Task Force Doha, Qatar ドーハ出張 -1-

First time in Middle East.

Beautiful view of CBD Doha


I have been in W Doha, from January 21st to 31st on a Task Force assignment.
To oversee and train the staff in their sushi and sashimi section of their restaurants by Jean-Georges, all day dining restaurant "Market" and Asian restaurant "Spice Market".

In this time of the year, the weather in Doha is perfect.
Not hot at all. During the daytime, I could walk around outside with T-shirt, and after sunset, just with light jacket over the T-shirt.

Doha is an exciting city. A capital city of Qatar, with fast-paced economy growth, it has been hosting major international events and building many skyscrapers for residences, shopping malls, hotels and offices. Also a national museum of Qatar, located at south Doha, has been under construction.
Getting ready for 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar!

The time I was there, they had "Handball World Championship" in the town

View from the car, on the way to work

  

Because W Doha was fully booked during the time I was there, I had to stay in the staff dormitory....
It was actually a great experience though. I could feel how the life in Doha is like!

Outside of the apartment building I have stayed 

(very dark during the night time and looks bit scary...)

My room

Special welcome amenity delivered by W Doha team (left), living room (right)

Bed room (left), kitchen (right)
 





 Kitchen (left), Bathroom (right)

 

 

 

 

Guangzhou Life 広州生活

January 2013, I started new life in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, the third biggest city in China after Beijing and Shanghai.

Zhujiang New Town (珠江新城) in Tianhe district (天河区)

 

 

Guangzhou (as known as "City of Flowers"), the city which Pearl River flows through, is located in Southeast China, about 180km -2 hours train ride- away from Hong Kong.

Most of the people here speak Canton direct, same as in Hong Kong (even though, there is a slight difference).

 

Zhujiang New Town, the area where I live, is a very new town, as you can see from it's name.

Many (not just one or two!) super high skyscrapers are already there and more are under construction. The area with 5star hotels, shopping malls, sophisticated restaurants (Cantonese, Japanese, Mediterranean's and more), Japanese brand super market (JUSCO/AEON).

You can get most of the things you want, but it can be expensive... (e.g. price of cloth in ZARA, H&M or UNIQLO can be as same as in Hong Kong but it's in RMB, 1 RMB = 1.25 HKD)  

 

People talk about China's economy deterioration but I don't see it here, at least on the surface level...

Can't wait to see what it will look like after all those construction are finished after 3-5years!

 

 

Zhujiang New Town (珠江新城) in Tianhe district (天河区)

 

 

Canton Tower

 

 Please also see the post in August 24, 2012 →Guangzhou, 広州

 

 



 

Short Trip to Manila, マニラ

I had a chance to make a few days trip to Manila in the end of Sep.

Manila is the capital city of Philippines, also known as the most densely populated city in the world.

 

"Jeepney", important public transportation for local Filipinos

The trip schedule has been changed at last minute and I had to take a business class flight.
The flights between Taipei and Manila only takes less than 2hours.
So, it didn't have much difference on the seating of the actual flight but I enjoyed the in-flight meal and the access to the Executive lounge (China Airlines' lounge) at Tapei Taoyuan airport!

Small snack buffet with all different types of beverage and alcohol at the lounge

 

Lunch menu from Taipei-Manila

 

 

I also have enjoyed the nice service and food from the Philippine airlines' business class.

By the way, I chose the Filipino dish for the main course.

"Rellenong Sugpo in Sweet and Sour Sauce" with lemon grass scented steamed rice

 

 

A room of the Best Western Premier F1 Hotel 

(Official website →http://www.bestwesternpremierf1hotel.com/)

 

 

I stayed in the Best Western Premier F1 Hotel, located in Bonifacio Global City (or Fort Bonifacio) which is a clean and safe community.

It's a nice boutique hotel, not too expensive, located in a newly developed commercial district which was used be the part of Philippine Amy camp. 

 

 

The quality of breakfast buffet was very high

but too many people in the restaurant and had to wait for a while to find a table! 

 

 View over the Fort from the hotel. Many buildings are under constructions.

