RM6m refurbishment, rebranding for Mint Hotel

Property tycoon Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, the owner of Mint Hotel, is now drafting a business plan to turn the hotel around

The three-star Mint Hotel along the Kuala Lumpur-Seremban highway will undergo a RM6 million refurbishment and rebranding programme and re-open by the first half of next year.

Property tycoon Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, the owner of Mint Hotel, said he is now drafting a business plan to turn the hotel around, which had ceased operations since February 2005.

This follows the conclusion of Lee's acquisition of Mint Hotel from Ambank (M) Bhd for RM45 million, which Lee said was not voluntary.

A sales and purchase agreement was signed with the liquidator, Ernst & Young, in June this year, via his privately-held firm Lambang Raya Sdn Bhd.

"The hotel is not worth that much now. I am a victim. If i don't buy it, the bank will sue me. I will end up in a legal suit. I am caught because of the undertaking I had with the bank a few years ago," Lee, who is also the founder and executive chairman of Country Heights Holdings Bhd, told Business Times.

Property valuers have estimated Mint Hotel to be worth some RM23 million.

Ambank declined to comment.

The issue started when Jennico Associates Sdn Bhd, which is 50 per cent owned by Lee through Lambang Raya, was liquidated by a creditor in January 2000.

At that point, Jennico had already defaulted on a term loan of RM47 million granted by AmFinance Bhd in 1995, under the stewardship of Datuk Major (R) Zulkifli Abdul Mokti and KifliMokti Sdn Bhd, who owns the balance 50 per cent of the company.

Mint Hotel was then auctioned by Ernst & Young in 2005 and this attracted many bidders, including Lee, Lotus Family Group and Majestic Hotel.

They were keen to buy the 413-room hotel as it overlooks the Selangor Turf Club race course and is close to the Mines Exhibition Centre, Mines Wonderland, the Mines shopping mall and a golf course.

Business Times reported in August 2006 that Lotus won the bid to buy the hotel.

But a tussle broke as Lee claimed he was the rightful owner of the property.

According to Lee, he had submitted a bid for RM55 million for the hotel in October 2005 after being advised by AmBank, and a 5 per cent, or RM2.75 million, deposit was made to Ernst & Young.

Lee said his bid was based on a letter of undertaking he signed with Ambank in October 1995 stating that he will buy the hotel for RM55 million in the event of default of a loan taken by Jennico.

Tune plans to add 24 hotels in Indonesia by 2015

BALI: Tune Hotels.com plans to add 24 new budget hotels in Indonesia by 2015, including Jakarta, Medan and Bandung, to capture a pie of the republic's lucrative tourism market.

Group chief executive Mark Lankester said the new hotels are part of the no-frills hotel operator's plan to open 100 hotels all over Asia in the next five years, in line with its shareholders' plan to open one budget hotel at every city that budget airline AirAsia flies to.

Tune Hotels.com's shareholders include Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes of AirAsia.

"We will invest an average of RM15 million for each hotel in Asia, depending on the number of rooms," Lankester told reporters at the opening of TuneHotels Legian, its second hotel in Indonesia, here yesterday.

In the first quarter of next year, the hotel chain will invest RM50 million to buy land in Jakarta, Medan, Bandung as well as the UK, Phnom Penh, Melbourne and Perth.

"It takes up to 12 months from buying land right up to building the hotel," said Lankester.

He said the company also has received enquiries to start up operations in Japan, the Middle East, France, India and is looking for land in Singapore.

Tune Hotels.com signed an agreement with Thailand's Evolution Capital Public Co Ltd last Saturday to jointly open 44 hotels across Asia with an investment of US$200 million (US$1 = RM3.44).

The 44 hotels are part of its plan to open 100 hotels across Asia, of which five are already operating in Malaysia.

Hearty And Halal

WHEN she became a Muslim some 20 years ago, Haslinda Sim Abdullah had no problems adjusting to a new way of life except for one aspect - food. She couldn't find a Chinese restaurant that catered to Muslims. So Haslinda had little choice but to cook the food herself, more so when she got married and started to raise a family.

