SEREMBAN, June 17 – Ask anyone about Seremban’s Regent Restaurant and they will tell you that the restaurant is known for hosting dinner functions, wedding dinners and other gatherings.
But that has become a distant memory ever since the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the business struggling to survive and to pay their workers’ salaries.
So, in order to sustain themselves, they have taken to selling chicken rice besides their usual Chinese cuisine inside the restaurant.
Regent Restaurant’s managing director JP Tan Siew Hoon said the chicken rice business only started about 10 days ago to help pay for the workers’ salaries.
The chicken rice stall is located just outside the entrance of the Regent Restaurant and one can usually see people queuing up from about 11am to buy themselves a packet of chicken rice.
He also said that apart from the chicken rice, they also sell nasi lemak and glutinous rice (bak chang).
“Since the movement control order (MCO) was enforced, there have been lesser customers coming and as a result, business has been bad.
“I have about 100 staff working with me consisting of 60 local workers and 40 foreigners but because business has hit low – I told my foreign workers that they don’t have to work.
“What’s the point? Now, there are fewer customers as compared to last time, and with the new standard operating procedures, younger children and the elderly are not allowed to enter the restaurant.
“From the restaurant that used to host dinner functions to lavish weddings, business now has come to the point of surviving and paying my staff their salaries.
“However, I am still paying for my foreign workers’ lodging and food because they have been dedicated workers to me – as some even working for about 20 years with me.”
JP Tan also said that the chicken rice business starts from as early as 8am and ends at 2pm every day.
“We try our best to sell all our food (chicken rice) to customers, and when we have the remainder, I will tell my staff to give it to the foreign workers.”
JP Tan who has been the managing director for 13 years hopes that business will recover and he can rope in the foreign workers back into the restaurant.
“As head of this restaurant, it is important to take care of the well-being of workers no matter how bad times might be and I can’t wait for this pandemic to be over once and for all.
Regent Restaurant has been in operation for the last 35 years and the restaurant has undergone massive renovations to give it a more modern look.
In the last six years, a bigger hall known as Regent Hall which is also under Regent Restaurant was built to accommodate 2,000 people for bigger events such as wedding dinners.
The restaurant is also famous for its Peking duck as the skin is crisp while the meat is tender and served with sweet sauce.
