An Experience to Remember

Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant has been invited by TVS Electronics Limited for their events held in Chennai, India from 2nd to 4th August 2008. We were invited not as participants of the event, but as their guest caterer. *wow!*

“TVS Electronics is part of the USD3.5Bn TVS Group of India. TVS Electronics designs, manufactures and distributes IT products, dot matrix printers, point of sale terminals, printer supplies, keyboards, mouses, uninterruptible power supplies, and set top boxes. TVS Electronics was established in 1986. TVS Electronics has a strong market presence in India.” (Wikipedia, 4 June 2011)

The event was held in Chennai’s premium business Five Star Hotel, The Accord Metropolitan. *Double wow!*

To have been invited as guest caterer by such prestigious promising company to such luxurious hotel to prepare food for all those Indian big-shots, it is no doubt a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both Ms Lee and the Chefs. We were elated, not of the fame, but the golden opportunity to bring our food across thousand of miles and share our art of cooking with people of a different skin color. Not to forget, this is also an awesome learning opportunity for us and an experience one would remember for life.

Ms Lee was more  excited than anybody else. One would never dream that her food would be shared with people so many miles across the globe. Hmm now take a minute to put yourself in the shoes of Ms Lee. Do you find yourself grinning from ear to ear, especially if you’re a passionate cook, just like Ms Lee. 

Much efforts were put in in preparing the catering for this event in India. Now see the following images and judge for yourself!

From the numerous emails….

To coming up of the various dishes, specially designed to suit the taste buds of our Indian friends…

And the letter of appreciation from lotUS…

Yes they were all HAND WRITTEN by Ms Lee alone!!! *Go ahead and be STUNNED*

Seriously, so much heart and soul were put in, no one can deny the utmost sincerity from Ms Lee and from Lotus.

Ms Lee with the Head Chef of The Accord Metropolitan

The Head Chef with Ms Lee, Mr Remee Lee and Lotus Chefs

The Chefs at work, Spot Ms Lee! Yes she’s always hands-on-ing :)

Communicating and Coordinating to provide the Best

Some of the dishes Lotus prepare for the Event…

Top: Crispy Cauliflower with “Black Moss’, Bottom: Chinese Curry with Soya Chunks

Top: Fried Vermicelli with Superior Sauce from Taiwan, Bottom: Fried Rice with imported Cedar Leaves from Taiwan 

   Top: Traditional Chinese ‘Char Siew Bao’ stuff with roasted ingredients, Bottom: Soya Slices with contents of wheat protein

Top: Home-made Spicy Mushroom Sauce with Lady Fingers, Bottom: Abalone Mushrooms from Thailand

  Top: Chinese Flower Mushrooms with Grade ‘A’ Brown ‘Wood Fungus’ stewed with Chinese Herbs and Spices, Bottom: Mixed Vegetables with Gingko Nuts

Top: The Szechuan Style, Bottom: Special ‘XO’ Sauce with Brinjal 

Fruits and Vegetables Carving by Chef Sun Ming Fei from Lotus :)

*****

The hard work, the time, the great efforts are all worth it.

Don’t you think so :)

lotUS

Servicing from our hearts:

  Left: Yanping and Mel. Yanping has been with us for more than 6 months. She’s my mentor cum good friend and she has taught me plenty of stuff since the day I joined Lotus Family!   她是我并肩作战的好姐妹！很感恩有她的存在 :)

Right: Zhang Jie and Mel. Zhang Jie has been with us for more than 5 years! She’s my teacher who taught me a lot and also take care of me a lot here at Lotus :)

Left: Chris and John who have just joined the Lotus Family. They’re both from the Philippines. Welcome aboard!

Right: Jeffery (the one in the middle) has been with us for more than a year. He’s an expert in setting up of Lotus buffet counter. Tristan has been with us for close to a year. He’s the disciple of Jeffery, a playful chap but serious at work :)

 

We have joy We have fun We always serve you from our Hearts <3

We have It Eggless Just for You

I didn’t know that Lotus actually takes cake orders until about a month ago, when I approached Boss and suggested that Lotus should probably start having make-to-order cakes since quite a number of our customers came Lotus for birthday celebrations. I was surprised how come no marketing was done on these made-to-order cakes because Lotus’ very own cakes are tasty, beautiful, and most important of all, our cakes are special because it consists of no egg at all! What a unique piece of art to be used to celebrate your birthday! And, it tastes just as good as those with the extra cholesterol and fats that you can buy from any bakeries.

I feel that I need to do some justice to these very yummy healthy lovely cakes.

It happened that I got a customer who reserved a table for 13 to celebrate her Mommy’s birthday. As I was recommending to her some of our Set Meals Menu, I told her about our made-to-order eggless cakes. And she said yes! :)

Presenting my very first deal of made-to-order Lotus Eggless Cake :)

XiaoYan Jie, who’s the assistance of my pastry chef, suggested that she’ll make two, just in case. Here we have the first one. It’s round, chocolate-flavored, covered with whipped cream and chocolate rice and topped with fresh srawberries (My Favorite!).