She became very good at it and eventually, her husband suggested that she take over the Zenith Restaurant when its owner had trouble making it profitable. She agreed as she wanted to share the joys of Chinese food with fellow converts and her Muslim friends but was nevertheless anxious.

After all, she could only cook Chinese and she worried about whether the largely Malay Muslim market would find Chinese food acceptable though all the ingredients were halal. So she started with quite a lot of Malay dishes, interjecting a few Chinese dishes here and there to test the market.

Later, she says, when she decided to switch to all Chinese dishes (except for a few items like nasi goreng kampung), the number of customers grew and many of them kept coming back.

Their praises for her cooking gave her the much-needed confidence and she began to expand on the menu.

Today, the no-frills but airconditioned restaurant has gained a reputation that Muslims in Kuala Lumpur and even as far away as Rawang and Seremban come to when they get a craving for Chinese cuisine.

She also attracted the Chinese Muslim community who were now glad they could eat out and enjoy halal Chinese food.

These days, with her clientele growing, she's roped in a proper Chinese chef from a major Chinese restaurant chain of restaurants, to help her cope with the vast amount of cooking.

"A lot of Malay customers don't really know what to order when it comes to Chinese food, so I have to be there all the time to make recommendations," says Haslinda. Some regulars never bother with the menu anymore, preferring to happily let Haslinda take charge of their meal. Now she is in the process of coming up with a picture menu that will help her customers decide better.

Lunch time sees a good crowd who come in for the chap fan - the pay-for-what- you -take Chinese coffeshop buffet. Haslinda offers only eight to 10 dishes there are vegetables, fish, tofu, eggs, chicken - all cooked Chinese-style.

"I think I'm the only one offering chap fun in this area. The rest are mostly mamak shops. Many office workers come in for a quick bite.

With chap fun, they don't have to think about what to order and many don't have the time for a leisurely meal," she says.

But I notice that many of her customers do pick up items from her a la carte menu. These range from quick single- serve meals like noodles and fried rice to more elaborate dishes to go with rice.

A set lunch of meat or fish with rice and a fruit juice costs only RM6.50.

There's black pepper beef, sweet and sour fish, marmite chicken, venison kuay teow, Cantonese fried and tom yam noodles.

There are Package Meals designed for the busy businessman, priced from RM30 to RM88 (nett) for between two to six persons and from RM115 to RM210 for between five and 10 persons. Three dishes of Hong Kong kailan with ginger and onion fish slice and mustard pickle and beancurd soup is RM30 nett.

Many customers come by to order ta-pau or take-aways and for nearby offices, all it takes is a phone call and Haslinda obligingly sends the food over.

Chap fun is not on our minds today.

Instead, we ask Haslinda to make us some recommendations and soon, our table is spread with a variety of dishes that make us feel like we are in a Chinese restaurant.

Wong nga pak (Chinese long, white cabbage) with dried scallops, for instance, is almost a festive dish.

Here, it's very well done indeed. The cabbage is well cooked to a tenderness that you can feel with your heart. I do so love softly-cooked Chinese cabbage.

It comes packed in a plate with dried scallops in oyster sauce ladled over.

The scallops add a delicate dried seafood flavour to the otherwise bland cabbage.

Then we have a Yin-Yang Fish. It's a pretty dish and such a lot of work. The chef has carefully filleted the whole siakap and used the meat to cook in two different styles. Half of this he has done in a deepfried butter-style with filigreed egg-white and curry leaves to add a gorgeous aroma.

The other half he spreads with a fish paste and carefully rolls each piece up with a scallion and julienned carrot in the centre.

These are steamed and lightly flavoured with soya sauce.

That's not all. What's left of the central bone, head and tail of the fish is dipped in a light batter and deepfried to crunchiness so that no part of the fish goes to waste.

The next dish is a Thai-sauce Roast Chicken. I find the sauce, with a generous sprinkle of roasted sesame seed, far too sweet. I prefered the chicken without the sauce.

Fried Abalone Mushroom is one of Haslinda's favourite dishes. The mushrooms are battered, deepfried and tossed in a sweet and sour sauce with chopped cucumber and capsicum.

Currently, the top favourite with her customers, according to Haslinda, is Yin-Yang Vegetable. "I remember recommending this dish to one group of customers but one of them protested, saying she had tried it in another restaurant and didn't think much of it.

