On Bavarian specialties

I would like to thank Ms. Zainal for her letter Slim pickings published in The Jakarta Post on Sept. 27, 2001. Further to your comments on the availability of halal (approved by Islam) dishes featured in our Oktoberfest 2001, we are pleased to advise you that only a small proportion of all the Bavarian specialties contains pork. To give you an example, from our salad bar, only one dish of the 12 varieties contains pork. Of the 42 hot dishes featured, only six contain pork and from our dessert buffet, only one item contains alcohol. All of the dishes are labeled accordingly.

The Oktoberfest festival in Germany and in the world is indeed renowned for its pork dishes. However, as an international chain hotel operating in Jakarta, everyone at the Kempinski Hotel Plaza truly respects the local customs and traditions, and endeavors to meet all of our guests' expectations.

Ms. Zainal, while thanking you for your valuable input, we would like to assure you of our commitment to all of our guests.

URAINI UMARJADI

Director of Public Relations

Kempinski Hotel Plaza

Jakarta