For our EATS month of September, we interviewed Mr Dinesh Rao. He is the owner of an exciting food café in Plaza Damas. Tray Café prides itself to serve wholesome comfort food, freshly prepared and hand-made the old fashion way. Let’s have a chat!
Please tell us about yourself and how Tray Café started?
I come from a corporate background, specialising in HR Talent and Recruitment. The opportunity to start Tray came about eight years ago, when my two other partners suggested that we should start something small serving nothing but comfort food. Nothing fancy, just honest food. The rest is history!
How do you get your inspiration for your dishes?
A lot of it comes from our own dining experiences, both in Malaysia as well as abroad. We also get inspired by the food that we used to cook all the time in our own kitchens at home.
How has the pandemic affected Tray Café?
Needless to say the pandemic has affected the entire industry in every possible way. For us, our sales were affected tremendously. We were doing takeaways, but it just wasn’t enough. It hit the toll when some of our team members got infected with covid-19 and we were forced to shut for a month, for them to fully recuperate.
Are the current SOPs for dine-in sufficient and safe for your staff and customers?
Firstly, all our staff is fully vaccinated. We also conduct self-testing every two weeks to ensure we are not only fit to run the show, but to provide a sense of assurance to the customers that they are safe.
Secondly, we always ensure that tables and chairs are sanitized after each round of customers.
Thirdly, we only allow fully vaccinated individuals to dine in.
I think as long as everyone is aware and civic minded about the SOPs, we should be ok. Some things are just pure common sense. We’re open for dine in now, so please drop by to check out our SOPs yourselves.
What can Malaysians do to support you during this time?
Just come out and dine with us! We’re open daily from 9am till 6pm and you can find us at H-O-2 Block H, Plaza Damas.
Tell us more about the Tray Mooncake Charity Set?
It is a charity project, which we are fortunate and proud to share with ONE CONDOMS. All proceeds will go to the Malaysian AIDS Foundation. So if you buy our Tray Mooncake Charity Set, all proceeds will benefit a good cause! For more info, please have a look at our Instagram account here.
You can buy them in our shop or order them here online.