But she was out-voted and later, she said that it was good! I was so happy," says Haslinda. "Our chef really does this dish very well."

The imported Hong Kong kailan is cooked in two styles. The stems are steamed while the leaves are shredded and deepfried till they are crispy and arranged on top of the stems. Then little silver ikan bilis are sprinkled over the kailan - a nice touch by the chef. The ikan bilis does wonders but it is also the contrasting textures of the steamed stems and the crispy leaves that make it so enjoyable.

For dessert, Haslinda doesn't offer too many choices. She has jin tui (sesame balls) and Shanghai pancake. She makes these herself, she says. Noticing some customers enjoying the jin tui, we ask for the same and soon we are happily munching on the glutinous rice flour balls with a red bean stuffing.

The coating of sesame seeds adds a nice crunch to the balls.

Photographer Rohanis couldn't resist having three though she professes to being "stuffed".

While we are having lunch, I can't help noticing the food ordered by customers at the other tables. The fish-head curry looks great as does the Seng Kong Tofu. The aroma of the Claypot Chicken with Saltfish simply irresistible.

Restoran Zenith is open Mondays to Saturdays from 11am to 10.30pm. It's closed on Sundays.

Taman Desa Petaling is on the way to Seremban from TUDM in Sungai Besi.

You'll have no problems locating Zenith with its bright blue canopy.

Haslinda also does catering and even managed a small wedding at the restaurant.

RESTORAN ZENITH (halal)
Block B, 3-LG-1, Megan Salak Park
Taman Desa Petaling,
57100, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-9056 3668

Food a Major Attraction to Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR:Malaysian food has become one of the major attractions to foreign visitors because of the unique blend of cultural and ethnic histories that are not found anywhere else in the world, chairman of Tourism Malaysia Datuk Dr Victor Wee said today.

He said this unique blend of culture is very much reflected in the broad range of influences and flavours found in Malaysian food.

"Coupled with centuries of cohabitation, shared recipes and continous experiments from restaurateurs and food operators, we have produced an interesting potpourri of Malaysian cuisines not found anywhere else in the world, making Malaysia a gourmet paradise," he said when launching the 1Malaysia Fruit Tower contest at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here.

Wee said apart from good food, Malaysia also has a great variety of refreshing and nutritious tropical fruits and praised the otganiser for creatively design the contest to help promote Malaysian fruits.

The 1Malaysia fruit tower contains a mix of local fruits whereby visitors of the ongoing Malaysia Restaurant Food Festival are encouraged to guess the quantity of local fruits in the tower.

At the fuction, Wee also lanched the Fabulous Food 1Malaysia - Malaysia Restaurant Food Festival that showcases fabulous food from renowed restaurants in the country.


With the theme 'Come Celebrate The Festivities with Tasty Malaysia' the three-day festival also features and promote the restaureters year end and new year dinner and wedding packages at a great value whereby visitors can make bookings and enjoy additional benefits. -Bernama

Khazanah and Pinewood in RM400mil studio project

By IZWAN IDRIS

KUALA LUMPUR: Khazanah Nasional Bhd has committed to invest RM400mil to build the region’s biggest independently-owned studio facility in Johor together with renowned international film production company Pinewood Shepperton plc, as the Government’s investment arm steps up efforts to boost Iskandar Malaysia’s appeal as a global creative hub.

The Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studio (PIMS) is scheduled to open by early 2013.

New investment flows into the Iskandar Malaysia economic region have suffered a “slight setback” due to the fallout from the economic recession, which also crippled Dubai recently, Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar told reporters at a briefing yesterday.

However, he was quick to point out that the overall impact of the Dubai financial crisis on Iskandar Malaysia was minimal, as the special economic corridor’s exposure to Dubai investors was considered “very small”.

Azman also reiterated that Khazanah would “definitely” continue with ongoing plans to divest none-core assets and equities held in “mature” government-linked companies (GLCs).

Observers said funds raised from the disposals would be used to finance new greenfield projects, such as the PIMS and other facilities being developed in Iskandar Malaysia.

