The main dining hall (left) can be hired for events, while private rooms are available for smaller gatheringsReinventions by three generations of celebrity chefs have given fiery Sichuan cuisine a delicate touch, while the dining experience is elevated by an elegant environment. Karen Yue reviews the venue

Two things crossed my mind when I first encountered Shisen Hanten By Chen Kentaro. First, wow, what a gorgeous entrance and interior; second, why is a Japanese chap whipping up Sichuanese food?

My second thought was a silly one, of course; anyone can make a good business out of foreign cuisine. But the answer to that question is one that tells an inspiring tale of business success over three generations, and now I am just glad that third-gen chef Chen Kentaro had expanded his family’s business empire by opening the first Shisen Hanten restaurant outside of Japan.

MICE application

The restaurant’s interior, the work of Indonesian design firm BOBOS, is exquisite. A row of sparkling crystal chandeliers bring light to an elegant dining hall that is dressed in black and gold hues, plush fabrics and beautiful oriental art pieces.

Booth seats along the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows are perfect spots for intimate business luncheons, and a cosy lounge is available for guests to enjoy their favourite tipple before or after the meal.

Shisen Hanten exercises great flexibility for private events, and the restaurant can be hired entirely for functions (a minimum spend of S$12,000 [US$8,900] for lunch and S$16,000 for dinner is required) and its layout can be customised. It can take on banquet, buffet, cocktail and classroom configurations, and has hosted many corporate events, including D&Ds and lunch meetings, since opening in January 2014. One of its first corporate events was the Singapore Press Club’s Ambassadors Speak Series luncheon for 80 pax.

The dining hall can accommodate 12 to 15 10-seat tables for banquets, and more for cocktail setups. Should the banquet require a stage, the space can take up to 140 guests.

There are also four private dining rooms – two of which can accommodate eight pax each, another can take 12 diners, and the largest is good for up to 24 guests.

Shisen Hanten chefs will customise menus to suit clients’ budgets.

F&B concept

Take the obsession Japanese chefs have over the quality of ingredients they use in their cooking and marry that with the feisty flavours of Sichuan cuisine, and you will have one big party on your tongue and in your belly.

When grandfather chef Chen Kenmin opened the first Shisen Hanten in Japan in 1958, he tweaked his dishes to suit the Japanese palate. His creations were then fine-tuned and further reinvented over the years by his son chef Chen Kenichi of Iron Chef fame and who grew the chain across Japan.

Sichuan favourites here are well executed to offer the characteristic spice but without the lip numbing effect, and I love how some of the usual suspects are elevated with Japanese ingredients. For example, the common lazi ji, or chicken sautéed with chilli pepper, features bite-size chicken chunks coated in a batter made with Hokkaido potatoes, giving them a light, crunchy texture. Another common dish, fried pork with sweet & sour sauce in black vinegar scores with a gooey, fragrant sauce painstakingly cooked daily using a sweet vinegar specially imported from Japan.

Service 

I’ve dined here thrice in a month (that’s how much I enjoy Shisen Hanten!) and restaurant manager Kelvin Tan and his colleagues are always as friendly as family and ever ready to make recommendations. Once, when a particular dish took longer to arrive, Tan made an effort to explain the cooking process and came around a few more times to update us on its progress.

Contacts
Level 35, Orchard Wing, Mandarin Orchard Singapore, 333 Orchard Road
Tel: (65) 6831-6262 / 6831-6266;
Email: shisenhanten.orchard@meritushotels.com
Website: www.shisenhanten.com.sg

Function hours
Monday to Sunday
Lunch: 12.00 to 15.00; dinner: 18.00 to 22.00

Manathai Hotels & Resorts has launched the latest addition to its collection of luxury boutique properties in Thailand – the Manathai Koh Samui.

Located opposite a fishing village on Lamai Beach, the 148-room colonial themed resort is a 20 minutes’ drive from Samui International Airport and 50 minutes’ flight from Bangkok.

The resort offers 102 Deluxe Balcony Rooms and 46 Suites. In line with Manathai’s concept of luxury resorts, all rooms are furnished with silk cushions provided by Jim Thompson.

