Business Times - 14 Feb 2009
Economic adjustments
The economic slowdown has induced some quick thinking on the part of several top restaurants. Instead of slashing prices, they have come up with creative concepts to give diners better value. By Audrey Phoon
Gunther's
36 Purvis Street, #01-03
Tel 6338-8955
IF meat is the choice of the wealthy, then vegetables must surely be the foods that make the most financial sense (just the stuff to tuck into as fortunes slide with the economy, in fact).
At Gunther's, that statement can be borne out quite clearly: the modern French dining restaurant helmed by Belgian chef Gunther Hubrechsen launched a menu au legumes last month that offers diners eight courses of veggies done in different ways for $88. In comparison, a normal five-course degustation meal at the restaurant is $128.
The new menu is partly an effort to stay competitive during these tough times, says Hubrechsen, a disciple of vegetable specialist Alain Passard, whose three-Michelin-star establishment L'Arpège in Paris features a lot of organically-grown greens and no red meat on its menu. He explains: 'Business has been unpredictable over the past few months, and we've seen a dip of about 20 per cent overall. To stay in the game, you have to adapt, offer something different or go a step further. A vegetable menu gives more value for money; it's a more reasonable option.'
The 'lighter, healthier' menu is also something the restaurant's customers have been asking for, continues the chef, adding that he views the fresh menu as a sort of showcase on how to do veggies 'properly'.
'Many chefs, when they have to work with vegetables, they think, 's***',' says Hubrechsen, a self-professed vegetable lover who is on this year's World Gourmet Summit list of best chefs. 'They're not used to it and they don't see vegetables as mains. But I treat vegetables the same as meat or fish.
'There's no reason why you can't handle vegetables like you do meat or fish in terms of cooking methods. They're the same - you have to think of the strong points of every type of vegetable and cook it appropriately. If you have tough bits or you're cooking something like carrots or turnips, for instance, you just stew them, like with meat.'
As such, the menu (whose take-up rate has thus far been 'not too bad', says Hubrechsen) contains things like a tender carpaccio of celeriac with egg-white confit and Bordelaise sauce; hot boiled Normandy potatoes with fresh butter and konbu (Japanese kelp); and an amazingly flavourful cabbage roll stuffed with carrot, zucchini and onion with crispy edges that has been stewed for 'four to five hours, like making a beef stew but using vegetables instead'.
Most of the vegetables are imported from France and there is a myriad of textures and flavours on each delicately-plated dish, ensuring that even meat lovers who are used to feeling sinews, flesh and gristle between their teeth are kept interested. And that, above even the state of the economy, is the chef's main concern. 'I want people to leave the table and not feel that they have missed out on the meat,' he says.
The Line Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore
22 Orange Grove Road  Tel 6213-4393
THE economy may be out on a spin, but at least some things are remaining under control: the cost of lunch, for instance, even at a usually-fixed-price buffet restaurant.
To combat a 'slight dip' in business due to the downturn, Shangri-La Hotel introduced a new Lunch By The Minute concept this week at its popular The Line buffet restaurant. Those who take up this promotion will be charged $23++ per person for the first 30 minutes and 70 cents for every subsequent minute, up to a maximum of $45++ per person, the usual price of the meal.
The novel idea is aimed at time-starved business executives (companies must make reservations beforehand to enjoy the promotion) and will allow diners to partake of The Line's '16 theatre kitchens at a price they wish to pay', says the hotel's area and general manager, Thierry Douin.
He explains: 'We came up with the idea of Lunch By The Minute as we realised that people like to have choices and to be empowered. Lunch hours for working professionals are usually constrained to one hour and thus, we decided to offer an executive lunch concept that will be relevant to them.'
It's also something that is, well, timely as 'everyone is more cautious about spending and more conscious about getting the best value for money at times like these', he adds.
The meal encompasses everything that's usually on The Line's lunch menu, such as a range of fresh seafood and sashimi, noodles, teppanyaki and ice cream mixed on a cold stone, all of which diners can tuck into while digital time displays tick away the minutes on overhead plasma screens. A free flow of coffee and tea is included, although chilled juices are also available as part of the concept at a special price of $5++ per glass instead of the usual $12.50++.
It's a 'win-win situation for The Line and for our valued guests', feels Mr Douin, explaining that the flexibility of the concept allows people to have 'variety in a limited time frame at a reasonable price, since many people enjoy a wide variety of food but not everyone has the luxury of time to indulge in a long lunch'.
For the hotel, it means a faster turnover rate which in turn results in a higher number of covers and increased revenue.
