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| Sunday, 24 April 2005 |
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Travel & Tourism Juliana woos Korean businessmen by Elmo Leonard Colombo's newest hospitality unit, Moon Shanghai to the Chinese and Koreans who patronise it, and Juliana Hotel (Pvt) Ltd, to the English language reader, could be the only restaurant in town which serves authentic Chinese cuisine, its managing director cum chef, "Bob" Zhou Ye said. The hotel is just three months in existence, and has many unique features.
Juliana is the only Korean owned hotel in Sri Lanka, and one of its three partners is a Korean. The third is "Zhang" another Chinese cook. The, $400 per its 51 rooms, 3-star hotel is largely occupied by Korean businessmen calling in Colombo, while the restaurant is packed with Chinese. It is a business traveller's hotel, and what the business tourist wants is to eat good food and sleep after they have transacted their businesses. Juliana is marketed in China and Korea. The restaurant on Galle Road, Colombo 3 is open till 1 a.m. Everything, from wallhangings, furniture, cooking utensils table and kitchenware and spices used, and the music, comes from China. US $150,000 went into refurbishing the building into a hotel. Bob says that Chinese food is the best in the world. "Here, we serve authentic Chinese food." Bob explained that Chinese cooking is done using many sauces, the recipes of which are closely guarded Chinese secrets. Bob is from mainland China and he worked at the prestigious Yangtze River Hotel, Shanghai. Having worked at two Chinese hotels in Sri Lanka, Bob is in his own business. Bob the bachelor (36) is married to Chinese cooking. Forty-five Sri Lankans are employed in the restaurant. Bob said that many Chinese hotels in Sri Lanka use a lot of spices and oil; they don't. "It's just not the taste of the food, it is the concern for the health of the consumer that Chinese cooking is all about. You must feel well after you have a Chinese meal." The fried rice served at Juliana Hotel did not seem to contain oil and there were slices of slightly cooked ginger in some dishes and a lot of garlic in others. There are 204 dishes on the menus. They give you plenty of hot green Chinese tea. Sharks fin abalone sea cucumber, tops the list. Lotus Spa - a boon The Lotus Spa will restore, refresh and rejuvenate you in the heart of Colombo. The Lotus Spa's serenity will quickly rub out the tribulations of the hectic tempo of your daily life and prompt a transformation in your mood, a spokesman for the spa said. He said the Lotus Spa which opened its doors to the Sri Lankan public is indeed welcome for those who undergo stress in their everyday competitive world. Aroma Therapy, Sauna, Jacuzzi, Steam Bath and Vapour Bath are also available at the Lotus Spa. For beauty conscious ladies there is the Herbal Beauty Shop equipped with herbal needs and beauty products that one would desire to possess. Beauticians at Lotus Spa are taught in India by some of the best-graded beauty culturists who have groomed top-class film actresses in the Indian film industry. American Airlines to fly from Chicago to Shanghai SriLankan Airlines has plans to open its wings to Beijing, while American Airlines (AA) are ready to fly from Chicago to Shanghai China, it was revealed in Colombo last week, when Walker Air Services (WAS) felicitated two top executives from American Airlines and other local travel agents. Rick Walker, regional manager of American Airlines, Sydney, Australia and Athar Khan, managing director, Asia Pacific, Hong Kong were here on a country visit. It was Walker's first visit to Sri Lanka. He had time to travel to Kandy, besides holding meetings with officials of the American Embassy, and AMCHAM Sri Lanka. WAS, under the Keells umbrella are local agents for AA, and Rick Walker was all praise for the local travel agents. Walker and Khan were very pleased with the business generated here from the first quarter of last year, and had projections of increasing business. "Would you ask for more flights into connecting destinations," "Not yet," Walker answered. The AA top executives were eager to meet the local travel agents. There was a contest for the local travel agent who sold the highest number of tickets for AA flights and Lotus Travel International won a Bajaj motorcycle. Walker said that when it comes to travel to the US there is no better choice than American Airlines. With connections from Colombo, AA can take the passenger from Tokyo or Nagoya, Japan, to five US gateway cities and beyond. America currently offers nonstop Boeing 777 service from Japan to Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, New York JFK, Los Angeles and San Jose, California. Alternatively you can travel from Colombo to one of our nine European gateways and connect to American Airlines Transatlantic services to the US from Europe, American Airlines offers nonstop service to seven US gateways: Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK and Raleigh/Durham. Walker said that once you are in the US you'll discover that American Airlines and American Eagle can take you just about anywhere you need to go. AA serves hundreds of business and leisure destinations throughout the US, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America. "In all, you can fly to more than 250 cities," Walker said. EL Colombo Plaza opens largest ballroom The Colombo Plaza opened its newly renovated Grand Ballroom, the biggest in Colombo last week offering a venue of luxuries with state-of-the-art technology, facilities and style, a spokesman for the Hotel said. She said following the Rs. 160 million renovation, the new ballroom 'The Oak Room' has facilities on par with the world's best venues. The expertise of one of Singapore's interior designers went into making the new ballroom a truly international conferencing and events venue. The Oak Room is also not just about a new look, but will also offer clients amazing flexibility with catering for a variety of events, a state-of-the art lighting and sound system and the option of additional function rooms if required, she said. |
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