Tsing Tao opens at the racecourse

Tsing Tao, a high-end luxury restaurant at the Racecourse in Cinnamon Gardens was opened recently by Sri Lankan hotelier and entrepreneur Janaka Wimalananda.

The Rs. 86 million restaurant, equipped with state-of-the-art amenities has modern Hong Kong architecture. The 7,000 square feet restaurant can accommodate 240 guests.

The Tsing Tao restaurant

Wimalananda said that he selected the racecourse to cater to clients in Colombo. "I wanted to have a luxury restaurant in Colombo for the high-end visitors. Our restaurant are patronised by local and foreign visitors."

The restaurant caters to corporate and birthday parties, get-togethers, anniversaries and family reunions.

"Tsing Tao is the only Chinese restaurant in Sri Lanka that serves exclusively modern Chinese cuisine. Our chefs are from China and we import all ingredients from China except for perishables," Wimalananda said.

He said the motto of the restaurant was 'Eat fresh'.

"We use organic fruits and vegetables and hope to set up a Dimsum (Chinese short-eats) restaurant in Colombo next month. Plans are afoot to set up a Western restaurant overlooking the Beira Lake in Colombo with an investment of Rs.55 million," he said.

"Work on the project is in progress and we hope to complete it by the end of the year. The restaurant is being built on 6,000 square feet of land will accommodate around 140 guests," Wimalananda said.

The Loon Tao, our first beach front restaurant built in 2008 at Mt. Lavinia was awarded the third best restaurant in Sri Lanka in 2011 by the LMD Living magazine for service, quality of food and ambience.

The Loon Tao is a causal dining restaurant with Balinese architecture.

Wimalananda said that there is enormous potential for restaurants in Sri Lanka due to the booming tourism industry.

We need more resorts that could cater to the discerning clientele.

The derelict racecourse has been renovated and part of the colonial building houses shops and resorts.

LF