Marriott tailors menu to suit family gatherings

Shenyang Marriott Hotel in Northeast China's Liaoning province is designing menus for Lunar New Year's Eve, a traditional time for Chinese family reunions.

The dinner, which signifies a farewell to the old and a welcome to the new, will be offered at the hotel's Chinese restaurant, Man Ho. There will be six menus tailored for guests based on the number of diners.

The Spring Festival holiday has always been the most ceremonial time of year for Chinese people. It raises people's expectations in many ways, said Du Xia, general manager of the hotel.

"Our chef will prepare every piece of cuisine and ingredient heartily for every distinguished diner, so they can enjoy the warmth of a family gathering without any backbreaking toil," Du said.

Man Ho is Marriott group's iconic Chinese restaurant. The restaurant has created a standard menu that pays homage to classic dishes and can tame the pickiest of eaters, Du said. To guarantee high-quality flavor and ingredients, all Marriott-branded hotels refer to this menu, he added.

In addition to its Chinese restaurants, the Shenyang Marriott Hotel has two other restaurants and two bars.

Nowadays, diners are not just concerned with the quality of the food on their plate, they have higher standards when it comes to presentation and the restaurant environment itself, so they can take photos to post on social media, according to Du.

The all-day restaurant Shenyang Kitchen on the 39th floor overlooking the provincial capital, is the most popular in the hotel. It offers not only tasty food but a panoramic view of the city, Du said.

During the Spring Festival holiday, the hotel will provide a variety of food, snacks and tea set gift boxes. These convey blessings and wishes of good health, good food and a good life, all in one, according to Marriott executives.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are spending more on family consumption while spending less on socializing, Du said.

In light of these circumstances, the hotel will provide more family-themed products such as parent-child rooms, parent-child classrooms and family tours. It will also develop more dishes and beverages, suitable for takeout.

In one of its efforts to combat the effects of the pandemic, the hotel has upped its sanitation and cleaning measures.

All employees must wear masks and gloves and keep a distance of 2 meters from guests. Every room card must be disinfected before being given to guests, according to the hotel.

Public areas, such as the lobby, must be disinfected and cleaned every two hours. The air-conditioning system at the hotel must be disinfected regularly.

When guests check out, the housekeeping department is to immediately disinfect high-frequency contact areas in the room. These include door handles, remote controls, lamp switches, faucet handles and toilet seats. The hotel encourages guests to use the room card service on their mobile phones and recommend they use their devices to check out, the hotel said.

In terms of food safety, the hotel said it controls the source of imported foods and disinfects all packaging. All kitchen staff must wear masks and receive strict disinfection when processing food.

"If the prevention of the epidemic becomes a new normal in the following days, we will consider providing contactless services by using more face recognition devices," Du said. "The hotel will also increase the use of antibacterial products and try our best to provide a safe and comfortable environment."