WERE YOU BORN IN A TENT

Sunday 17 August 2014

GOLDEN COWRIE RESTAURANT

Shangri La Fijian Resort & Spa, Fiji

Visited: 7th August 2014

Design: Stepping up a little in quality, I came across the beautiful craftsmanship of these carved doors of the Golden Cowrie Restaurant. Also located in the Shangri La, these doors I believe were hand crafted by local Fijian couple, Wea and Maika Cakacaka who did a number of the main doors located throughout the resort. From entering a long passageway you are greeted by these two magnificent hand crafted doors. Stained to a dark rich mahogany red the vertical beams of each door panel emphasize the height giving them a sense of grandeur. There is a clever yet simple S-bend design formed at the top and bottom that not only strengthens the design, but also creates a wonderful tribal pattern. The centre of each door is elegantly decorated with two framed carvings from Wea and Maika depicting the sun, a hut and two village boats on black stained wood. I know with tribal tools and weapons they would bury the wood in the mangrove mud for a number of weeks, this in turn would stain the wood a deep black. I wasn't able to find out if this process was applied to these carvings or whether they were just stained by hand. The effect was still visually striking. The whole time I was at the resort I never once saw these doors closed, I did however manage to give them a push and pull to get an idea of their weight. There was a nice resistance to their swing where I had to use my whole body to get them moving. They were functionally perfect for this climate being rigidly secure when closed and yet they still allowed the sea breeze to flow through easily. The old fishing pots over the lights ran the full length of the passage adding to the Golden Cowrie nautical theme. You are presented with some cowrie artworks, stone tiles and a couple of inoffensive menu boards upon arrival. A little mystery is created as you don't get a full view of the interior until you are around the corner. I found the colours worked well together and with the foliage decorating the left side on the walk up, you are instantly taken to paradise.

Door resistance: 3.5

Closure mechanism: Manual

Draft: Maximum

Squeak level: 0

Change return time: 1.22 min

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PROFESSIONAL DOOR REVIEWER

Searching the world for the perfect door to eat behind.

First impressions are always important, especially for a restaurant or cafe. So many people are focusing on the food these days that I felt there was a hole in the reviews world. No one was looking at the most important thing, THE DOOR! Everyone complains when it is left open, death stares are exchange when the unsuspecting group of friends having a fun night enter the premises from the cold only to walk straight in and go straight to their table totally oblivious they have left the door wide open to allow an arctic strength gale force wind to cut through the previously warm interior. Like a scene from a western film where everyone in the premises stops what they are doing and cuts down the new comers with a deathly stare. Occasionally you will get the confident diner who gets up, walks across the restaurant and closes the door with a BANG! Just to let the new comers know they have done wrong and to NEVER, EVER DO IT AGAIN!!!!! This individual makes their way back to the table staring at the newcomers, just to make sure they got the message. The only problem is, is that 5 minutes later another group come in and do the same thing and he/she feels obliged to continually do this for the rest of the night.

Well hopefully this blog puts a light on the owners of these establishments and encourages them to lift their game and create doors that allow diners to sit and enjoy their meal, to give the diner an experience before they enter the building. It is also a thank you to the makers of quality doors who care about craftsmanship.

I have developed a scoring system based on,

DESIGN:

This is assessed by the materials the door is made from, whether the door is themed, cluttered or minimal and whether there is an element of surprise or not.

DOOR RESISTANCE: 1 to 5

1 = light push

5 = heavy push

CLOSURE MECHANISM: Manual, automatic or

hydraulic arm

DRAFT: Minimal, medium or high

SQUEAK LEVEL: 0 up to 5

0 = No squeak

5 = Ear piercing

Then the last assessment is the,

CHANGE RETURN TIME:

This is the amount of time it takes to get my change once I have given the waiter the money for the bill. Last impressions are always just as important as first.