High-end, upmarket living at Perak hubIPOH: High-end, upmarket living with branded goods and at least 50 fine dining restaurants to choose from.
That is the lifestyle the state government wants to promote among locals and tourists with the unveiling of the RM250mil Perak Tourism Hub project at Bandar Baru Medan here.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali said he was impressed with the concept of Penang-based Emerald Capital Group in wanting to bring the “best of the city into a single place.”
“We want the best food in the city to be made available at the hub including special gifts and branded goods which are sold only in Kuala Lumpur,” he said yesterday at the ground-breaking ceremony of the project, which comprises four multi-storey towers.
This, he said, could attract visitors from as far as Thailand and Penang to stop here to shop for branded goods.
Tajol Rosli said the project would be an integrated one-stop tourist information centre with an extensive shopping mall, a clubhouse with complete recreational facilities, cineplexes and a banquet hall to accommodate 2,000 people.
The project is expected to be completed by 2010. [Source: The Star]
Exactly the type of thing that is pushing the bustling city of London to even higher grounds. Think of the Fat Duck, Le Gavroche and Nobu here. Don't get what I mean, check out the world's best 50 restaurants here. It is exactly the type of thing Malaysia needs, right?
Just in response to 5xmom's article on "Tell me why Malaysians go to Singapore for holidays". Singapore is the other city with an increasing emphasis on quality of service and most importantly the "experience". By experience, I do mean the experience of fine dining.
All I can say is this is a good move. Just a little problem, there are already several fine dining restaurants in KL and not many of them have the means to survive.
The problem here is Malaysians are not too willing to spend that much on fine dining. How many of you are willing to fork out RM100 per head for a meal? Not many I suspect, and even if you do I think you're expecting Jogoya's buffet which is totally off.
Another aspect of fine dining is wine appreciation. All restaurateurs can tell you that the big money is to be earned from the huge margin on wine sales. That is exactly the type of thing that keeps a restaurant alive. As Gordon Ramsay once put it, "If the food you serve is fucking tasty, customers enjoy the meal. When customers enjoy the meal, they are going to spend on wine, and then you make money."
So think about it. Are we Malaysians still a bit too early for fine dining? Do we have the spending power to keep the industry alive? Only time will tell.
I'll leave you guys with 1 last question. How much are you willing to fork out for a plate like this?
p.s. this is "Letter soup" from El Bulli, ranked #1 restaurant in the world. Interesting? You fucking bet it is.
References:
- High-end, upmarket living at Perak hub, 7 September 2007, The Star.
3 comments:
Considering how the way we Malaysians eat, its impossible to appreciate what's fine dining is.
Moreover, I think I might need 3 rounds of fine dining to satisfy one meal for my tummy. :P That's RM300! How can?!
Income vs living cost is the key of fine dine.
jason: on the contrary, the tasting menu as small as it seems will fill you up in no time. And trust me, the food is enough to keep me full for a long time.
moo_t: i agree that income vs living cost is the key. But even if income goes up a nodge, malaysians would rather save the money than spend right?
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