After the one month of fasting, Muslims all around Malaysia celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri together with their loved ones. Engrave your hotel or restaurant in the hearts and memories of guests in conjunction with Hari Raya by highlighting your restaurant with a touch of bright colours or brand new décor.
Besides decorating the place in festive green, there are a few simple ideas that you can try to let families have a great Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration at your restaurant.
1. Opportunity to take photos
Attractive artwork will make guests excited (and even willing to line up!). Make sure to style your decorative elements that will let your diners take memorable photos. Beyond the traditional Hari Raya décor pieces, colourful artwork can also add dimension and create a distinctive atmosphere to any space.
Lighting, like natural light, is able to help liven up any wall art that you may put up. With a beautiful and glittering environment, accompanied by the melodies of traditional musical instruments, your guests may also feel as if they have been brought into a "story book".
Lastly, decorate the photo booth with a Hari Raya or kampung theme. These beautiful memories will surely captivate the hearts of local and foreign guests.
2. Hari Raya Activities: Ketupat making, sarong folding and more
To enliven the Hari Raya Aidilfitri atmosphere, restaurants and hotels regularly hold various activities to be attended and enjoyed by local guests and tourists. In addition to the melodies of traditional musical instruments, whether it’s “live” or recordings, hotels can host other activities such as lamp-making sessions, sarong folding, colouring for children and also give guests the opportunity to make their own ketupat that can also be eaten on the very same day! What’s better than trying out the food that’s been made by you?
You can create unique hashtags to encourage guests to share their Hari Raya memories on social media. With this, your hotel or restaurant and the memories attached to it are easily searchable and accessible by guests no matter where and when.
3. Biskut Raya
Use a Hari Raya or dessert related theme and make a light snacks such as camel-shaped biscuits.
There are also other options you can consider:
- Biskut Samprit
- Biskut Makmur
- Biskut Telur Rebus
- Almond London
- Pineapple tarts
For more options, read our article on popular sweet treats to find out what are diners’ favourites during Hari Raya Aidilfitri! Paired with adorable packaging, all these biscuits are bound to get adults and children alike into the festive mood! Be sure to wrap and give them to your guests as souvenirs.
4. Let's Get Healthy with Healthy Food
It doesn’t seem that healthy food is possible during Hari Raya Aidilfitri, does it? Usually, breaking fast makes us think of traditional Malay dishes that are creamy fat, cooked with coconut milk and various other ingredients that are very delicious.
How about preparing the same dish but with a slight variation this time round? Change the recipe slightly, such as reducing coconut milk, sugar, salt and oil. While you may think otherwise, this small difference does not really affect the deliciousness of these traditional Hari Raya foods.
Another alternative is to serve grilled chicken instead of fried chicken? Cooking methods can make a big difference. With this in mind, choose to boil, grill, steam, bake or sauté.
If the hotel serves tea or coffee, make it thick or “kao”! Prepare sugar and milk separately so guests can choose for themselves the level of sweetness they want.
Small things like these can make a big difference: you show your guests that you caring about their tastebuds as well as their health. You can also prepare smaller plates to discourage guests from consuming too much food.
Guests often do not notice this difference, and smaller plates automatically mean less food intake, which in turn reduces food wastage. Guests can always go for additional rounds if they want more.
Now that you’ve got some ideas for activities that you can plan for your guests who are celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri, you may be wondering what dishes to add to your Hari Raya feast menu. Check out our list of heritage food, as well as some mocktail drink ideas to make your menu more festive for your diners!
