Room Service Deliveries

For the past week or so there’s a group of people dressed in red T-shirts and black trousers pestering people about at the Putra LRT KLCC station. I usually ignore these types of people because this kind of behavior could only come from people looking for donations for the poor and disabled or trying to sell you something which you never heard of before but somehow “essential” to your needs. But there’s something different about this group of people. They appear somewhat more professional and organized. Plus there seems to be a Caucasian being the head of things. That is always a good indication. However, they only appear during the evening rush hour which by then, I am in a naturally exhausted state and just want to get home before being further sandwiched in the passenger car of the train. But I managed to get a peek at one of the brochures they were handing out and they read ‘Room Service Deliveries’. That got me thinking. If it is what the name suggests, then I am really impressed because the idea behind it is just absolutely brilliant. Room service for the masses.

Profoundly curious, I intentionally allowed myself to be held up by one of these people in red last Thursday just to find out exactly what they are offering. And my suspicion were proven. Basically they have come to an agreement with a few restaurants around Kuala Lumpur to be the delivery folks for whichever customers, who are just painstakingly lazy to move their ass around to get a decent meal, have them delivered right onto their doorstep. But the best part is, those restaurants I mentioned earlier, are not your regular mamak establishments or Kg. Baru’s Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa cliques. Oh no no, to illustrate, let me entertain you with a list of their known current associates:

• Alexis
• Bangles
• Chili's
• Chinoz
• Dome
• La Bodega
• Modesto's
• Planet Hollywood

You catch my drift? As you may realize, these are not calang-calang restaurants you know. These are fine restaurants offering fine food. And to have them delivered right to your front door? Call me painstakingly lazy too but to ditch KL traffic and parking fees out of the equation and treat myself to some Chili’s Cheesesteak Sandwich and Molten Chocolate Cake in the comfort of my living room? Hey, I’d give my vote anytime. But one of the few catches is you have to place an order amounting more than RM50 to be qualified. But as they their target market are “medium and high income earners”, who’s trippin’?

But one monumental sad fact is, for me at least, they don’t deliver all the way to Gombak. Sad but true. They deliver to Wangsa Maju though but Batu 6 is tad bit out of reach. It is one of the few instances where living in Gombak disappoints me. I love the quiet environment when it’s nighttime and traveling to Genting Highlands is almost no hassle at all but I just can’t order Dome from my own bed.

But seriously, even though I am geographically incapable of enjoying their services I still think this thing has a tremendous potential. It’s one of those ideas when, upon hearing it, you go, “Now why didn’t I thought of that?”. The same case when RotiBoy exploded into the scene. The secret behind their success is so simple it’s ridiculous. They just make buns for crying out loud! But one thing they got right is the aroma. After a tiring evening shift and 6 hours after you had your lunch, the heavenly fragrance of a freshly baked Mexican bun from RotiBoy is much too tempting. You only remember your diet regime after you finish licking bread crumbs from your hands and mouth.

Final word: for those of you living in the center of the metropolis which is Kuala Lumpur or its immediate vicinity, be it known that I envy you beyond words. So if one day, I somehow stumbled upon your lovely home and ask the question, “Can we order in?”, don’t be surprised if I don’t dial for Pizza Hut or McDonald’s.