The second one is square-shaped, chocolate-flavored, topped with cocoa powder, chocolate-dipped longans (XiaoYan Jie’s innovation!) and two huge strawberries.

Ta Daaaa! Mel and Lotus’ Eggless Cakes! YUM!

Looks awesome, aren’t they :)

My customer chose the round one. Her family and herself said it’s delicious and they finished it all :))))

Details of Lotus Made-To-Order Eggless Cakes are as follows:

Flavors available: Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Mango

Shape: Round or Square

Weight: 1 or 2 Kg

Price: s$32.00 (for 1kg)

Cake’s Decor is based on Chef’s discretion (Rest assured that it’ll be a good job done!) Please call to make your order about 3 – 5 days in advance :)

Come celebrate your Birthday here at Lotus. Birthday song can be requested to be aired :)Just a note, Birthday Joy is contagious. Don’t be surprised if you find the whole restaurant singing you the birthday song ^^

Greenies on the Move at Lotus

 

 

From Left: YongHong, Yilina, Javin (GreenDot Associate), Mel and Justin

Cheerios GreenDot! JIAYOU!

Confessions of the Greenies- Why do I want to be part of GreenDot

Lotus Buffet Catering Service

It was my maiden Lotus Buffet Catering trip on 19 June 2011. It wasn’t exactly a magnificent one ( That, I mean food prepared for number of persons exceeding hundred), but still, there’s a lot need to be done prior and during delivery, from the preparation of the dishes to the setting up of buffet stand, carrying the food from the vehicle to the venue and arranging the shafting dishes. It was no doubt exhausting, but having the thought that more people can get to taste those yummy green dishes and seeing the smiles on our customer’s face after we’d set up the buffet, makes all hard work worthwhile. 

Here, I would like to share with you our Buffet Catering Menu: 

LOTUS GOLD (s$12.00 per pax)- 9 course

LOTUS JADE (s$15.00 per pax)- 9 course

LOTUS PEARL (s$18.00 per pax)- 10 course

LOTUS CRYSTAL (s$20.00 per pax)- 12 course

Disposable eating utensils and trash bags will be provided.

Minimum of 30 pax is required. In addition, there’ll be a delivery charge of s$30.00. Please place your order with us at least two weeks in advance :)

Do call us at 6254 0090/91 should you require further assistance or drop us your enquiry at lotusveg@singnet.com.sg  

“百亿打造的十堂服务课 ”的学习要点

1）在每一种与顾客接触的场合，怎样的服务才是能散发感性魅力的款待？答案是常伴回忆的感动！

2）良好的沟通技巧

- 问候亲切且得宜，不会冒失地刻意攀熟，从亲切但不逾越的安心距离中，建立顾客对饭店的信赖

- 站在顾客的立场

3）喜好或感受本来就是因人而异的。唯有认真回应每位顾客的喜好与感受，服务才能感动人心。

4) 成为绅士淑女，其责任相对重大，不是听命办事所能比疑的。

- “我们是服务绅士与淑女的绅士与淑女 ”

- 对等的关系

- 互敬的气氛

5）用字遣释‘说话音调，眼神态度，走路姿势，制服穿法，皮肤光泽…等微小细节，都有可能让顾客在无意之中，因为五感而察觉。

- 有没有微笑接听电话

- 微笑—因为我们站在舞台上

- 乐在其中， 五感并用，细心感受

6）庆贺之心是提高服务品质的关键

7）温柔是饭店工作者的必备条件

8) 热情， 是影响周遭的原动力

9）充分授权原则—在最佳时机实现顾客的愿望

10）避免情绪化的处理行为，以科学方法，尽可能做到最完全的弥补

11）想要和员工建立幸福关系，一定要从面试阶段开始，就忠实地把公司理念或价值观传达给应微者知道，理解才行。

12) 技术可由在职训练养成，人格却难籍在职教育重塑面试问题－你最近读过什么书？那本书最感动你是什么？你上个月有为了讨家人欢心而特地做哪些事情吗？假设，你的同事不是很愿意配合或支授你的工作，你会怎么做？

13) 给新人发挥创意的机会－新进员工比较能够发现一些资深员工已经习以为常，视而不见的问题

14) 异业结盟，是品牌策略的活棋

15) 超越服务的那瞬间，让顾客由‘满意 ’变‘感动 ’，由‘感动 ’变‘感谢 ’，成为顾客喜爱的品牌

16) 技能可以透过训练精进，品格却很难透过训练改变。人格，是个人本身就有的才能之一；企业必须像挖掘砖石原石一样去发觉它，把它放到企业哲学和理念这部研磨机器上加上成品格。

17) 想提高服务品质，一定要先训练自己的想象力。等到想象力有了，判断能力也足够的时候，服务技能自然也会变好。

18) 用爱对待顾客

19) 乘持‘永远替顾客着想，不断努力，只为以最好的服务款待顾客 ’的信念，为顾客服务，渐渐地，信念就会变成习惯，而习惯又会变成人格特质。

Go Green Go Vegan

The caption: Activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) organized a “Go Green, Go Vegan” campaign in Kuala Lumpur on 7 June 2011. The small rally was organized to appeal to Malaysians to switch to a healthier, more humane and eco-friendly vegetarian diet.