 

 3rd Shangri-la in Manila is planned to open in 2014 in the right middle of Fort district

(Official website →Shangri-La At The Fort, Manila Will Open In 2014 In Fort Bonifacio)

 

 

Just a few minutes walk from the hotel, there is a very nice street only for pedestrian, called "Bonifacio High Street". It's a commercial and business complex with low-rise buildings houses restaurants, cafe and boutiques.

"Market Market" which is another complex of a huge local market and shopping mall next to it.

 



 

Local market with lots of vegetable, fruit, souvenirs with food court

 

 Entrance of "Market! Market" at night (top left), Variety of local food at food court (top right),

Grilled local seafood at one of the shop(bottom left), Grilled fish set 85peso = 2USD! (bottom right) 

 

I saw Manila is growing. Lots of new buildings, hotels and shopping malls keep opening.

Things are still cheap, many nice fruit and seafood are there and majority of Filipino people speak very good English too!

Of course, there are still issues, such as the income gap between rich and poor, development of infrastructure and so on... 

Even then, I think Philippine has a very high potential of economic growth...

 

 

 

 

 

Guangzhou, 広州

Last summer, I took a train, CRH (China Railway High-speed) "Hexie Hao 和谐号" from Shenzhen to Guangzhou.

 

High speed train from Shenzhen to Guangzhou takes only about an hour

 

 

It was easier than I thought. Just go straight to the ticket counter at the train station and tell them the destination and time of the train. It is easy to get a ticket because there are many trains between Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

It will be a different story, if you want to go further away... Buying a train ticket in China can be difficult. Ordinary Chinese people come to city, working away from home. Most of them can not afford airplane tickets to go home. So, think about the population of China, train systems are still not enough for their demand.  

 

 

China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel

 

 

I stayed in China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel. The hotel opened in 1984 (28years old!!), located only a mile away from Guangzhou railway station and a minute away from subway Yuexiu Park (越秀公园) station. It's an old hotel but good location. 

 

 

Guest room, big enough, clean not much of view though...

 

It is old fashioned but I found it quite cozy.

 

Little Chinese taste,

Tissue box and amenity box in a bathroom (left), Tea and coffee set (right)

 

 

Temple of the Six Banyan Tree ("六榕寺"Liu Rong Si) originally built in 537. The main structure of the temple "Flower Pagoda" is the oldest building in Guangzhou.

As a matter of fact, China is a country with an ancient civilization and it has many historical monuments all over the country. Though, I was very happy to see some historical side of China because I could hardly trace back any history in Shenzhen.

 

 

Flower Pagoda in "Temple of the Six Banyan Tree"

 

 

"Temple of the Six Banyan Tree"

 

 

In past decade, Guangzhou has been expanding itself, specially before and after the Asian Games in 2010. The city center has been spread out to Eastern Guangzhou, such as Hianhe and Pazhou.

Shangri-la Hotel Guangzhou opened in March, 2007, next to Guangzhou International Trade Center. And opposite from Shangri-La, The Westin Pazhou has opened it's door in Sep.2011, direct access to the Guangzhou International Convention & Exhibition Centre.  Both located in Pazhou. There are still nothing more than Trade Center but probably there are more to come within a few years... 

 

 

The Westin Pazhou in left (left), Shangri-La Hotel Guangzhou (right)

  

Lobby Lounge, Shangr-La Hotel Guangzhou

 

Lobby Entrance, Shangri-La Hotel Guangzhou

Record numbers of Chinese hit the sights and the malls in U.S. - USATODAY.com

Recent growth of Chinese economy let their people traveling the world easier.
Record numbers of Chinese hit the sights and the malls in U.S. - USATODAY.com

For Chinese people, it used to be a difficult thing to get VISA and travel abroad freely, but it changed in the past few years.
Not only US government but Japanese, Taiwanese and some other countries welcome Chinese travelers to come fry over and spend money in their countries. They made their regulations much easier for Chinese travelers to enter their countries. 

In Tokyo, I noticed more and more Chinese signs in and outside of the stores. Even the sign of "Union Pay" -Chinese bank debit card- can be found in some stores to attract Chinese tourist to spend their money. 
Surprisingly many numbers of shops in major towns like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza,.... hire Chinese spoken service associates for those tourist from China.

