WERE YOU BORN IN A TENT: September 2014

Saturday 13 September 2014

RAJ'S CURRY HOUSE

Queens Rd, Sigatoka, Fiji

Visited: 11th August 2014

Design: You know you are in a good neighbourhood when the front of your shop has to be caged in as well as your bar (inside) the restaurant. Raj's Curry House, where do I begin? As we arrived in Sigatoka for dinner we were warned by the taxi driver to be careful as Sigatoka had just beaten Suva in a major rugby match and the locals were known to go a little crazy with a win, (kind of like English soccer hooligans, but Fijian). Ok, I can roll with that. We then spotted the cages on the front window, that's reassuring. We made our way through the cage door only to find we were the only customers where we were then lead into a separate room off the restaurant that felt like an interrogation room in Colombia. Now I feel relaxed.

So let's get back to the door. The wire was a solid steel fencing wire welded onto steel bars. All locally made, you have to give it to them for supporting local business. Company's will customize your cage to fit each window. Brillant! There was a decent padlock and bolt to keep unwanted hands out. A nice design touch I found was the safety hole on the right door for mail or having a safe conversation from behind the wire with a potential customer, (owners discretion) was replicated with a small metal panel to the bottom left. I quite liked the fact that the wire pattern replicated the red tiles, (seamless) and the red tiles complimented the Coke sign which Raj had made an important part of the sign. Once entering through the cage door, (which had nice squeak to it) you come to the main door. An aluminium framed two panel that was simple with some 70's inspired wood laminate panels across the centre added a nice touch. Easy on the push with a manual close, there was a slight squeak on the open and close. I did find the entry width of the doors a little narrow but on hot balmy nights they apparently both open and lock in, to give you ultimate space on entry.

All in all, despite its appearance from the outside it was clean, simple and uncluttered and even though there was the smashing of bottles and yelling out on the streets and a thumping bar coming through the walls when you were in the toilet. The food was some of the best Indian I have had in a long time and the service exceptional. Vinaka Raj.

Door resistance: 2

Closure mechanism: Manual

Draft: Medium

Squeak level: 3

Change return time: 48 sec

The thing I loved about this place is that there was consistency right through to bar. It kind of puts a little edge on your dinning experience when you have a waitress serving you drinks through a cage. MOOODY!!!!!!!! Kick in Phil Collin's, "I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord".

Tuesday 2 September 2014

PRINCE ALBERT RESTAURANT

Grand Pacific Hotel, 584-618 Victoria Parade, Suva, Fiji

Visited: 10th August 2014

Design: No clutter here. Everything is in its place, perfectly positioned and symmetrical. This was a nice take on the glass panel pivot door, as the entire wall was large panels of glass that extended from the door. This incredible glass barrier acted as a metaphorical division of the past to the present. The designers had managed to the marry the modern, with the pre-existing structure of the original building, seamlessly. The door appeared to magically float in the wall and almost disappear. The sleek contemporary refinement of the door was balanced by the light, airy, white interior, giving the impression of the room being suspended in an ethereal bubble of high-class elegance. The tubular stainless steel handles were a decent size and helped visually to emphasis the vertical height of the interior. The simple wooden restaurant sign on the glass reflected the timber panelled floors and I hope this was a recycled piece of the original floor which would be a nice gesture to the past. With a full wall of glass, it created the perception of a room open to the elements, (common in the tropics.) Once inside though, you are contained and surrounded by the comforts of a controlled environment.

Door resistance: 3

Closure mechanism: Hidden Pivot

Draft: Minimal

Squeak level: 0

Change return time: 37 sec

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.