02Aug

Dinner in the Sky – Sabah’s Latest Attraction

KOTA KINABALU: Dining a three-course Italian meal while being suspended 50 metres in the sky is the latest attraction introduced here. Locals and tourists can get the bird-eye view experience at Sutera Harbour Resort, where two dinners are served daily this August. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun who had first hand experience during the launch last night, said both locals and tourists alike are expected to be drawn to this new tourism experience. "I took the first 'flight' and what better way to experience our beautiful sunset. "It might not be everyone's cup of tea but then again it is something unique and eventhough Sabah is known for its nature as our niche, I always encourage new products here to keep visitors engaged. "Those with a fear of heights, I suggest them to try as you are safe. With the music playing and the chef and waiter talking to you, you would be so busy, what with eating and taking photos that you wouldn't realise it (being high off the ground)," he said after his dinner. 'Dinner in the Sky' has history which began in Belgium and over 5,000 dinners were hosted over 45 cities including Kuala Lumpur to date. Organiser TwoSpicy Entertainment who brought the experience to Sabah said up to 30 percent reservations were made after just three days of opening the tickets for purchase. "This is impressive as we didn't expect this kind of response in Sabah," said chief executive officer Arvin Randahwa. He assured the standard safety measures of seated guests wearing safety belts while standing presenter and crew are secured by safety harnesses at all time during the dinner. The dining experience is endorsed by Sabah Tourism Board and co-sponsored by Sutera Harbour. Source: New Strait Times
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28Jul

Food writers, bloggers attending Sandakan Food Festival

SANDAKAN: As the final ingredients are put in place for the first Sandakan Food Festival (SFF) 2017, the local food and tourism community are excited about the confirmation of important food writers and bloggers travelling to the town of Sandakan. According to the festival coordinator, Anton Ngui, considerable effort had been put into organising the first multi-cultural and largest Sandakan food platform by the Sandakan Tourism Association (STAN). “Two seasoned travel and food bloggers from China who feature strongly on the Sina.com blog platform will be visiting. “From Shanghai, Newpepsibear is a highly popular travel and food blogger, with a quarter of million followers on his Sina and Weibo accounts. With over 100 million hits on his blog since its inception, Newpepsibear is also a travel column contributor to the United States National Tourism office as well as the Sendai City (Japan) Tourism Office. “Summerdejia is a social media influencer on Sina blog and Weibo, but she also publishes her own cook book, a true food lover. With nearly 300,000 following on her blog and 80,000 followers on her Weibo account, her blog has garnered more than 35 million hits since its creation. Summerdejia hails from Beijing, China,” Anton said. From Singapore, there will be a team from Sethlui.com. Seth has a wealth of experience in the food and beverages industry, an ex-bartender as well as owner of numerous food and beverages businesses over the years. Seth is a now a food retail entrepreneur and consultant, and his site is an important part of his brand. His blog sees around 600,000 unique visitors a month, with over 1.5 million impressions and is one of the highest traffic food blogs in Singapore. Further food specialists and writers are expected to confirm their attendance at the SFF in the coming weeks, as the team at STAN continues to bring the best of Sandakan to the international audience.   Source: TheBorneoPost
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27Jul

FAMA Wants to Cultivate ‘Musang King’ and ‘Black Thorn’

KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA) will introduce the cultivation of high-grade clones of ‘Musang King’ and ‘Black Thorn’ durians in Sabah. Its chairman Tan Sri Badruddin Amiruldin said the pilot project will kick off once the location of the farm, soil and temperature suitability at the farm are confirmed. He said the long-term plan is to commercialise these durians for the domestic and international markets. “Sabah has plenty of beautiful lands and is endowed with lands that are suitable for fruit planting,” he said, adding that the State is a favourite destination among tourists from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, who love fruits. He also said that FAMA would visit China next month to promote Malaysian fruits especially durians. “We will even promote durian paste as a delicacy in China,” he said after paying a courtesy call on Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin at the Istana here yesterday. On another matter, he said FAMA would open a factory in Tenom to process bananas from Sabah. “We are now exporting Sabah bananas to peninsula and Sarawak as the bananas here have their own unique texture and taste. “If we process and pack them nicely, we can improve their quality and thus better returns in the oversea market,” he said, adding that the local cultivators would also earn more. Meanwhile, Badruddin urged landowners who have idle lands to contact them so that ‘something could be cultivated on the land.’ “Our office can help whether the landowner wants to cultivate vegetables or fruits,” he said. FAMA can assist rural folks to earn better if they have crops that can be marketed. “The farmer can register with us and we will market their produce for them,” he added. He also urged Sabah youth to play their role in the food truck industry which is growing in popularity. Present was FAMA deputy director-general Mohd Anis Mohd Yasin. Source: New Sabah Times
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25Jul

Dinner In The Sky coming to Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Dinner In The Sky Malaysia is proud to announce that it will be making East Malaysia its next stop for the first time ever beginning 1st August 2017, after enjoying an immensely popular and sold out series of events in  Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor. This one-of-a-kind dining experience is endorsed by Sabah Tourism Board and will be co-sponsored by Sutera Harbour Resort for a month, with two dinners served daily in the beautiful Kota Kinabalu skies. Dinner In The Sky is a unique dinner experience that uses a crane to hoist diners, table and waiting staff 150 feet off into the air, giving them an amazing bird’s eye view whilst enjoying exquisite culinary feast. To complete this experience, diners can expect to not just marvel at the view but take their gastronomically journey to a whole different level with a special-made Italian menu served by chef Danielle Rossetto from Ferdinand’s, which is listed as one of Malaysia’s best restaurants by Malaysia Tatler. Brought to you by TwoSpicy Entertainment, Dinner In The Sky is currently only available in Malaysia in the South East Asian region. Already a well-known brand of entertainment, this innovative Belgian-based experience has hosted more than 5,000 dinner events in 40 cities around the world. Iconic locations have included the Kuala Lumpur Tower, the Marina of Dubai, Villa Borghese in Rome, Athens, Copacabana Beach and Cape Town. Forbes magazine has called it as one of the world’s top ten most unusual restaurants. Some of the more notable Malaysian celebrities that have had this one of a kind experience include Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza, Dato’ Lee Chong Wei, Erra Fazira and Amber Chia. Arvin Randahwa, CEO of TwoSpicy Entertainment, the company that owns the Dinner In The Sky Malaysia license exclusively in Malaysia said: “We are aware that most of the major events and experiences that come into our country are targeted towards West Malaysia. However Sabah is just so beautiful and the people here are lovely. We therefore wanted to bring this ‘gift’ to Sabahans and the many tourists that visit it. This is your chance to experience this world class product at your backyard and treat your loved ones, friends or corporate members for an unforgettable experience.” Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, chairman of Sabah Tourism Board said: “This is definitely one of a kind dining experience that provides opportunities to both locals and visitors in Kota Kinabalu a totally different view of KK, which is from the sky! It is timely that we are able to promote new products for our visitors to experience while they are here in Kota Kinabalu.” Dinner In The Sky observes its safety measures to an utmost level. While seated guests will wear safety belts, standing presenter and crew are secured by safety harnesses all the time during the flight. A safety supervisor will brief patrons about all the safety regulations prior to the flight and will be in constant communication with crane operator and ground crew for a smooth flight. The experience has been approved by TÜV SÜD, the German organisation that validates the safety of products of all kinds to protect humans and the environment against hazards. Source: TheBorneoPost
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