Mid '80s to early '90s, Japanese economy growth was exactly the same. Japanese personal investors kept buying land and facilities in Tokyo and institutional investors had spent so much money on buying American facilities and companies till the "Bubble" economy burst and gone.
Nowadays, Chinese investors are buying land and facilities in Japan, USA and others.

We will see if we, human beings, learn something from the past... or "History repeats itself"!?

Marriott International Announces its 100th Hotel in China - Marriott News Center

As I have mentioned in the other day, Marriott keeps grow in China. 

Marriott International Announces its 100th Hotel in China - Marriott News Center

 

Actually this is not only for Marriott or hotel industry, also for any other business from out side China.
Economy in European countries are a mess and USA still doesn't show any sign of recovery from the financial crises in 2007-2008.  So, those who want to expand their business (or simply can not survive within their own countries) come China for an opportunity. Some people said China's economy growth would slow down after Beijing Olympic and Shanghai Expo but seems like it was wrong.

Marriott International | Business Excellence Magazine

Here is something I found on the web site...
It talks about Marriott International's future growth in the Middle East and Africa.
"Marriott International has identified enormous growth potential in the Middle East and Africa...."
Marriott International Business Excellence Magazine

地震後の影響は？

先日行われた中国国内の日本人向けフリーペーパー「ウェネバー広東」による取材が7月号の記事として紹介されました。

今年三月の日本、東北地方での大地震、原子力発電所の爆発、それに伴う放射漏れ。。。
その影響は隣の中国、そして世界各国にも広く及んでおります。
今回の記事は、現在の広東省における日本食事情を詳しくつづったものです。

自分も海外日本食事業に携わる者の一人として現状の報告と一個人としての意見を述べさせていただきました。

日本国外にいてたいした手助けもできませんが、被災地の方々、そして各方面で影響を受けている日本国民にいち早く安らかな日々が戻ることを心より願っております。。。

がんばれニッポン!!

Hotels in Macau, マカオホテル事情

It only takes one hour by boat trip from Shenzhen to Macau.

It has been handed over back to China from Portugal on Dec. 1999 but under the policy of "one country, two systems", its unique European atmosphere still remains the same and keep attract millions of tourists every year.  And the numbers of those tourists keep growing due to Chinese economy growth -over 50% of the visitors are from mainland China and 30% are from Hong Kong-.

Of course, the main reason which attracts those tourists is the casinos.
In 2006, Macau's gambling business has made 6.95 billion US dollars revenue, surpassed Las Vegas and made it the world's top casino market.

One of the oldest casino & hotel is the Lisboa -one of Macau's icon, the hotel with 1071 rooms- in the middle of the downtown Macau peninsula. It's opened in 1970 and the new hotel "Grand Lisboa" design as lotus flower with 431 rooms 52F, just opened next to it in 2008.

Newly opened Grand Lisboa, original hotel Lisboa and the casino. 

Some other hotels opened in Peninsula side within a past 5years are;
MGM grand with 600 rooms 35F opened in 2007, Sofitel with 408 rooms 20F opened in 2008, Mandarin Oriental with 213 rooms -without casino- opened in 2010.

Across the bridge to islands of Taipa and Coloane.
In between those two islands are now connected by landfill forming the Cotai Strip.
This area is booming now!

Four Seasons Hotel and the Venetian

Macau's new icon the Venetian is opened with 2,874 rooms (!) in 2007 and Four Seasons just right next to it opened in 2008 with 360 rooms. Grand Hyatt across the street opened in 2009 with 791 rooms. New casino complex Galaxy is just open this year, 2011, in May which includes hotels from Japan -Hotel Okura-, Thailand -Banyan Tree- and its own Galaxy hotel with 1,500 rooms.

GALAXY MACAU

And soon, another complex is going to be opened just across from the Venetian and Four Seasons.
Scheduled to open early in next year, 2012. It includes hotels by Starwood group -Sheraton and St.Regis- and others (it was planed to be Shangri-La and Traders but the agreement between the hotels and casino complex was terminated for some reasons in March. -see the news on "Macau Daily Times").

New complex is under construction.
The building in the left was supposed to be Shangri-La's and you can still see it's logo on top.

