Friday, September 30, 2005

Revolving restaurant at Sabah Foundation buidling is revived

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah's tourism industry will have another unique product to offer visitors here with the revival of the revolving restaurant located on the 18th floor of Menara Tun Mustapha that houses the Sabah Foundation in Likas, near here.

To be named Atmosphere Restaurant, the premises, which has not been operating for almost 20 years, would undergo a major facelift with a budget of about RM1 million set aside by the new management, Asia Extreme Sdn Bhd, a specialist in travel and tourism development.

Speaking to reporters at a sneak preview of the restaurant on Thursday, Asia Extreme Marketing & Sales Director, Victoria Hilley said renovation works to give an avant-garde retro look are expected to take three months.

"Our target is no later than January next year," she said when asked how soon the restaurant can start operating.

According to her, they chose the name "atmosphere" to describe its location that provides breathtaking views of the city from the landmark Sabah Foundation tower.

Asia Extreme was granted a long-term lease from Sabah Foundation and both are working closely to develop the restaurant as a tourism destination. At the moment, between 20 and 30 tour coaches are bringing tourists to the tower for them to take photographs of the landmark.

Hilley said they want to capitalise on this by bringing the tourists up to the restaurant where they can both dine and view the most panoramic views available in the city.

The 62-minute per revolution restaurant provides a 360-degree view of the city, Likas Bay, UMS, State Legislative Assembly and the islands fronting the city.

"The restaurant also symbolises rapid development in Kota Kinabalu," she said, adding it would offer Pacific Rim cuisine including dishes from Asean countries and even as far as North America and Mexico.

As for the pricing, Hilley said they were working to make it below the five-star hotel restaurants, as the focus would also be on local diners.

Among those who attended the Construction Party cum sneak preview of the restaurants were travel and tourism players in Sabah.

Courtesy of Daily Express

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