BANGKOK, Thailand, 18 January 2018 – Dinner In The Sky dangling in a platform hoisted high by a cablestays made its official debut earlier this month.
The bizarre way to dine attracted VIPs for what was called an inaugural flight.
The organisers claim this was the first time dining at the end of a cable has been made available to international visitors to Thailand.
The dinner table is hoisted 50 metres high over the busy streets of Bangkok’s tourist golden mile.
It claims to offer a one-hour, four-course gourmet dinner with astonishing views of the Bangkok skyline priced at THB4,990 during weekdays and THB5,390 at weekends.
The entire platform, containing a table with 22 bucket seats, has no safety rails. The diners are buckled in with shoulder and waist seat belts, while a waiter and chef serve the dishes from a well running the length of the centre of the table,
Of course, at this time of the year the views are breathtaking, but what happens during the rainy season when a monsoon storm approaches black and bothersome? I suppose you get a good drenching and the exposed platform descends in a hurry.
The splendid views can be attested, but the quality of the dining experience depends on how comfortable you are swaying in the breeze on a platform of steel girders.
What was not explained in the press release was the flight manual’s procedure for emergency toilet use, but the company’s website places the toilet at ground zero. Guests are required to sign a release forms before being strapped in their bucket seats. If you don’t have a head for heights then don’t look down, there is nothing blocking the view and don’t look behind there is only clear blue sky. Just focus on your plate and sip your soft drink slowly and pray the cablestays hold true.
Predictably, the owners invited the new Minister of Tourism and Sports, Weerasak Kowsurat, to do the honours. His presence gave the project the government’s thumbs up.
He was joined by VIPs and media, who all agreed what a wonderful experience, even if the evening’s treat carries a hefty price tag
Nothing new about the concept as the swaying dinner carts in the sky are operating in 45 countries mainly in the US and Europe. Closer to home, there are replicas in China, Taiwan, Macau and Malaysia.
The platform can cater for 22 guests per sitting around a large table. The contraption is suspended in the air by a 200-tonne telescopic boom crane.
The stunning views are guaranteed, as for the food and drinks are they better than any of the posh restaurants down below? Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit has the catering contract so they should be. Tickets are selling out fast suggesting the fad has a following.
