Travel / Lifestyle

Kinjou celebrates 15th anniversary

The "Kinjou" Chinese Restaurant will celebrate its 15th anniversary this month. The Restaurant commenced operations on July 15, 1991 at Amarasekara Mawatha, Havelock Town, Colombo 5 as a branch of 'Kinjou' Nagoya Japan. The promoter of Kinjou Nagoya, a Japanese National, who studied culinary art in China was able to create a totally new 'taste' by using Chinese recipes together with Japanese sauces and other flavours, a spokesman for the Restaurant said.

"By this time we had been operating our "Sakura" Japanese Restaurant at Rheinland Place, Colombo 3 for eight years. Therefore we decided to introduce these new "Chinese cuisines for the Japanese palate" by setting up the "Kinjou" at Havelock Town. Our introductory menu had 64 items.

As a result of introducing new cuisines over time, today our menu contains 180 items, the highest number of items of variety available in any restaurant in Colombo, he said.

Kinjou is a tourist board approved "A" grade, air-conditioned, carpeted restaurant with two private dining rooms with 12+16 seating capacity, Japanese style 'tatami' rooms, long tables that can accommodate 30-40 guests suitable for travel groups totalling a seating capacity of 140.

It has a well stocked bar and a large garden which can accommodate over 100 guests for private functions such as birthday parties and office get-togethers. He said one important feature of "Kinjou" is that its chefs have been with the company during the last 15 years so that the taste of its dishes does not vary from time to time. Chefs are regularly trained in Japan. Most of the restaurant staff have also been working from the inception and therefore guests find the restaurant homely.

Kinjou opened its only branch at Ethul Kotte junction facing the parliament road and overlooking the Kotte golf grounds. It is housed in a two-storied building with 84 seating capacity downstairs and 72 seating capacity upstairs with three private dining rooms.

To mark its anniversary, "Kinjou" will offer 10% discount on the total bill; free home delivery and free ice cream for children under 10 from July 15-31.

The glitter of Richmond Hotel

Richmond Hotel, Ratnapura established in 1918 offers a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape that includes the abode of God Saman, Sri Pada (Adam's Peak), a spokesman for the Hotel said.

He said the hotel is equipped with five air-conditioned rooms with all modern conveniences. A balcony or a patio adorns each individual room, giving it a gentle and sophisticated appearance. Television with cable TV and in-house video-IDD telephone-Mini bar-Hot and cold water and round the clock room services are some of the main facilities in the rooms. Of the five rooms there are two large suites rooms specially for the family.

The fully air conditioned restaurant and well stocked bar is on the second floor of the Richmond hotel building. More than 75 can be accommodated at a time. The eastern, western, Chinese and Thai food prepared by experienced Chefs is what make Richmond Hotel the most sought after place in the province.

Conference facilities, IDD, Internet and fax, Doctor on Call service, credit cards facilities, rent a car service, domestic courier service, out door catering for weddings and other functions, traditional boat (Angula) rides and gem purchasing arrangements are also provided by the Hotel.

The spokesman said excursions can be arranged to visit Udawalawe National park to watch the elephants in the wild, which would be an unforgettable experience in one's lifetime. The hotel also organises tours to the Sinharaja Rain Forests, one of the largest rain forests which is one and half hours journey from the hotel.

There are weekend package offers for local and expatriates from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch or Saturday dinner to Sunday lunch with entertainment and tours to the Sinharaja Forest or Gem pits.

The Managing Director Shiral Fernando is continuing his family business which was started by his grandfather Joseph Fernando in 1918.

Air Arabia launches new reservation system

Air Arabia LLC said that Information Systems Associates (ISA), a joint venture of Air Arabia and John Keells Holdings, have developed a new reservation system 'AccelAero' for low cost airlines that provides multi-selling channels through the internet, travel agencies and call centres.

'AccelAero' will facilitate flight scheduling, finance and operational functionalities and capabilities across various point-of-sale channels and is customised to serve the business goals of low-cost airlines. Air Arabia, thus, becomes the first ISA customer to use the tailormade system.

CEO of Air Arabia Adel Ali said: "As we grow in the market, one of the crucial elements fuelling our success is our ability to remain agile within an ever-changing environment. Of necessity, it's a business built upon adaptability-one that can react efficiently based on customer demand, as well as one that can adjust quickly to new business needs.

As we focus on streamlined operations to ensure that savings are passed on to customers through lower fares, we are happy to implement this new system for our customer's benefits."

Director of IT and corporate projects at Air Arabia, Ali Al Hamdany said: "The airline reservation system is one of the most time and mission-critical elements of an airline. Any downtime comes at tremendous cost. The new reservation system developed by ISA is not only time-efficient but is adaptable to various selling channels and various other business needs.