PIMS will be sited on 80 acres located adjacent to Medini, a large international urban development in Iskandar Malaysia which is backed by a number of global investors, including those from Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.

The PIMS project is estimated to cost RM400mil and would be entirely “underwritten” by Khazanah.

Azman said PIMS was “conservatively” projected to contribute about RM1bil in economic spinoffs over the next eight years and “will create 3,000 direct jobs and potentially an additional 5,000 indirect jobs a year.’’

About half the amount would come in the form of construction-related works.

Khazanah, through wholly owned unit, Beserah Venture Sdn Bhd, will own the bulk of the equity in PIMS.

Pinewood chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said the company would provide key operational and marketing input during both the construction and operating phases, in addition to the rights to use Pinewood’s global brand.

The PIMS project has already got off to a good start with pay-TV operator Astro signed up as an anchor tenant.

Under the deal, Astro will use the studios at PIMS to produce its local language content programmes.

PIMS itself will remain an independent studio, and Khazanah is relying on Pinewood’s global reach to market the facility as a “host” to bi-budget movie producers in Europe and the United States.

Pinewood has over 75 years of filming history, playing host to around 1,500 productions including international blockbusters like the James Bond and Harry Potter series, Batman Begins and The Da Vinci Code.

The PIMS project would start on a relatively “modest” scale of 30 acres, with room for further growth, Dunleavy said.

It will be Pinewood’s first studio in Asia.

Khazanah said the investment in PIMS was expected to contribute to the development of creative industries, with spillover effects to other economic sectors like tourism, finance and high-value manufacturing.

“The development of a creative eco-system in Iskandar Malaysia, one of the nine economic pillars identified in Iskandar Malaysia’s comprehensive development plan, will enhance innovation, creativity and stimulate entrepreneurship,’’ Azman said.

The state investment arm, however, would be keen to avoid the failure of the now abandoned RM3bil multimedia content facility known as E-Village in Sepang, Selangor that was launched in 2000.

Green boost for Tg Aru

KOTA KINABALU: The main attraction of Tanjung Aru has always been its sandy beach with picture perfect sunsets and swaying casuarina trees.

But a major facelift and rebranding will soon see it earn its stripes as Sabah's first town to be declared "green and litter-free".

Mayor Datuk Iliyas Ibrahim said the old town was an ideal location for the pilot project because of its historical value and its proximity to the Kota Kinabalu International Airport and the famed Tanjung Aru beach.

City Hall's efforts in turning Tanjung Aru into a model clean and safe town will be completed in stages over a year.

"The town will soon also have a 'green' hotel in line with the government's policy of using green technology in development," he said in his speech at a stakeholder's meeting for the project at Wisma Puspanita yesterday.

The project is also in line with the beautification and preservation of the water village in Tanjung Aru, which will begin welcoming homestay tourists by May.

"It is a low-cost campaign because it involves community participation and only part of the city budget.

"So far, the response has been positive."

City Hall Health Department and City Services director Robert Lipon said future plans included upgrading the waste disposal system, sewerage system, water supply, increasing the number of car parking bays, a park and a pedestrian walkway.

Arrivals Set To Surpass Target

By Vasantha Ganesan and Presenna Nambiar

KUALA LUMPUR: Tourist arrivals and receipts this are expected to surpass the government's projection and hit a new record of over 22 million and RM50 billion respectively, despite the global recession.

Given this surprise showing, the forecast for 2010 is 23 million tourists spending a total of RM52 billion.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said that in the first 11 months of this year, 21.51 million foreign tourists entered the country, a 7.6 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Strong support came from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Brunei. Strong arrivals were also recorded from China, India, Australia and the United Kingdom.

With one more month to go and December being traditionally the strongest month, arrivals may well surpass the 22 million record arrivals set in 2008.

Last December, 2.058 million tourists came to Malaysia. If this and the latest November figures, which were up by 11 per cent to 2.048 million, are anything to go by, this year will be a bumper year.

Earlier in the year, the projected number of tourist arrivals was revised downwards to 20 million, and with the influenza A (H1N1) outbreak in May, it was again revised to 19 million.

