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| Sunday, 3 April 2005 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Indian Mango Tree titillates taste buds For those who relish North Indian food the Mango Tree Restaurant at Dharmapala Mawatha Colombo 3 is the obvious choice. The restaurant with a Rs. 15 million investment was opened in June last year with a seating capacity for 45 guests. Owned by Viraj S. Panchal and Sukhvinder Singh the BOI approved Tourist Board A grade speciality restaurant became a much sought after place in a very short time. This induced us to go for a second phase with a further investment of Rs. 15 million and doubling the seating capacity, said Dhirendra Negi, the Restaurant Manager. The new wing was opened to coincide with the first anniversary celebrations of the restaurant. "We also hope to start outdoor catering as well as a delivery service to office staff in the near future. At present we operate a take away service and it is very popular among our customers", he said. The restaurant has a lounge area, tastefully decorated to suit the atmosphere including the sofas and cushions. This has a seating capacity for about 15 guests to enjoy a quiet drink. There is an overhead projector for those who enjoy fashion and a Sports TV. The restaurant has two Indian chefs and 50 Sri Lankans and we may increase the numbers as we start the outdoor catering, Negi said. The restaurant offers a variety of 106 dishes including desserts. There is an array of drinks including the North Indian specialities. He said that all spices except for one or two items are purchased locally. Lunch at the restaurant is served from 12-3p.m. while dinner is served between 7p.m. to 11p.m. The staff is very courteous and hold meetings daily to discuss the menus, problems and also get advice from their senior staff and this makes the difference. Negi said the name Mango Tree was selected because the premises has three mango trees and in India the mango is considered as the king of fruits. (S.G.) ######### Sigiriya goes for cleaner tourist destinations From Hiran H. Senewiratne in Sigiriya The Sri Lanka Tourist Board (SLTB) has embarked on community participation environmental improvement campaigns in the main tourist destinations to promote foreign and local tourism in a big way. The objective of the program is to keep all tourist destinations clean and free from pollution with lush greenery, its project Director Sanath Wijetunga said. The program launched initially at the Sigiriya new town car park last week will expand to other locations such as Polonnaruwa and Dambulla very soon. He said that the program named "Green and Clean Campaign" will be organised by the SLTB along with other stakeholders. Wijetunga said that each campaign would continue for six months, with the participation of all tourist industry related facilitators, including Pradeshiya Sabhas, Police, Central Cultural Fund, schools, villagers and boutique keepers. The Divisional Secratriat in the area will assist the program. Under the campaign all immediate surroundings of cultural sites will be improved systematically. When the campaign is over, schoolchildren, boutique keepers and the community will take over the site and maintain it,he said. "This great team effort will be possible only with the assistance and cooperation of all related local agencies especially the community, which is the essence of eco - tourism," he said. The program will educate students and the community and thus maintain the environs free from pollution, Wijetunga said. At the launch of the Sigiriya "Clean and Green Campaign" all tourist related facilitators helped in cleaning wells drainage systems and setting up garbage bins to keep the city and the vicinity clean. The Central Cultural Fund donated many monkey proof garbage bins for the purpose. SLTB Director/Human Resource Development Somaratne Pathirana said that school travel clubs will also be formed in the area to move the program forward. He said that this program will create an awareness among several others including NGOs school fellowships, private sector, international organisations and foreign funded projects. ############# Emirates' first Boeing 777-300ER arrives in Dubai Emirates, one of the world's fastest-growing airlines, has taken delivery of the first of its fleet of 30 new Boeing 777-300ERs (Extended Range). Part of an unprecedented US $30 billion fleet expansion program, the arrival of the new airliner at the Dubai airport marks the start of an intense and unprecedented delivery cycle of 100 pending orders that will see the Emirates fleet grow at an average rate of one new aircraft per month through 2012. Emirates has 30 Boeing 777-300ERs currently on firm order and will receive 10 of them by the end of 2005. Its order book also includes 45 Airbus A380s - one-third of the total firm orders taken so far by Airbus for the new double-decker super jumbo - 20 Airbus A340-600HGWs, two A340-500s and three A310-300 freighters. The newest addition to the Emirates' fleet was handed over to the airline recently at a ceremony in Seattle, Washington state, USA, attended by Emirates' Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum and other senior Emirates executives, and Boeing's Chairman and CEO Alan Mulally. The aircraft later took off on its maiden voyage to Dubai and completed the flight from the Pacific coast of the USA in under 14 hours. ############# Avurudu packages from Colombo Plaza The Avurudu offer at the Colombo Plaza will be on from April 8 to 17, a spokesperson for the hotel said. She said the full board package will give two people the comfort of five star luxury and sumptuous buffet spreads at the Taprobane restaurant, on the Avurudu day with all the traditional trimmings. There are also special packages for children to make it a family affair. For those below eight years 'the experience' is an Avurudu gift from the Colombo Plaza. At TAO, you can savour the delights of Asian flavours in a fusion of the unusual, while seafood lovers can enjoy the 'catch of the day' prepared to personal preference at The Lagoon. These with a penchant for fine dining can savour gastronomical delights in true gourmet style at The London Grill. A set menu with ample choice will set the mood for Avurudu celebrations at these restaurants, she said. |
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