O Benihana... why?

During our recent trip to Tokyo, our first session included a 2 hour introduction to the Japanese way of life.  Unlike other cities in the world, knowledge of the local way of life and value system is extremely important. Besides being taught a few common terms and sentences in Japanese, the most important part was the introduction to the Japanese concept of Wa. The concept of Harmony.

While the name Benihana of Tokyo has a Japanese connection and the restaurant serves Japanese food, the guys at Benihana have probably never heard of this Japanese concept.

So it was a shock to me to read that the local franchisee of Benihana of Tokyo has filed suit against Mark, a Kuwait based blogger. Mark has written a pretty much ordinary post about his experience at the newly opened Benihana restaurant in Kuwait City. What seemed to me a fair assessment of the restaurant by the blogger appears to have upset the restaurant owners to the extent of filing a claim for compensation. Sued for saying he didn't like the place? Sued for giving such important feedback? In this modern day world of the internet, what a PR fiasco it is turning out to be!!!

Personally, I will be asking my friends in Kuwait to boycott the restaurant until the local restaurant comes out with a clear public apology for this attack on the general public. This legal suit is not just an attack on the blogger but on the entire community.

Click here to reach Mark's blog.

O Benihana. Why? Why did you do it?

If you'd like to contact Benihana of Tokyo, please click here

Festival Marina

We had a lovely lunch at one of the restaurants at the Festival City marina. Part of Dubai Festival City, the marina offers a range of restaurants, cafes and bistros along the banks of the creek, all overlooking the basin. Set in a typical mediterranean style, it is a beautiful experience to set yourself up at one of the restaurants and watch the gulls glide over the luxurious yachts.


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Another view - Same building

This is probably one of the most photographed building this year. I have covered the Burj Khalifa earlier at this blog.


It is a surreal experience when one stands at the foot of the building and looks up at the top. It's a special feeling as you feel the sheer size of the structure as it tapers into the sky. Every other building in the vicinity dwarfs in comparison to this amazing structure.


Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world! :-)


The Burj Khalifa stands tall at 828 m (2717 ft) and is part of the flagship development called 'Downtown Dubai'. Construction of the the tower began in Sept 2004 and the building was officially inaugurated on 4th Jan, 2010.