Two Nilai UC students from the School of Hospitality and Tourism come up trumps in this year's Monin Cup.
"If you want something, you will have to work hard for it," states Ng Jo Ann emphatically. She was referring to the countless hours of practice and training after class she and her team mates underwent in preparation for this year's Monin Cup. The hard work ultimately paid off as Ng and her Diploma in Hotel Management course mate, Teh Yee Mun, bagged top prizes in the Mocktail and Flair tending categories respectively.
"We practiced in the open fields under the hot sun every day for six weeks prior to the competition. We practiced outdoors to avoid breaking the glasses on the hard concrete floor," says Teh who hails from Cheras and is a Nilai University College (Nilai UC) scholarship holder on account of her being a former state basketball player. Proudly grasping the trophy, she now says it was all worth it. Teh says that she had initially wanted to give up on flair tending as she wanted to concentrate more on her Dance Club activities. She is exceptionally thankful to her lecturer, Aliya Marinuddin, who trains Nilai UC students for the Monin Cup competition each year, for gently persuading her to not hang up her cocktail shakers. Instead she incorporated many of her dance moves into her flair tending routine which impressed the judges at the competition.
She also says that initially her father would scold her for making a racket when practicing in her room at home, not fully realising that she was working hard perfecting her routine. Teh made it a point to invite her parents for the finals of the Monin Cup and she says her father is exceptionally proud of her achievements. "They were both very supportive at the finals. My dad is really impressed by my skills and he is so proud of me for winning this competition. He no longer scolds me for the noise I make whilst practicing," smiles Teh.
The Monin Cup is a competition held for students in the hospitality and tourism field to test their mettle in specific areas such as mocktail- and cocktail-making, and flair tending. Nilai UC has previously won gold and bronze medals in the flair tending category. The pressure was now on this year's batch to do even better than their predecessors. Ng says with the bar raised, she had to find something special for her concoction. She readily admits the first few experiments went awry and were undrinkable.
Finding inspiration from a pasar malam stall selling traditional herbal drinks, Ng realises how her friends complain that these drinks, though good for health, were, generally, bitter-tasting, foul-smelling and had an unappetising dark colour. "I set about creating a heath tonic which tastes, smells and looks good," explains the petite 22-year-old from Klang. Using a combination of sea bird's nest, a couple of fruit juices and ginger reduction, Ng built the health tonic base of the drink. "Sea bird's nest is a type of seaweed which is full of collagen and very good for the skin and complexion. Plus it is relatively inexpensive," explains Ng. She then uses Monin blue lagoon syrup, cloudy lemonade and sparkling water to improve the taste and appearance of the tonic. Topped off with a single stalk of cinnamon dipped in Monin maple spice, Ng christened her concoction 'Seaduction'.
"I was really surprised that I made it to the finals and to win my category was a real shock. Though I trained very hard, I had not thought about winning this competition. Now that I have done so, I believe anything is possible," says Ng, as Teh nods in agreement. Both students were especially keen to highlight the dedication of their lecturers in helping them prepare for this competition and also wanted to note that it was a team effort. "Although we won in what were essentially solo competitions, we could not have done it without the support of our team mates. Their feedback, critique and encouragement were crucial to our success. The greatest lesson all the participants have taken from this experience is that team work is absolutely essential in this line of work," says Teh. "Our achievement is for everyone to share in!"
Nilai UC contingent who took part in this year's Monin Cup have had such a positive experience that they are in the process of setting up a club to promote these bar tendering skills all year round. The club will be called 'Bartertainerz' and is open to all students. For more information, please contact Nilai UC's School of Hospitality and Tourism.
