The Oman Today announces Restaurant Awards 2007

An annual event that was launched in 2002, it has now come to be considered as the ultimate accolade in recognition of the best and most popular restaurants in Oman.

For the past 27 years, Oman Today has grown and gone from strength to strength alongside the hospitality industry in Oman. Says Saleh Zakwani, publisher, Oman Today, "In many ways, we are partners in an ongoing effort to promote Oman to the rest of the world and encourage people living here to be more actively involved in everything that Oman has to offer."

The Oman Today Restaurant Awards was instituted as an opportunity for the public to reward the hard work of members of the hospitality industry and thank them. Be it the chefs in the kitchens or the waiters in the restaurants, they are all people who enable us to go out and enjoy ourselves in Oman.

Diners are invited to vote for their favourite restaurants in each of the 11 categories on the voting forms, which are available at all the participating restaurants, hotels and sponsors' outlets.

Voting will begin on July 15 and continue till September 14. Diners can cast their votes by either leaving it at the restaurant, or by posting or faxing it to the Apex office. You can also vote online at www.apexstuff.com/awards. Voting forms must have the customer's name, email address and telephone number for the vote to be deemed valid. All details will be held with absolute confidentiality and only used to verify the authenticity of the votes.

The 11 categories for the Oman Today Restaurant Awards 2007 are: buffet, café, far eastern, fast food, Indian, international (includes steak houses, continental and Mexican cuisine), Italian, Middle Eastern, pub food, ambience, and service.

The top three finalists in each category will be announced later in September, and a panel of five judges will then take over. Each judge will individually visit all of the finalists to rate them on pre-determined criteria and their votes will be collated to arrive at the final list of winners in each category. The winning restaurants will be honoured at a gala black-tie event scheduled on December 5, 2007 at Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa.

Due to the damages suffered by many of the restaurants in the recent cyclone, the voting has been delayed by two weeks. Although some restaurants are unable to participate this year, we anticipate that they will be back in full force next year.

Oman Today is grateful to the award sponsors - Bank Sohar, for coming in as the main sponsor and The Blue City as the co-sponsor. For the second year running, the event is supported by African & Eastern. Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort and Spa has generously sponsored the launch function.

Last year's winners are:
Categories Winners
Buffet: Samba, Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa
Café: D'Arcy's Kitchen
Far Eastern: China Mood, Al Bustan Palace InterContinental Muscat
Fast Food: Pizza Hut
Indian: Mumtaz Mahal
International: The Chedi Muscat
Italian Tuscany, Grand Hyatt Muscat
Middle Eastern: Al Tanoor, Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa
Pub Food: Al Ghazal, InterContinental Muscat
Ambience: The Chedi Muscat
Service: Shangri-La's Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa