Press Room

After an extensive makeover of the hotel resorts’ guest rooms, ballroom, meeting facilities, as well as its food and beverage outlets, the Saujana of Kuala Lumpur, announced its newly refurbished look.

A press luncheon was held hosted by the Vice President of Operations, Peter Hourigan together with M. Manimaran Senior Director of Sales & marketing and Michele Gregory, Marketing Communications Manager. Also at the luncheon were representatives from WorldHotels, Roland Jegge, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific and Eugene Ng the Marketing Executive.

Members of the media invited were journalists of publication from the Asia Pacific region.

The Saujana Kuala Lumpur has also recently become a member of the hospitality consortium, WorldHotels AG as part of the company’s portfolio of luxury resorts. The company founded in 1970, operates a group of independent hotels worldwide is based in Frankfurt, Germany.

Once again industry stakeholders in hospitality will come together to explore the growth and investment opportunities in the Asia Pacific region. THINC Indonesia to be held from September 2 to 3 is set to provide a platform to deliberate on the development and direction of the hotel and tourism industry in the region.

At the same time, the conference has established its reputation of being a one-of-a-kind hospitality event in Indonesia.

Attendees of the conference stand to gain knowledge in the areas of experiential learning and productivity enhancement from their regional and international counterparts.

This year the event continues to offer accurate and relevant content through a captivating line-up of seminars and panels of industry leaders, as well as the opportunity to network and conduct business with prominent owners, operators, investors, developers, and government officials. Notable speakers include global chief executive officers and industry stalwarts.

Aside from this, delegates and participants too, will have the chance to network, learn, and share information and best practices with their regional and international counterparts.

The event is hosted by HVS together with the Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia and Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM).

For more information, please visit  www.THINCIndonesia.com

www.THINCIndonesia.com

The show is held at the Beijing China National Convention Centre from June 26 to 28, and will feature a total of 330 international exhibitors,across an area of 2,100 square metres; organised by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development in collaboration with Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS) Pte Ltd Singapore.

BITE 2015 is a tourism exposition that brings together domestic and international tourism stakeholders to foster new business relationships and strengthen existing partnerships. Through the show, tourism stakeholders and interested trade buyers who are keen in targeting China’s huge domestic and international tourism market will have a platform for networking and collaboration.

This year BITE will also feature a series of seminar where experienced speakers share with visitors key insights into the China tourism industry. Countries such as Thailand, Turkey, Greece, Japan, USA, Korea, Sri Lanka, Morocco and Cambodia are set to showcase during the exposition their tourism resources through on-stage destination presentation sessions.

MICE in Asia is a media partner of BITE 2015

www.bitechina.com.cn

The Taj hotel brand is known for its splendid properties and palatial palaces extends its hospitality to a private island on Rebak in Langkawi. Imagine basking in the sun on pristine white beach, and the warm waters of the Andaman Sea. An elegant retreat, the resort is designed to be in harmony with nature and the lush tropical greenery.

While the amenities and villas on the resort are luxuriously outlined for the comfort of guests with incredible views of the sea.

The management of Vivanta invited two editorial representatives from MICE in Asia, for a two nights and three days stay to experience the Taj hospitality and service. Activities planned include: cooking demonstration on Thai green curry by Chef Kamal; nature walk and discovery of the island by naturalist and historian, Selva; outdoor dining venue at the marina jetty under the stars; and fine dining at Moon Deck, prepared by Chef Kamal and desert by Chef Vaibhav; breakfast at the Senari Restaurant, batik painting; a tour of the island by General Manager, Sandip Mukherjee; and lunch of authentic Indian cuisine by Chef Dinesh. All the food prepared is supervised by Vivanta’s Executive Chef, Ganesh Kumar.

Suitably located on the island is a marina on a protected inlet of calm waters. Operated by Vivanta by Taj, the dock has facilities for wet and dry berths, as well as offer full service to yachters.

An idyllic island resort for a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city life.

Villas some nestled in lush greenery dotting the island offering luxury comfort.

The marina at Rebak Island operated by Vivanta by Taj, with yachts from Australia, New Zeland, United Kingdom and China.

MICE in Asia would like to thank the management of Vivanta by Taj for their warm hospitality extended to two of its editorial staff and the experience.

Showcasing Kuala Lumpur as a diverse gastronomic destination in South East Asia, the city will be celebrating a three-day food festival at the iconic Dataran Merdeka from May 29 to 31.

The food festival will bring together gastronomic delights from the 13 Malaysian States, making local and international foodies spoilt for choice with the range of over 60 food counters serving up only the best.

Curated by UK based Malaysian Chef and Kuala Lumpur food ambassador, Chef Norman Musa, the festival will also host several celebrity chefs, who will thrill and entertain visitors with live cooking demonstrations and workshops throughout the festival.

Visitors will also get the chance to meet with the local and internationally renowned chefs as they, conduct talks, cooking workshops and demonstrations. Visitors can also learn to prepare and cook authentic Malaysian dishes, and get useful tips from the experts themselves during the festival.

The three-day festival will transform Dataran Merdeka into eight quarters: Negeri, Warung, Manisan, Food Trucks, Warisan, Samplings, The Dulang and Mayor’s Courtyard – to include every facet of Malaysian food. Each quarter will be set up in a unique presentation serving everything from one’s favourite childhood dish to science defying molecular gastronomy dishes.

Aside from this, there will be a number of interesting pop-up stalls selling tropical Malaysian fruits and juices, spices and purees, tuck shops of Malaysian snacks like kerepek, coconut candy and dodol. These stalls will hold experiential demonstrations for tourist on preparing heritage cakes like kuih bangkit, kuih bakar and kuih bahulu.

With a single entry ticket, visitors have the opportunity to attend all the cooking workshops and demonstrations (based on a first-come, first-serve basis as seats may be limited), listen to gastronomic talks, and be entertained by cultural performances.

Food items may be purchased using Kupang, a specially designed token that will replace cash at the festival. It is available in denominations of half, one and five Kupang. Visitors can purchase the Kupang at the ticketing booth near the main entrance to the festival venue. The term Kupang is taken from the traditional Malay coin currency that was used, in the Malay Peninsula, over a century ago.

The 3-day festival is also geared to be eco-friendly and ethically responsible, whereby the quarters will be using bio degradable and non-Styrofoam packaging plus recycled bags; sharing a communal washing up area to wash their pots and pans; recycling bins for the food waste disposal.

To create more excitement during the festival, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall has organised the Big Challenge which includes three competitions. First, the KL Big Kitchen Big Race, a cooking competition which includes racing against time to buy ingredients at KL’s oldest market, Chow Kit Market and returning to the Big Kitchen site at Dataran Merdeka to cook a dish. The second competition is the KL Signature Mocktail Competition, open to Malaysian amateurs or professional mixologists to create KL’s signature mocktail. Finally the KL Signature Dish Competition, a competition only open to Malaysians, is in search of a unique, signature dish using local herbs and spices. Winners of each competition will receive cash prizes, a trophy from the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur and gifts sponsored by the festival’s partners.

Interested participants can download the entry forms from the festival website www.klbigkitchen.com

Kuala Lumpur Big Kitchen Festival 2015 is one of the initiatives under Kuala Lumpur Tourism Master Plan 2015 – 2025. One of the criteria of the master plan, is to create a food festivel in Kuala Lumpur, and to position the city, as a heaven for Malaysian cuisine.

The hotel has just recently opened for business. Contemporary and ultra chic, the property is located at the Gurney Drive of Georgetown on the island of Penang. On April 23, the management team of G Hotel Kelawai headed by its general manager, Michael Hanratty hosted a get together at a Kuala Lumpur downtown brasserie to introduce the hotel to clients and the media.

