Every year, during the holy month of Ramadhan, Gapturions are treated to a nice dinner in conjunction with the 'buka puasa' (break fast) tradition of our Muslim colleagues. This year, we've decided to revisit Hotel Armada for their amazing traditional Malaysian cuisine.
Exclusively for Gapturions
Although we arrived at the restaurant around 7:00pm, out of respect for our Muslims friends, the rest of us only started eating after 7:27pm, which was the break fast time of the day. The air was filled with the exquisite aroma of warm spices. We filled our tables with plates full of food because everything looked so delicious. The dishes set in front of us were so tempting and we couldn't wait to dig in even though it was only 20 minutes to “buka puasa”. It’s hard to imagine what the Muslims go through during the fasting month. Their endurance and discipline deserve our respect and admiration.
Counting down to Buka Puasa (break fast)
There was a wide variety of delicacies served at the buffet – roasted whole lamb (ya, it’s legit!), Rendang Daging (spicy beef stew), fish curry, chicken Biryani (mixed rice), Roti Canai, Rojak, seafood, Satay, fried chicken and mutton etc. Sushi, spaghetti, fried rice and noodles were served too, especially for carb lovers!
At the dessert bar, there were various types of Malay traditional kuih (pastries), fried bananas, cakes, puddings, dates and fruits.
The camera eats first!
At 7:27pm, we finally started to stuff our faces with food after the Muslims were done with their break fast prayer.
Our mouths were busy multitasking during the dinner - chit chatting and chewing food all at once. We talked about our most liked and disliked food. There was a special (smelly?) delicacy - Roti Durian at the buffet, which spilt the Gapturions into “team yay” and “team nay”. Our many conversations ranged from food to Brexit. Isn't it a privilege to be in the company of those we can share casual and serious conversations with?
Who cares about calories? Diet can start tomorrow!
Other than good food and lots of laughter, we gained some fun facts too! Most of us didn’t know that A.B.C. stands for Air Batu Campur (mixed ice) until Amirul, our Head of Performance Team told us about it. A.B.C. is a Malaysian dessert, which is simply a heap of shaved ice in a bowl, topped with fruit cocktail and drizzled with syrup. We had a lot of fun making our own A.B.C. at the dessert bar.
It was wonderful to get a chance to try out all kinds of local food at once. Food plays an important role in building intercultural relationships, and through the simple act of sharing a meal, the bond between every Gapturion are strengthened.
Last but not least, a big thank you to our CEO, Mr. Stanley for the fantastic treat!
Fellow Gapturions:
Front (from left to right): Fairoz, Sook Yee, Nadine, Alix's boyfriend, Alix
Back (from left to right): Lisa, Josephine, Jilian, Bee Kim, Aji, Amirul, Stanley, Jackie, Lee Yee, Erra