Hotels

May delights at MLH

Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Citibank support MLH:

[Highlights and delights]

* Flamenco dancing’
* Music by La Tuna
* Judiones de lka Grnaja
* Lentejas a la Espanola
* Bacalao al ajo arrierio
* Caldereta de Cordero
* Paella
* Prime US Cuts
* Ribs
* Sirloin
* Fillet
* Chops

The month of May will begin with firm favourites of USA which will be the focus when the Governor’s Restaurant surface United Steaks of America from May 3 to the 9. Specially imported prime US Cuts, Ribs, Sirloin, Fillet and Chops are yours to enjoy.

Walter Scheib will be on stage on May 16th at the Mount Lavinia Hotel, where a state dinner inspired by him will be stately presented at the Empire Ballroom including dinner and beverages.

The evening will consist of a mock oval office taking on the ambience and the highlight of the evening will be the American cuisine prepared to the simple family meals to elaborate and formal State Dinner recipe creations which dazzled and delighted White House guests including Nelson Mandela, Emperor Aikihito, Jacques Chirac, Boris Yeltsin, Vaclav Havel, Lady Diana Spencer, Tony Blair, Vicente Fox, and others, not to mention the thousands of congressional members, journalists, and other House visitors who got to know his food.

“Scheib has proven that he can pretty satisfy any palette, and I had the privilege of working with him in an occasion in the US, which was an experience of a lifetime,” GM Anura Dewapura said. He added that the event has been sponsored by Singapore Airlines and Citibank, who have been fond favourites of MLH and indeed very supportive.

Style and ostentatious pride, is pretty much the core of Spanish life. Spanish men tend to maintain eye contact with females for longer, although this does not mean anything. Eating out in Spain is relatively cheap and meals are usually substantial instead of gourmet. The Spanish tradition of Tapas is a good way to sample the local food.

Tapas are small dishes of snacks which are served anytime especially in small bars. They cover all types of foods from seafood to vegetables. But one tradition that is deep-rooted in Andalusia like American jazz lies soul to the US - ‘flamenco dancing’, a spanish art form with emotion that if done right creates a profound moving experience. And indeed the Laura Segovia’s flamenco dance troupe from Madrid performing on May 14 will definitely move you.

The combination of acoustic guitar playing, singing, chanting, dancing and staccato handclapping with the synonymous attributes performed by the dancers will be the highlight at the Empire Ballroom which will be transformed to a Spanish Bodega.

Flamenco dance by the Laura Segovia flown especially from Madrid by Qatar Airways will perform an expressive dance form that mixes percussive footwork with intricate hand, arm and body movements backed by the band “La Tuna”.

Along with Javier Garcia – Guest Chef from Spain that will also highlight the tradition of Spain with reference to whetting your appetite will be on the cards.

Dishes like Judiones de lka Grnaja – White Beans Segovia Style, Lentejas a la Espanola – Lentils with potatoes, Bacalao al ajo arrierio –Codfish with garlic and pimenton, Caldereta de Cordero – Lamb couldron plus pork sirloins with apple, and indeed Paella, a very famous type of rice synonymous for Spain are some of the dishes that Chef Javier will cook up. Sounds divine doesn’t it? Well then you know what you should do if you want to taste all these delicious dishes, so call and make your reservations.

Earth Day celebrations

“We at the hotel celebrated this anniversary by launching a community concerned initiative which gave back to the community that we take so much from.” We were happy to partake in this worldwide campaign where we launched an initiative and joined together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet,”Anura said.

Earth Day was observed with awareness towards its environment by launching the Kaduru project at the hotel. Kaduru (bitternut: strychnos nuxvomica) grown on the river banks of Sri Lanka acts as a natural barrier to soil erosion. These seeds are collected by the communities that live along the river banks and Mount Lavinia Hotel in turn purchased them at the hotel and decorate their guest bathrooms and public area.

After the seeds give birth to the plants, they sprout a very attractive plant and hence they are ready for planting. The hotel gives the plants back to the same communities and they plant them along the river banks to protect themselves from floods and soil erosion.

The income they gain from this project is used to assist their school going children.

Mount Lavinia Hotel has taken some big steps into becoming a green business and continuously supports initiatives that focus on environmentally sustainable development strategies.

Some of the initiatives taken are participating in the earth hour where one hour was dedicated to a climate change initiative, biocides being used across the hotel instead of pesticides, eco gastronomy efforts, green procurement mechanisms in stationery, energy saving projects, water consumption control efforts and many community development initiatives to sustain the communities and environment around us.

The Earth day this year comes with a big note for all participants indicating that it is high time we do something to save the earth’s environment.

Oksana Fedorova at Galle Face Hotel

Miss Universe 2002 and Ambassador of Goodwill (UNICEF) Oksana Fedorova was warmly welcomed by Galle Face Hotel recently. The popular Russian Movie “Rama’s Bridge” and the exhibition Measured Icon, History and Modernity was ceremonially opened at the Jubilee room of the Galle Face Hotel.

Picture shows Miss Universe Oksana Fedorova lighting the traditional Oil Lamp on arrival.

Also present are Manager Public Relations Onitha Gurugalla and Front office Manager of the Galle Face Hotel Wayne De Silva.

Jeep Walk 2010 in Nuwara Eliya

For the second consecutive year Nuwara Eliya witnessed an array of school children participating at the JEEP Walk 2010 organizsed by the Earth Team of Jetwing St Andrew’s recently. Over 550 school children and teachers participated at this event making it the biggest event that Jetwing St. Andrew’s have conducted to date.

The objective of this exercise was very clear to create awareness among the community in Nuwara Eliya regarding global warming and its related environmental issues and effects.

The walk proceeded from Gamini National College up to Nuwara Eliya town and towards Jetwing St Andrew’s where they were warmly welcomed by all associates of the hotel. A tree planting campaign was carried out at the hotel grounds and those gathered experienced many facets of earth saving practices that Jetwing St Andrew’s adopt as a responsible corporate citizen.

The bands from Paynter Memorial School and Sri Vagiragana College in Nuwara Eliya kept the on-lookers and the participants entertained during the walk.

Messages of Global Warming and effects were communicated to all through the art form of Viridu which was again a unique aspect of the event.

“We are highly encouraged by the huge numbers of school children who participated at this event. From 150 participants last year, it has grown to over 550 students in a short period of time which highlights the popularity of this annual event in Nuwara Eliya.

“Plans will be drawn up to make this event even more successful in the years to come which will be truly an event for Nuwara Eliya,” Manager, Jetwing St.Andrew’s Manager Renuke Coswatte said.

T20 World Cup live at Margeurita Blue

Cricket enthusiastic can enjoy the T20 World Cup live on Giant Screen at the Margarita Blue with a fntastic atmosphere, enjoy great deals on food and beverage, have one to one offers and experience live music by the goup “Mirage”.

You can cheer your team to victory, have fun guessing or betting the winning

team, treat your friends and win free pitches, sip your favourite drink or order your drinks, during the entire period of the T20 World Cup.

The Margarita Blue pub will also offer a “you could take advantage of hour” - the Happy Hour which will be from 7.00pm to 8.00pm where one would be offered a one to one on selected items.

Guests can enjoy the great sounds of Mirage, reunited to exclusively to perform at the Margarita Blue. Friend are welcome to come and meet old friends Benjy, Donald, Melantha, Gavin and Derrick.