Corporate groups heading to the resort can utilise various meeting spaces ranging from 25m² to 66m², with capacity for 60 people in theatre style.

F&B options include Thai restaurant Pad Thai; Waterline, a beachfront restaurent offering seafood; Colours, which offers international cuisine; Coffee World Café, for cakes and coffee; and Mulligan’s pub.

Other amenities include complimentary Wi-Fi, a fitness centre, and two swimming pools.

Dusit International is bringing its homegrown brand of Thai hospitality into the Pacific as it prepares to launch the Dusit Thani Guam Resort.

Slated to soft open this month, Dusit Thani Guam Resort is the first newbuild on Guam since 1999 and is situated on Tumon Bay.

The luxury resort will feature 419 deluxe rooms and suites with ocean views, as well as six Villa Suites with their own private plunge pools, and gym and concierge services.

In particular, the Villa Azul will come with a 550m² balcony suitable for outdoor entertaining.

The Devarana Spa will also make its debut on Guam, alongside four dining venues serving Thai, Italian, international and seafood cuisines respectively.

Dusit Thani Guam Resort will also be home to the Guam Convention Center, providing 1,169m² of space. As the largest convention venue on the island, the convention centre can accommodate up to 2,000 pax for events, exhibitions or meetings.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has teamed up with CrowdCompass by Cvent and PSAV to offer a mobile app for planners who are holding meetings and events at its properties.

Through a newly forged referral partnership between Starwood, event management platform Cvent and technology service provider PSAV, planners can tailor an app specifically to the needs of their event attendees whether it is looking up information or networking.

Jonathan Kaplan, Starwood’s director of sales, new business and digital programming, explained: “With the option of having a customisable app with CrowdCompass by Cvent, attendees can go paperless and view real-time content like event agendas, speaker bios, presentations and property information right from their mobile device.

“Meeting attendees also may be able to use the app to create personalised schedules, share contact information with other attendees, connect with others via social media and receive push message communications instantly from onsite meeting planners.”

This follows Starwood’s introduction of the ProMeetings app, which allows meetings planners who are SPG or SPG Pro members to submit on-property requests directly to associates who can fulfill requests in real time. The app, which is expected to fully roll out in 2016, is currently in pilot at several Starwood hotels around the world, including W Singapore – Sentosa Cove, The Westin Singapore, Sheraton Atlanta Airport, W Atlanta Midtown, and The Westin Charlotte.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site-gazetted city of Hoi An now offers a Mercure boutique property.

While meeting facilities at the 96-key Mercure Hoi An Royal is limited to only a 10-seat boardroom, the hotel’s proximity to popular attractions and landmarks such as the Hoi An Ancient Town, Cua Dai Beach, Thu Bon River and the historic Japanese Bridge makes it a good stay option for corporate teambuilding and incentives.

Danang International Airport is 45 minutes away.

Other facilities at the hotel include a self-service business centre, an all-day dining restaurant, a bar, and swimming pools.

Following a NZ$2.4 million (US$1.7 million) facelift that finished in April, The Langham Auckland is ready to flaunt its shiny new meeting facilities.

The former Waitemata Room is now enjoying a new lease of life as the Crystal Room. Furbished with four new crystal chandeliers, the venue can take up to 180 guests altogether or be divided into two rooms.

Four new Gallery Rooms have also officially opened on the site of the old SPE bar to meet demand for more meeting or breakout rooms.

Floor-to-ceiling windows in the Gallery Rooms offer an abundance of natural sunlight to complement its new crisp, bright décor, wireless connectivity for iPads or PCs and audiovisual technology that spares presenters from being tethered to cables while delivering their presentations.

The Langham Auckland has retained its Great Room, Auckland’s largest pillarless ballroom, which fits 900 banquet style and 1,400 for cocktails.

The hotel also offers special corporate rates for small- to medium-size companies that use between 20 and 50 room nights a year, under a programme called Optimum. This programme features exclusive rates across the Langham global portfolio, preferential rates for Langham Club Rooms and Suites, a dedicated global sales representative to personally assist with your reservations, and airline partner miles accrual.