A private event was organised by the hotel for the property’s clients and the media, of a one-night of fine dining with fine wine at the Senja of Saujana. Guests enjoyed a delectable six-course dinner specially created by the hotel’s chef from Australia, Robert Johnson who has cleverly created the dishes with an Australian flavour using ingredients from Asia. Each course paired with SHR wine from the award winning Frankland Estate of the Margaret River Winery.

The renowned winery produces vintage such as Chardonnay Sauvignon, Blanc Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Merlot, Miles from Nowhere and Cabernet Sauvignon.

General Manager, Peter Hourigan hosted the evening, who mentioned that the introduction of the hotel’s new wine collection, is to cater to its many wine dinner events that are attended by wine enthusiasts.

Menu for the evening with the pairing of wine:

 Lightly cured salmon with pomelo, cucumber and verjuice jelly paired with Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2014.

 Poached chicken on a bed of crispy noodles served in shitake tea paired with Miles from Nowhere and Chardonnay 2013.

 Char grilled duck breast accompanied by sweet onion puree of apple and radish in balsamic reduction paired with Merlot 2014.

 Black Angus tenderloin beef and roasted pumpkin risotto served with oyster mushroom and bone marrow in parsley sauce paired with Miles from Nowhere,Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Olmo’s Reward 2006, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

  Coconut rice with caramelised banana, candied coconut and chili (Coffee or Tea).

Saujana Hotels & Resorts New Wine Collection.

Michelle Gregory, the Marketing Communications Manager and guests at the wine pairing dinner evening at the Senja of Saujana.

Chef Robert Johnson with Julia Douglas, Managing Editor of MICE in Asia.

The highly anticipated China Guilin International Tourism Expo (CGITE) 2015 will be held from May 29 to 31 at Guilin, a picturesque prefecture in Guangxi. Back for the sixth time, CGITE 2015 is set to become Guangxi’s most prominent tourism exposition that caters to both businesses and consumers. Venue for the show is the Guilin International Conference and Exhibition Center, and is expected to attract a total of 820 exhibitors from 65 different countries and regions, as well as 32,000 trade and public visitors.

Organisers of the events are: China-ASEAN Expo; People’s Government of Guilin; China Guangxi Tourism Administration; Guangxi International Expositions Bureau; Guilin Convention & Exhibition Bureau; Guilin Municipal Tourism Bureau; and Conference & Exhibition Management Services (CEMS) Pte Ltd Singapore.

www.cgite.com.cn

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) organised for a group of representatives from the intenrational media, roundtable sessions with top level executives from the government of the country; and the private sector which began from March 24 to 26. As stated by Mr Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, president of TCEB, the sessions were held, to discuss on MICE issues in Thailand and to boost international confidence in Thailand’s MICE industry.

It began with Mrs Supawan Teerarat, vice president of TCEB who briefed the media on the initiatives taken by the bureau to promote the country’s MICE brand ‘Thailand CONNECT The World’ after a dinner of Thai cuisine on board a river cruise boat, and with a speech by the president.

High powered discussion was held with the Mr Sek Wannamethee, director-general of the Department of Information and spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He spoke on Thailand’s MICE industry as one of the drivers of the country’s economic growth; the government’s foreign affairs policies and action plans to support the MICE industry; the country’s readiness for the ASEAN economic integration; and the political stability and its impact on the development of the country’s economy and MICE industry.

Meetings were also held with Mr Vichai Assarasakon, vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce of Board of Trade Thailand and Mr Thanate Vorsaran, board member of Tourism Authority of Thailand on the strategy of collaboration between public and private sectors on promoting MICE through key industries. The session closed with an update on the status of the tourism industry in Thailand by Mrs Pornthip Hirunkate, vice president of international marketing of the Tourism Council of Thailand.

The publisher and editorial board of MICE in Asia would like to thank TCEB for inviting its managing editor to the roundtable sessions.