以出位抗争手法著称的善待动物组织在 6月7日2011年再度“出招”，成员出现在吉隆坡街头，为其“选择绿色，选择纯素食 ”运动造势。活动旨在鼓励马来西亚民众改变饮食习惯，尝试更健康，人道与环保的素食。

~ Courtesy of My Paper ,8 June 2011

Let’s spread the Love. Let’s spread Green!

Lotus and GreenDot, JIAYOU :)

Reviews by Yilina’s friends

Here are some reviews provided by Yilina's friends after their expeience last week!

 

Having our JC class reunion with a dinner in a vegetarian restaurant was certainly a new and unique experience for me. After all, a class outing at a vegetarian restaurant is rare, and this was my first time having a vegetarian meal at a restaurant.

Before the meal, I was quite sceptical about how pleasing vegetarian dishes would be. My father abstains from meat on 初一十五 (First and Fifteenth) of each month in the lunar calendar, thus I did experience days eating only vegetables and honestly, I did not really look forward to those days. However, the restaurant managed to prepare the food very well. Dishes were delicious, complete with aesthetic appeal. I was particularly impressed by the meticulous effort made by the chefs in making mock meat dishes look like its original form. Service was excellent and personal, with the waiters catering to every need. They explained each dish in detail as they served it, and asked for feedback about how the dish tasted.

As for vegetarianism, I believe that it is a good thing as consuming meat has been shown to leave a larger carbon footprint which causes environmental concerns. Becoming a vegetarian is also a natural approach to wellness, decreasing the risks of a considerable number of diseases and cancer, and also a way to stand up for animal welfare. However, to most people, meat tends to taste nicer than vegetables. Furthermore, the availability of meat means it is hard for one to completely exclude meat from our diet. As for me, I guess I’ll stick to following my father’s 初一十五 vegetarian diet for the time being!
- Brian Michael Luminary, 19

~~~~
Excellent service and food! I never expected vegetarian food to taste so much like non-vegetarian food since it was my first time trying. Definitely above what I have expected! People probably still view vegetarianism as a meal that is bland and not very appetising, but this restaurant proves otherwise!
- Cynthia Kusumawardhani, 19

Yilina’s Class Gatherin’

Today, Yilina's class had a gathering at our restaurant. Not only was it a pleasant night when old friends got together and enjoyed each others' company, but it was also a great learning experience for the greenies in GreenDot, be it the diners or the hosts.

From feedback provided by the diners, the food was much better than expected as many of them who were not exposed to much vegetarian food (other than the ones sold at hawker centres) thought that a vegetarian meal is equivalent to vegetables and deep fried flour products only. Hence, tonight's meal was an eye opener as they got to savour such fine vegetarian cuisine.

The main servers for the dinner were Yonghong and Justin who did a good job in introducing vegetarianism to the guests and providing background information regarding some of the dishes.

However, tonight's experience allowed the greenies to discover minute details that would otherwise have gone unnoticed if not for the personal encounters the two of them had today. Firstly, they learnt that while knowing about the restaurant and the dishes were essential, it is also important to be well rehearsed with the lines so as to appear more confident and professional when providing these information to the customers. The second learning point would be the service process starting from the point of arrival of the customers. Knowing how to present a good impression right from the start of the dinner experience is definitely a plus point which will let customers feel comfortable and valued.

In general, everyone had a great time tonight and many thanks to Lotus’ thoughtfulness in presenting such a delectable spread which the group of ten youths enjoyed!

The Greenies

Just as Lotus is striving to share more plant-based dishes with more people, a group of five concerned youths has joined us in this meatless journey. Like Lotus, they have a burning passion to spread the idea of vegetarianism, to spread the love of life. 

The four-guy-and-one-girl team is still pursuing their studies in the universities. Yet they have made a choice to add a little extraordinary adventures to their ordinary schooling lives, by coloring their lives green. To them, this meatless journey that they have chosen to embark on, has a greater purpose than bringing delicious vegetarian food to the people, and spreading the love of life. In this meatless journey, they have a mission to spread the message of green, to make a green influence to the people in one way or another.

Above picture: GreenDot-- (from the left) Sky, Yilina, Leonard, Yong Hong and Justin

They, the GreenDot, will show you that eating has a greater purpose. 

They will show you how your small step can make a world of difference.  

 

A Dream Come True

Eight years ago, there lived an ordinary housewife with a dedicated passion in vegetarian food. And she has a little dream; she hopes to prepare delicious and healthy vegetarian food for as many people as possible out there, spreading the joy of vegan diet. So she set out looking for a suitable location, looking for the furniture and equipment, looking for all the necessities in making her little dream come true. She worked doubly hard. She worked abnormally hard. Troubles and hard times were inevitable. But her faith and love for vegetarian food keeps her trudging on. Eight years later, her little dream is a dream no more. It has become what we see today on the second floor of Quality Hotel Singapore- Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Photos are courtesy of Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant

She cooks the food from her heart , she builds the dream with her hands, and she shares the meaning of the meatless journey from her smiles, here at Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant.