated, but in practice we certainly do have numerous little blunders here and there, especially in keeping the front row organized and avoiding a mess of dishes and orders.

In simpler terms, the front is the cushion between guests and well, the management (or staff). It cushions any incoming assaults from the guest's end and vice-versa (Yeah... we do try counter attack a lot too) - all while serving with a big smile whether they like it or not. Quite crucial actually, considering that the front is all that the guests will experience.

BAR
Scope: The cash register, serving counter, drinks making counter, and also chillers and freezers for the bar

Moving on to the bar or drinks making section, this sections runs the responsibility of keeping guests happy while the kitchen struggles to prepare the food to fill their empty stomachs. Shall the kitchen be delayed - we stuff them full of water, juices, milk, and various sweet stuff - hoping that it will keep their cool, and also add on to the 'fullness' of their meal :P

KITCHEN
Scope: The whole food preparation area, and storage for stocks.

The kitchen has only the sole purpose of churning out food as fast as they can, under any conditions whatsoever - whether the stock pot is full or not, whether or not there is meat in the fridge, whether or not there are any onions left (yeah, you get the idea). While doing so, they are required to juggle the 3 ends of the equation: Fast, Good, Cheap >.< As much as we would like to force our guests to choose only TWO, unfortunately we still require their 'moneh', so as the common saying goes:

Fast, Good, Cheap, and A lot!

Well, that was the easy part - planning that is.. Hell came when we tried to implement the menu and put it into operations where we had no choice but to slash nearly a quarter of our proposed items due to operational issues -> Storage space, active stock capacity, preparation time, and more importantly the capacity for the crew to duplicate the preparation procedures accurately.

Other issues came to fore - right down to little petty squabbles between crew members, issues with simple personal hygiene and cleanliness and well, we had no choice but to address them one by one. Things grew pretty complicated quickly, especially with the limited number of 'heads' to keep sections managed well.

There were fun quirks though - During our training for the crew, there were times the kitchen sent out fried rice in the shaping bowl and guests complained of eating from a flower pot, not to mention drinks tasting worse than your grandma's healthy juice concoction and waiters bumbling over themselves trying to serve out dishes and take orders.

A recent shot of the crew - yep were still goin

Somehow, we made it - at a cost of course, simplified as 'training expenses' - oh well, money can still settle a lot of our problems after all.. With the first week over and clear - the message was clear - its either to make it succeed and build the dream, or let go and let it fall with a big hole in our pockets. Sometimes we do wonder why its worth it all after all. Many of us could continue living easier lives off the 'makan gaji' with our educational background. But I would guess we have a bigger idea in mind while its still possible.