Yeoh Siew Hoon gets a whiff of what's it like to be a general manager of a grand hotel.

I now know what general managers do for their living. They taste food and hang around their lobbies, waiting for HIP (Highly Important People) encounters.

I was invited last week to a food tasting at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. The hotel is preparing to open its latest dining experience, the Straits Kitchen, which will showcase the best of Singapore food in a contemporary setting.
And as part of its pre-opening sometime mid-December, its chefs have been working on getting their recipes right and several food-tasting sessions have been held.

First, I was given a quick tour of the new restaurant – it's still a construction site but you can see it will be vast and open, with lots of wooden accents for a local feel.

And of course, you can see that it will have open kitchens. A restaurant these days without an open kitchen is incomplete, after all.

With the Straits Kitchen, the Grand Hyatt hopes to turn the concept of local dining on its head – think Singapore food court but in a modern, hip setting and with open kitchens. (I can imagine a Mezza9 but with a local twist.)
I was about to taste the Malay spread.

I was taken through the back of the house by Beveridge who knows the area like the back of his hand. After what seemed like we had criss-crossed the whole of Singapore, we stop at a little room and there, in the master's chambers, they gathered for the feast.

On the table was a spread of sambal baby stingray grilled in banana leaves, gado gado (Malay salad), beef rendang and spicy tempe goreng with liver.

As we ate, we talked about food. This is a favourite Singapore past-time and I am glad that the hotel's expatriate executives have gotten into the local culture.

The food is delicious although the team is quick to let me know that they are still trying out recipes and getting them right. Hoteliers are such perfectionists.

Replete, Beveridge then takes me on the return marathon run to the front of the house. He has an important appointment, he tells me and hints, stick around and you will know what I mean.

My curiosity aroused, I stand around in the lobby, trying to blend into the marble. Groups of schoolchildren are also loitering around. I am told they are waiting for a Taiwanese teen idol. Could this be the important appointment of Beveridge? Surely not.

The executive housekeeper is clearly alarmed. He wants the kids out of the way before He Who Is More Important arrives. He walks up to the group, puts his arm around the kids and asks them to move along. It works. The kids move away.
Meanwhile, I am feeling strange, like a groupie. I have never waited in hotel lobbies for anyone before, not even the biggest superstars.

But I can tell Beveridge is an old hand. He's out in the hotel driveway, opening car doors, taxi doors, shaking hands, waving people along, slapping them on their backs …

He does this for at least 20 minutes. All this is of course just dress rehearsal for the main event. A BMW with a British flag drives up.

Beveridge is at the car door before you can say stingray. He opens the door. A man emerges. Several men surround him. In one smooth motion, they are walking through the lobby. Beveridge is right next to The One. Prince Andrew. The Royal Brother of The One Who's Always In The News and Who Could or May Not Be King.

Prince Andrew is smiling as he is striding. He walks right past me. I am so close I can smell his aftershave. I think he winked at me but that could be the light from the chandeliers.

As he walks past me, he puts his arm around Beveridge's shoulders and they both laugh – a manly laugh. You could tell they were bonding.

Ah, to be in the halo of hoteliers …




The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection". She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.
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