Full House At Restaurants As Love Trumps Omicron

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Despite the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases, bookings for Valentine’s Day dinner in the Klang Valley have been brisk. (Rawpixel pic)PETALING JAYA: Concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant are not keeping couples from celebrating Valentine’s Day tonight, with several high-end restaurants in the Klang Valley reporting they are fully booked for dinner.
Although daily coronavirus cases have hit more than 20,000 in the past week, five restaurants say there are no seats to spare tonight.
“I think the daily (Covid-19) numbers are affecting the industry, so they (couples) are only coming out when it’s really needed, like Valentine’s Day,” said a spokesman for Vantador, a steakhouse in Desa Sri Hartamas.
“Overall, I think business will be better than last year.”
Elishea Harris, manager of Pampas Steakhouse at Old Malaya, said the 120-seat restaurant at Jalan Raja Chulan in Kuala Lumpur was fully booked tonight.
While a few couples have cancelled their reservations, she said she is not too concerned as the steakhouse has a waiting list.
“The pandemic and the lockdowns have been tough on us, but we’ve now got back and are doing better than before,” she said. “I can’t complain.”
Predicting a packed house tonight, the marketing manager of a Japanese restaurant in Kuala Lumpur noted that concerns about the Omicron variant were not stopping Malaysians from dining out as most of the country’s residents are fully vaccinated.
“It was different last year as the vaccines hadn’t arrived yet,” she said.
The receptionist at a rooftop restaurant in Kuala Lumpur also said there would be a full house tonight, especially since the venue is a popular eatery known for its view of the city. “There are no more seats, we’re fully booked,” she said.
In Petaling Jaya, a representative from 33 Blue Room, a wine bar known for its jazz music, said there will be no available seats. “We’re going to be very busy,” he said. “It won’t be a normal Monday.”
Last year, restrictions on dining-in were lifted just days before Valentine’s Day, with customers limited to two a table. - FMT

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