Since the promotion is applicable to selected corporate companies, it will also 'allow us to nurture goodwill between our business partners and loyal supporters', Mr Douin adds, concluding that 'in challenging times, restaurants need to be relevant to the needs of diners and think of creative ways to enhance value for money for guests ... It is our basic belief that a guest will still invest in a meal if he can be assured of an excellent dining experience'.
Wild Rocket
Hangout Hotel 10A
Upper Wilkie Road
Tel 6339-9448
Relish
#02-01 Cluny Court
501 Bukit Timah Road
Tel 6763-1547
MUCH like the Western recipes in his restaurants to which he has liberally added local flavours, Willin Low offers a uniquely Singaporean analogy about the effects of the global recession on the restaurant industry: 'It's like taking taxis, where the fares go up and people are scared off for awhile but come back later.'
It's a view that may seem highly optimistic to some, but Low - the owner-chef of Wild Rocket restaurant, burger joint Relish and Wild Oats bar, which have collectively seen a 'maybe 10- to 20-per-cent dip in business over the last couple of months' - is actually hoping that customers will start returning to restaurants 'even sooner'.
To lure them back, he has launched several 'stimulus packages' at his outlets - otherwise known as Credit Crunch Munch Deals - that were put together after some careful observation of his key audiences, and are aimed at offering better value to his customers.
At Low's main restaurant Wild Rocket, for instance, there are a la carte set lunches and dinners (previously only a daily set lunch was available) as well as a new six-course degustation menu - comprising items such as giam chye consomme of duck and ravioli and roast Chilean seabass with kicap manis, garlic and baby asparagus - at $66.80 that Low maintains 'is the best-value tasting menu in town'.
At Wild Oats, happy hours have been extended and a list of under-$10 hot food items have been introduced, while old Wild Rocket pasta favourites that have since been taken off that restaurant's menu are making a reappearance at Relish, along with smaller burger sizes.
'At Relish, we noticed that a lot of our customers were ladies who never finished their burgers,' explains Low of the changes at the burger joint. 'So now we offer patties in two sizes, 150g or 180g, and that way there's no wastage and we can make it cheaper too.'
Never mind that lower prices mean tinier profits - 'we realise that a lot of people are having their salaries cut and companies have slashed their entertainment budgets, so it's only fair that we should make less too', reasons Low, who reveals that there were 'a lot of cancellations' of corporate events in December.
'Now, it's all about bringing the cash in and getting people to come, as well as getting the volumes right so smaller players like us can survive in an environment like this. I hope we won't have to launch any rescue packages in time to come!'
Heat ultralounge
Level 2, Royal Plaza on Scotts
25 Scotts Road
Tel 6589-7722
IF drowning your sorrows with a pint or seven in the middle of the work week isn't enough in view of the economic downturn, perhaps simultaneously smothering them with servings of Pacific cold water prawns and Moroccan spiced beef - all at pocket-friendly prices - will prove more effective.
The kind people at Royal Plaza on Scotts have made this extra-pain-relief scheme possible, by converting Heat ultralounge, the hotel's in-house bar, into a budget eatery on weekdays. Along with the usual drinks list, a menu of international dishes comprising new recipes from the hotel's kitchen as well as favourites from its award-winning Carousel restaurant is now served at Heat between noon and 11pm to 'cater to the business crowd', says Royal Plaza on Scotts marketing manager Lynn Tan.
According to her, Carousel is 'still doing very well' but the new concept was launched so the hotel can 'stay competitive right now by providing even better service and options than before to diners'. And no, this doesn't cannibalise Carousel as the hotel's main restaurant is 'aimed at a different clientele, such as families who want a leisurely meal'.
Indeed, the menu at Heat is clearly designed to provide quick, value-for-money eats. It comprises the aforementioned prawns and beef alongside Western classics like fish-and-chips and burgers, and local favourites like crayfish hor fun and Hainanese chicken rice. There's also a selection of salads, appetisers and desserts. Everything is relatively inexpensive for a hotel eatery, with prices starting from $12 for a salad or pasta dish, to $28 for the Moroccan spiced tenderloin or oven-baked cod.
In comparison, a buffet meal at Carousel (which is primarily a buffet restaurant) starts from $40 for a weekday lunch. The restaurant's a la carte menu, too, is pricier than the one at Heat.
Says Ms Tan: 'This concept, which we started last month, is a first for us. By offering this, we hope to help diners continue to enjoy the same lifestyle without hurting their wallets too much during a time of crisis like this. They pay less for an amount that they can finish.'
Of course, the hotel, too, is benefitting from this bit of creativity - what was previously a not-so-crowded bar on weekday afternoons is gradually filling up with business executives looking for a quick lunch.
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