Highlands fling BY JONATHAN EVANS
A cool refuge from the heat of the lowlands, Genting Highlands is prospering as developers and investors seize on its climatic advantages and existing range of attractions
1
2
3
Tropicana Grandhill
Grand Ion Majestic
Béni
Tropicana Grandhill from Tropicana Corporation Berhad is an integrated resort covering 112 acres. Promoting what it calls a “community lifestyle”, the project encompasses an adventure park, swimming pool, children’s playground, putting green and mountain-view cafés with cantilevered decks. With colleges and wellness businesses rounding out the package, it’s easy to see why its developers are calling Grandhill an all-in-one “holistic living concept”. The first township development in Genting Highlands, Grandhill’s 1,443 units include the serviced suites TwinPines, whose units range from 379sq ft to 1,330sq ft.
Grand Ion Majestic by developer NCT Group is set to be a namecheck-worthy address upon its scheduled completion in 2022. Located more than 6,000 feet above sea level, the spectacular two-acre condominium development consists of three towers — two of which are already 75% reserved for occupancy—and affords sublime views of the surrounding Titiwangsa mountains. Despite its feeling of splendid isolation, the condo is still only a six-minute drive away from the First World Hotel. Luxurious facilities include a sky lounge allowing panoramic vistas, a topfloor swimming pool and a gymnasium. The 1,668 smartly designed units vary in size from 380sq ft to 1,500sq ft. The project is slightly set apart from Genting’s commercial centre, but eateries, mosques, petrol stations, churches and hospitals are within proximity.
Famed for its French-tinged Japanese cuisine by chef Kenji Yamanaka, Béni is regarded as one of Singapore’s top tables. Its acclaimed cuisine is now available to savour in Malaysia at the SkyAvenue mall in Genting Highlands, where chef Shiro Onishi runs the kitchen, and where the five-course lunch or six-course dinner degustation menus give diners a chance to sample its greatest hits. The Ozaki A5 Wagyu steak, imported from Miyazaki prefecture, is a must-try. Another Béni speciality is its mushroom quartet, a medley of maitake, shimeji, enoki and white-button fungi with black truffles on egg custard. In the restaurant’s elegant dining room, diners can choose from two areas: one with turquoise velvet chairs, white marbletopped gold tables and pink cushions, the other with gilt-accented dark wallpaper and walnut leather chairs.
58