"In 2010, the economy may still be bumpy.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances such as terrorist attacks, political instability or natural disasters, we could receive more than 23 million tourists and we foresee RM52 billion in foreign exchange earnings," Ng said yesterday after the launch of the Naza Group's newly-rebranded hotels, Naza Talyya Hotels.

Next year Tourism Malaysia, the marketing arm of the ministry, will focus its promotion in Asean, followed by China, other parts of Asia and selected European countries.

On the impact of the Dubai debt crisis on Malaysia, especially since Middle Eastern per capita spending is the highest, Ng said :"We are watching the Arab market carefully ... but we do not expect any big impact as their numbers are small."

Holiday Villa adds Paris hotel to its chain

Holiday Villa, a home-grown hotel chain, has added a new hotel in Paris, France, to its international portfolio, following its acquisition of Marciano Hotel Paris for RM33 million.

The hotel, opened on October 28 2009, is centrally located at Rue de Trevise in Paris, which is minutes away from places of interests and exhibition centres.

Holiday Villa International managing director and chief executive officer Datin Mavis Masri Azman said the group plans to upgrade the hotel to Holiday Villa standard and re-brand its name to Holiday Villa Lafayette, Paris.

The three-star hotel features 38 guest rooms comprising single, double and suite.

The opening of Holiday Villa Lafayette, Paris, marks the second Holiday Villa hotel in Europe after Holiday Villa Hotel & Suites London in 1997.

"They will both complement each other well and play a pro-active role in promotion of Malaysia, well known for its gracious hospitality among the Euro-pean community," she said.

The Holiday Villa group operates in seven other countries including Malaysia, the UK, Indonesia, Sudan, Qatar, Cambodia, Vietnam and China.

Expo to Unveil Halal, Islamic Tourism Draw

By Annie Freeda Cruez

KUALA LUMPUR: An International Islamic Tourism and Halal week (IISTHAL), showcasing Islamic wonders of the world, will be held for three days from Tuesday at Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre.

The Islamic Tourism Centre, in collaboration with GITC Secretariat Sdn Bhd, Khaaz International Sdn Bhd and Persatuan Pedagang dan Pengusaha Melayu Malaysia would be organising the inaugural event which will include the second national halal conference, the second global Islamic tourism conference and exhibition and global Islamic food festival.

A Global Islamic Tourism Organisation conference and a gala dinner of Malaysian halal excellence awards would also be held.

The tourism ministry's Islamic Tourism Centre said the main objectives of the conference and exhibition were to showcase the world's Islamic wonders and also to share and discuss current issues, tourism attributes and new frontiers on Islamic tourism.

It is also aimed at strengthening the Malaysian halal industry and tapping its opportunities.

Firefly, the country's first community airline, is the official airline for the event.

The collaboration would give trade visitors and members of the public a chance to win flight tickets -- six return tickets to Singapore, four return tickets to Medan and two return tickets to Koh Samui.

Visitors also have a chance to win plenty of other attractive prizes and vouchers.

The event, themed "Showcasing Islamic Wonders", has received encouraging response from industry players and the public.

Chief executive of GITC secretariat and co-organiser of IISTHAL, Datin Hasnah Abdul Rahman, said based on previous deliberations, it was felt that Islamic tourism could not be a single entity without addressing the issue of halal cuisine.

"Thus, the conference will cover certain issues on this pertinent subject," she said.

On the Firefly collaboration, she said she had met Firefly representatives at the World Trade Mart in London recently.

"IISTHAL is happy with the collaboration in making the event another milestone event in developing Islamic tourism and halal infrastructure."

Firefly head of marketing and communications Angelina Fernandez said it was a privilege to work with IISTHAL as they shared the same aspirations in making the growing Islamic tourism market an entity that would increase the number of travellers, both inbound and outbound, when greater awareness was created.

"Previously, when we hear of Islamic tourism, we only connect it with tourists from the Middle East.

"Today, with events such as IISTHAL, we are given the opportunity to showcase Islamic-based countries as a viable destination for non-Muslim travellers while Muslim travellers will have a peace of mind when they travel to non-Muslim countries. This certainly bodes well for tourism development."

For more information, visit www.itc.gov.my or www.islamic-tourism.com or www.halalconference.com.