How lucky we are...

Every Ramadhan, many hotels offer breakfast buffets with various themes and concepts. There are so many foods to choose from. The prices are also vary…..from as low as RM30.00 to as high as RM140 per pax. That does include service and government tax la. In term of food choices, memang rambang mata beb. Whenever I went, the café or hotel was full house. Gila la Malaysia ni. Apa yang pasti, tahun ini harga lagi mahal 10% dari tahun lepas. It was based on my survey on the internet and newspaper. Every year, the price increases by 10%...in average.

I went to several of them with my wife, family and colleagues. Can I name it? I had opportunity to test the food in Hotel Istana, Hotel Eastin, Hotel City Bayview, Hotel M-Suites, Saloma Bistro, Hotel Hilton and Tropicana Golf Resort. Some of them offer good choices and taste too. My choice would be Hotel Eastin in PJ. And, all were full with patrons.

This buffet was not that popular 5 years ago. In 2005, I went to City Bayview, Melaka for breakfast with my office mates. The café was empty. Not many people there. However, this year, the café was full.

Buka puasa in a hotel was a luxury event years ago. It was a business affair that time. Nowadays, it is totally different. Families gather and breakfast together. It becomes family affair pulak. Once in year punya event.

What I want to share tonight is how prosper and lucky we Malaysian are. There are plenty of foods. Roadside stalls, thousands 24-hour restaurants, buffets, bazaar Ramadhan, pasar malam….just name a few. We are spoilt with the offerings.

I believe that many of us spend at least RM5 to buy a meal either breakfast or lunch or juadah buka puasa. And, some of us were willing to spend RM140 per pax to have a buka puasa in a hotel. How lucky we are. I observed that the patrons in any buka puasa buffet took the food like they will die the next day. Penuh satu pinggan untuk seorang. Itu baru satu jenis menu. Their motto is simple,”Aku bayar mahal. Lantaklah.” End up, the food to be wasted. It is impossible to eat all the food offered in the bazaar or buffet. Unless, the person ‘bela hantu raya’. Taste the foods a bit here and there lah.

I read in the NST, in Dubai, the food waste increased by 20% during Ramadhan. In Malaysia, in average, we dump 93 tons of unconsumed food a day. Those 93 tons are on a normal day. I don’t know the wastage in Ramadhan. Lagi tinggi kot. What a waste. How lucky we are.

In Egypt, more than half of the populations earn USD2 a day or equivalent to RM6.00. That’s enough for our lunch only. Can we Malaysian live in that situation? In Somalia, more than 30,000 people had died because of no food. And the number is increasing. They walked miles and miles to search for food and water. And there is no guarantee the food and water is available once they reach the place. Many of them died on the way. Even, orphans in Malaysia live much better than them. Can we Malaysia live like the Egyptians or Somalians? How lucky we Malaysian are.

I have had my buka puasa at JM Bariani House today. I ordered mee bandung….mengidam plak. There was a group of young adults beside my table. The azan was just in the air and it was time to buka puasa. Their orders were a bit late. There were so many patrons at that time. And, they started talking nonsense. I felt like to kick them out of the restaurant. Sabar lah. Makanan akan sampai. Bersyukur sikit.

Most of Malaysians are becoming more ungrateful nowadays. I will discuss about this in my next posting.

In Malaysia, we die because we eat too much. In several parts of the world, people die because there is no food at all. How lucky we are……

Alhamdulillah, rezeki ada sikit tahun ini dapat aku kongsi dengan keluarga di Melaka dan juga Johor. They were all happy with the treats. And also a thank you to my wife to make these joyful events became a reality.

Semoga Allah limpahkan rezeki lagi untuk aku dan isteri.