Hotpot, buffet, or BBQ?
Groups of five can now dine together at eateries, in the latest relaxation of measures as Singapore transitions towards living with the endemic Covid-19.
Singapore is working on living with the virus, and in order to make this happen, the government has been going strong on its vaccination drive. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had said that the target is for two-thirds of the population to be fully vaccinated by Singapore’s National Day on August 9th.
The vaccination strategy has been the way forward for the country as vaccinated individuals can expect to be less ill if they are infected, and are likely to have continued protection if they get regular booster shots.
Authorities have also noted the peoples’ desires to go back to life the way it was before the pandemic, including attending events at entertainment venues and going without masks, and are working towards opening up the economy.
As Singapore eases its measures, food and food ordering platforms are also putting their best deals forward to entice customers back in.
Chope and Fave food guides and deals for 5 people
Chope Singapore, in an email to subscribers sent over the weekend, curated a list of food deals that are good for groups. This includes outdoor dining, buffets, and hot pot options.
The restaurant booking platform showed a “best deals for five pax food guide”, offering up to 50 per cent off for meals at “group-friendly” restaurants.
The food guide includes restaurants like Noka by Tippling Club, Open Farm Community, and Kushi Japanese Dining.
The reservations portal has also opened the booking capacity to allow five person slots.
Deals and savings app Fave, meanwhile, listed food promos for up to five people.
This includes a mookata seafood platter for four at Le Thai Mookata, at a 28 per cent discount, and an eight-course Chinese set meal for four people at San Guo Kao Yu, at 49 per cent off.
Restaurants coming up with 5-people set meals
With the previous two pax per table, meals at restaurants would be limited to smaller dishes. Now, larger sharing dishes – like a whole peking duck – can be served for a table of five people.
Chinese restaurant Peach Garden is offering deals for vaccinated groups of five. For example, S$28 off meals for five diners. Users have to show that they are vaccinated through their TraceTogether app. The promotion is limited to one redemption per diner.
Its ala carte high tea buffet has returned at Chinatown Point, with up to 50 per cent off for buffet meals that cost S$48 per person before taxes and service charge. The restaurant said to enjoy the deal, there needs to be a minimum of four pax.
Its ala carte buffet at Hotel Miramar is back too, going at 50 per cent off with a minimum of four people.
Qian Xi Group is also launching five people dine-in six course set meals from S$138 before taxes and service charge. The dishes include braised fish maw soup with crab meat, crispy roasted chicken, and steam brown-marbled grouper.
The deals are available only at outlets like the Eternal Garden, Hilltop Garden, Jubilee Garden, and Qian Xi Paya Lebar.
The group has also re-opened its ala-carte buffet lunch and dinner for two, at the above-mentioned outlets.
Eateries badly hit by Covid-19 safety measures
The restaurants are pulling out all the stops amid weak sales.
That’s as data from the Department of Statistics Singapore showed that sales of food and beverage services fell by 14.1 per cent in May from the previous month.
The Phase Two Heightened Alert which kicked in for a month from May 16th had impacted sales, as measures banned dining in at restaurants and only takeaways were allowed.
Restaurants posted a 26.4 per cent decline from April, while cafes and food courts posted an 8.3 per cent fall.
Sales continue to be below pre-Covid-19 levels for the past few months, due partly to a resurgence in community cases and consumers shifting to online delivery as they work from home. The lack of tourism has also impacted many eateries that rely on them as the main customer source.
The government continues to closely monitor Covid-19 developments as it reopens safely.
It called on eateries to implement safe management measures (SMM) as required by the Manpower Ministry to provide a safe environment for customers and workers.
Some SMM measures include not selling and allowing the consumption of alcohol after 10.30pm daily. Eateries that open for dine in customers also have send workers for mandatory testing regularly, regardless of their vaccination status.
The number of Covid-19 community and unlinked cases has fallen in the past week. Almost 40 per cent of Singapore’s population has been fully vaccinated and nearly 8000 doses are administered daily.
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Featured Image Credit: Noka by Tippling Club, Open Farm Community, Peach Garden, Qian Xi