Very few restaurants have good food and tastefully done decor all in one. Third Floor restaurant is an exception. Located at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jalan Bukit Bintang, the exclusive restaurant, on level three, serves fusion food amid modern décor. Engineer Michael Tan, who has a passion for good food and wine, teamed up with Malaysia's award-winning celebrity chef Ken Hoh to make Third Floor the restaurant it is today. The restaurant opened its doors July 2001 to a momentous response from diners. It still does. Famed interior designer Tan Song Poh of Axis Point Design was the brains behind the decor and ambience. "Modern, understated and refine interior imbued in a theatrical display of lights to create an art form" is, in one sentence, Tan's explanation of his work on the restaurant. The colours are a monochromatic of metallic grey and beige, highlighted with accents of amber: The colours and material drew their inspiration from the elements of stone, wood and metal. Water and fire denote beverage and food. The end result pleases the eye as much as the senses. It ought to, for RM1 mil and five months were spent on its façade alone. The restaurant has an Entrance Gallery, Waiting Lounge and a Dining Hall with two private rooms that can seat 80 people. The hotel elevator takes you straight to level three. Turn left and the restaurant's modern décor as against the hotel's classic interior, almost beckons you in. The entrance is a U-shaped walkway with a tunnel, making diners wonder if it is a time capsule. At its end is the signage, a customised gobo where light passes through some graphics, making "Third Floor" move about lighted. Enter, and the lounge with the maitre'd stand on the left and two island seats in the centre meet the eye. Concealed lightings make the seats, made out of golden onyx, glow like amber and look sculptured with their form and symmetry. No bar counter or high stool are in sight. The idea is to encourage diners to interact and mingle, not sit in isolation. Across the room is a wooden wall in ebony veneer. A sliding glass door leads diners to a service room behind the wall. Here, beverages are served through an opening with a sliding glass in sandblasted finish, giving it a translucent look. A convex screen, made of stainless steel metal cladding, houses four units of plasma television screens which demarcate the lounge area from the dining hall. Besides the private rooms, the dining hall has a rectilinear hall for open dining. Across the private rooms, the space can be made private with a touch of a button. A layer of sheer curtain in metallic grey cordon off the area, leaving it solitary. The monochromatic grey enhances the subtle dashes of colours for candle holders in acrylic red and selected artworks in pop art hues. They are similar to an art canvas in which food and guests contribute to the interior's aura. "The fibre optics surrounding a circular column is an interesting feature," says Michael. "When switched on, the column glows and sparkles with a kaleidoscope of moving optical. hues dancing around the column, creating movement to the space," he says. "The artworks cannot be replaced. Our patrons like the paintings so much we cannot deny them that pleasure," he adds. High-back banquet seats against the walls blend neatly with oval tables and single-seat dining chairs. The square tables can be on their own or combined into different configurations. The upholstery for the seats are woven with a metallic sheen. The granite floor is "flame finished" putting a rough surface below. Wallpapers, embossed with vertical lines, hide some of the walls. "The walls of the private rooms carry individual themes – with one in timber and the other in metallic special effects," says Michael. From a distance, the stainless steel wire mesh looks like silk. The ceiling, in fibrous plaster finish, is kept simple and plain, but the recessed lights let escape a pattern of lines when switched on. Third Floor is for those with discerning tastes for food and the ambience in which it is served. |
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