Those luxury hotels are opening with casinos after Macau's new law.
In 2002, the Macau government ended the monopoly system and opened it to other companies from outside. Since then, casino complexes' opening rush is continuously going though it was slowed down for a period of time after American economy corrupted by "Lehman Shock" in 2008.

We will see all new Macau within a couple of years....   

HOFEX 2011

Yesterday, I visited HOFEX -the Asia's leading food and hospitality tradeshow- in Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre with my colleagues (F&B director, chefs, Chief Steward, Purchasing manager).

I also have visited similar food exhibition in Taipei.
I have met many Japanese supplier, helped them find importers in Taiwan in order to get the products for the restaurant.

I found visiting those exhibitions are very useful for chefs.
We can see some new ingredients and equipment, meet new people and get some new ideas.
So, I strongly recommend to all the chefs that try to take some time and participate those events though you are busy at operation.

M9 Earthquake, Tsunami and Radiation Leak......... 大地震、津波、放射能漏れ

It's been a week after the catastropohic earthquake on March 11.

(See the below link. You can see how much difference between before and after the quake.)
Before and After by sina.com.cn

First, the magnitude 9 earthquake hit Japan's northeastern coast offshore, it unleashed 10m (or 32feet) high giant Tsunami which swept all the cars, houses and, literally, everything!
Not only that, the Tsunami also attacked the nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture.  That triggered the explosion and knocked out their cooling systems. Then, radiation leak....
What a chain reaction.... 

Now, everybody is worried about the safety of food and water from the region.
It is difficult to get a right information, specially in outside Japan.
People here in China are going to Hongkong and Macao and buy up all the Japanese products. They are not only worried about the safety of the food but also rise in the price of Japanese items in the future.

Some international 5ster hotels in Hongkong have announced that they stop using all the Japanese product for the time being, in order to protect the safety of their guests' health....

But, think about it... How is it possible that any fresh seafood or vegetables which are potentially contaminated from that region have been exported to any other countries after the earthquake?? All the fishermen from that region have lost their fishing boat and most of the roads were destroyed.

I don't see that they have stopped using Japanese product because they concern about "guest's health".
To me, they are just causing another unnecessary muddle...

Hello, Shenzhen!

Shennan Boulevard, Futian District, Shenzhen

What I thought of Shenzhen before I actually come here was that full of factories and cheep fake brand goods... well, both of them are still here but it is completely different from what I have imagined!
A city in china grows very fast. Most of the factories moved out to the suburbs and there are a number of subway lines and many new tall commercial & apartment buildings all over the town!

Shenzhen is a very unique city in a way of it's location. 
Easy to cross over to Hong Kong. It takes approximately 40mins by train.
Go to Macau by ferry takes 1.5hours and also to Guanzhou city takes only 1hour by bullet train!!

I can see, within the few years, this city will become one of the international cities in Asia...  

Shangri-La Tokyo and others...

Shangri-La Tokyo has been opened in March, 2009, in the middle of downtown Tokyo.

As the last one to end the opening rash of 5star hotels in Tokyo.

Seven international luxury 5star hotels have been opened within 8 years.

Started from Four Seasons Tokyo at Marunouchi in '02, Grand Hyatt in '03, CONRAD in '05, Mandarin Oriental in '06, The Ritz-Carlton and The Peninsula in '07.

There was a debate about opening so many hotels in Tokyo within such a short period of time... Many people from the industry worried about too much competition in business and loosing talented staff from their hotels.

Why so many hotels have been opened recently, anyway?

After Japanese economy crashed in late 80's, the real estate price in Tokyo dropped down drastically and Japanese government has eased the regulations for mixed-use development in '02. So, it was easier for the investors and developers in Tokyo to invite those international hotel brands to open up their hotels in Tokyo and revitalize the economy.

Somehow, most of the hotels, both the old ones and the new ones, managed  to keep their businesses because of the different needs in the market and growing number of foreign visitors in Tokyo. And also, they have managed to train their staff to replace those talented staff who moved to new opening hotels.

By the way, the luxury 5star hotels have been opening up in Taipei as well! Hopefully it brings the same result as in Tokyo...