Earlier in May, many Malaysians were shocked when a video of restaurant workers washing dishes in puddles of dirty water on the road began to circulate online. It was later revealed that the workers were from Bangsar’s famous Raj’s Banana Leaf.
Soon after the video began to circulate, the restaurant began facing a lot of backlash and had their operating license revoked by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) in June.
Source: Astro Ulagam
Now, after months of renovations, staff training, and inspections, Raj’s Banana Leaf has finally gotten the green light to reopen!
In a press release, Raj’s Banana Leaf Restaurant stated that they are officially reopening in Bangsar today (29th August) after undergoing stringent inspections by DBKL and the Ministry of Health’s Food and Safety Division. The restaurant has also rebranded as RBL Banana Leaf. An excerpt from their statement reads,
“Known as RBL Banana Leaf now, the restaurant underwent substantial renovations in its kitchen, food and beverage preparation areas and washing area as well as food serving area.”
“Featuring a more open layout for transparency, the roti canai area is an open kitchen facing customers whilst a large open window provides customers with an open view of how the washing is handled.”
“The flow of food and pre- and post-wash dishes has been restructured to ensure better handling process.”
Source: RBL Banana Leaf
Source: RBL Banana Leaf
Source: RBL Banana Leaf
Aside from RBL’s new name and layout, its staff has also gone through a food handling course conducted by a trainer certified and registered with the Ministry of Health who is also a member of the Malaysian Association of Environmental Health. As for the concern that some of its workers were not vaccinated, the statement goes on to say that this issue has been addressed too.
“Likewise over the months of June and July, all staff across all restaurants were given typhoid vaccinations, regardless whether they already took the injections prior.”
“Officers from the Health and Environment Department of DBKL completed the final round of thorough inspections on Monday, 27 August 2018 before awarding the final grading marks and cleanliness certificate to RBL.”
Source: RBL Banana Leaf
“The debacle in May was a sobering wake-up call for us. We would like to offer our unequivocal apology once again to everyone affected by our oversight. The incident served as a lesson for us to work on our shortcomings, improve operations and adhere to all regulations and relevant standards to offer customers the best possible experience when dining at RBL,” the restaurant’s director, Muhamad Rizal Abd Rahman, stated.
“We anticipate these first two weeks of our reopening to be a soft period that will provide us the opportunity to fine tune our operations.”
Do you plan to visit the new and improved RBL Banana Leaf now that it’s officially reopened? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: Raj’s Banana Leaf Bangsar Will Close Down For Good, Licence Revoked By DBKL
