Flamboyant 50-metre Dragon Cake to Grace Berjaya Founder's Birthday Celebration

March 26, 2015

Flamboyant 50-metre Dragon Cake to Grace Berjaya Founder’s Birthday Celebration

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 MARCH 2015 – Berjaya Times Square Hotel, Kuala Lumpur whips up a grand cake that is worthy of its founder, Tan Sri Vincent Tan to share in his special moment. This is the fifth consecutive year that the hotel is putting together a gigantic dragon cake sculpture for their founder, and this year, it is double the size of the 20 to 30 metre ones they have made in the past. This magnificent cake will form part of the celebration on Berjaya Founder’s Day on 28 March, which will be taking place in Berjaya Times Square from 10.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.

“This dates back to the first Founder’s Day in 2011 where we came up with the idea of presenting a cake in the form of a dragon as a gift to our founder Tan Sri Vincent. Not only was he born in the year of the dragon, seeing that the Chinese dragon traditionally represents potent and auspicious powers while signifying influence, strength, and good luck for people who are worthy of it, we thought that it was a perfect fit. And now, we are glad that it has evolved from a gift to a much anticipated tradition,” said Abel Nelson Nang, Berjaya Hotels & Resorts’ Group Director of Marketing and Communications.

Conceptualised and brought to completion by the pastry team of Berjaya Times Square Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, this mammoth confectionary was planned months in advance and requires at least three weeks to complete. Under the watchful eye of the hotel’s Demi Chef, Chef Andi Sutrisno Hasan, the dedicated members of the pastry team spent eight hours a day to ensure every detail is perfected. Assisting the pastry team were also lecturer Chef Roizz Razalli and eight students from Berjaya University College of Hospitality.

Berjaya Times Square Hotel, Kuala Lumpur pastry team who conceptualised and turned the Grand Dragon Chocolate Cake into reality

“We have a total of 20 people on shifts to put this creation together. Combining 200 kg of butter, 200 kg of sugar, 3,600 eggs, 90 kg of cream cheese, 110 kg of rose flour, 50 kg of almond paste marzipan, and 150 kg of premium dark chocolate, this dragon will extend 50 m in length with delicately carved chocolate fondant scales amounting up to 250 kg covering its entire body. And for the dragon to look more real, we use edible spray paint in several colour tones and blend them to achieve the look and feel that we want.

An added twist we have for this year’s dragon cake design includes a feature presentation of a gigantic crystal ball sitting atop blue waves which embodies the element of water alongside the dragon to represent a ‘water dragon’. In the Chinese Feng Shui context, this can harness the positive energy in our surrounding environment to better enhance it as a whole,” explained Chef Andi.

Further, the inception of this year’s creation was also greatly inspired by Tan Sri Vincent’s passion in doing acts of charity. As his birthday has become an occasion dedicated to philanthropy, the crystal ball was co-opt to signify a beacon which illuminates as a source of light, to mark his devotion and commitment to doing good and giving back to those who need it most, in hopes of making this world a better place.

Also adding finishing touches and managing the setup of the dragon cake showpiece for the founder’s day celebration is the latest addition to the hotel’s capable culinary team resuming the role of the head Pastry Chef, Chef John Wong. He commented, “We’re particularly proud of our crystal ball feature, as not many would dare to risk ruining the artistic designs with a technical addition. Berjaya Times Square Hotel, Kuala Lumpur is privileged to be staffed by a team of skilled professionals who embrace the latest trends, effectively delivering a cohesively and creatively designed cake.”

Viewing the preparation of Tan Sri Vincent’s birthday cake as an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity, the culinary team at the hotel once again displayed a much regarded level of expertise and execution which brought the project to a successful completion. “Our people are the reason for this and we felt it was appropriate to celebrate this day of events with a birthday cake that reflects not only the brilliant distinction of our group, but also the incredible talent of our people. We are very much looking forward to even bigger and better things in the coming year,” concluded Abel.