Diner for Dh 91,750 (USD25,000) per head!!!!!

While rookie chefs may struggle in the kitchens with low pay for several years, those that reach the top of their professions can charge staggering prices for sumptuous meals.

The bills at top Dubai restaurants can send diners digging deep into their pockets, but a 10-course gourmet dinner concocted by world-renowned chefs in Bangkok on Saturday eclipsed all of the prices in the Emirates, costing Dh91,750 a head. Many of those who attended the culinary extravaganza in Thailand’s bustling capital hailed it the meal of a lifetime. But it’s no easy task to eat plate after plate of Beluga caviar, Perigord truffles, Kobe beef and Brittany lobster. “It’s really amazing,” said diner Sophiane Foster, a wealthy Cambodian who lives in Malaysia. “But I can’t finish it. Your senses can only appreciate so much.” High-rolling food lovers flew in from the Middle East, the United States, Europe, and Asia for the 40-seat dinner organised by the Lebua luxury hotel in Bangkok. Cooked by six three-star Michelin chefs – four from France and one each from Germany and Italy – the menu featured complicated creations like “tartar of Kobe beef with Imperial Beluga caviar and Belon oysters” and “mousseline of ‘pattes rouges’ crayfish with morel mushroom infusion”. Among the talented chefs, some said they found it challenging to give diners their money’s worth. Antoine Westermann of Le Buerhiesel, a top-class restaurant in Strasbourg, France, said he shaved three and a half ounces of Perigord truffles – worth about Dh1,300 – onto each plate of his “coquille SaintJacques and truffles”.

“For Dh91,750, what do you expect?” he said. (AP)

Transfer money home thru SMS

SMS your money home

Sending money to family overseas could be about to get a lot easier as major global mobile phone operators and banks join hands to launch currency transfers by a simple text message. The facility is expected to be available in the UAE soon.

Anyone who has a mobile phone will be able to transfer money whenever and wherever they want without the need of a bank account.

The idea is to make it easier and cheaper for millions of migrant workers around the world to send money home.

You will not have to walk to the nearest money exchange centre, fill in forms or make an international call to send the transaction code.

All that you need to do to transfer money, is to load cash on your phone and order it to be sent to a mobile phone number in another country, where the recipient is notified about the arrival of the money through a message, making the entire process as easy as sending a SMS.

The GSM Association (GSMA), an international body of 700 GSM mobile operators, yesterday announced the launch of the programme in Barcelona, Spain.

The pilot programme covers a special group of 19 mobile operators with networks in more than 100 countries, representing around 600 million customers.

International remittances have exceeded $230 billion (Dh844bn) annually and are a major source of income for developing countries.

According to the World Bank’s report on Global Economic Prospects 2006, India received the highest amount of remittances, with $21.7bn (Dh79.6bn) sent to the country last year.

The new move is expected to double the number of recipients of international remit tances to more than 1.5 billion, while helping to quadruple the size of the international remittances market to more than $1 trillion (Dh3.67trn) by 2012.

While the State Bank of India and Airtel – a mobile phone service provider in India – have joined the GSMA to provide the service in India, Smart Communications of the Philippines plans to launch several pilot projects in collaboration with mobile phone operators and banks in Bahrain, Italy and other countries hosting large numbers of overseas Filipino workers.

In Bahrain, Smart will work in partnership with MTC Vodafone Bahrain and a leading bank in the Middle East. Through the Smart Services Hub, workers can remit funds back to the Philippines conveniently and affordably using their mobile phones.

The facility is expected to be extended to the UAE as well. A 10-member etisalat team is presently in Barcelona to study the programme and participate in the third GSM World Congress.

Du said last night it is planning something similar.

The Gulf is home to six million Indian nationals, who are projected to send home around $20bn (Dh73.4bn) in remittances this year.

Sending money to family over- seas could be about to get a lot easier as major global mobile phone operators and banks join hands to launch currency transfers by a sim- ple text message. The facility is expected to be available in the UAE soon. Anyone who has a mobile phone will be able to transfer money whenever and wherev- er they want without the need of a bank account. The idea is to make it eas- ier and cheaper for millions of migrant workers around the world to send money home. You will not have to walk to the nearest money exchange centre, fill in forms or make an international call to send the transaction code. All that you need to do to transfer money, is to load cash on your phone and order it to be sent to a mobile phone number in another country, where the recipient is notified about the arrival of the money through a message, making the entire process as easy as sending a SMS. The GSM Association (GSMA), an international body of 700 GSM mobile operators, yesterday ann- ounced the launch of the pro- gramme in Barcelona, Spain. The pilot programme cov- ers a special group of 19 mobile operators with net- works in more than 100 coun- tries, representing around 600 million customers. International remittances have exceeded $230 billion (Dh844bn) annually and are a major source of income for developing countries. According to the World Bank’s report on Global Economic Prospects 2006, India received the highest amount of remittances, with $21.7bn (Dh79.6bn) sent to the country last year. The new move is expected to double the number of recip- ients of international remit- tances to more than 1.5 bil- lion, while helping to quadru- ple the size of the internation- al remittances market to more than $1 trillion (Dh3.67trn) by 2012. While the State Bank of India and Airtel – a mobile phone service provider in India – have joined the GSMA to provide the service in India, Smart Communications of the Philippines plans to launch several pilot projects in collaboration with mobile phone operators and banks in Bahrain, Italy and other coun- tries hosting large numbers of overseas Filipino workers. In Bahrain, Smart will work in partnership with MTC Vodafone Bahrain and a lead- ing bank in the Middle East. Through the Smart Services Hub, workers can remit funds back to the Philippines con- veniently and affordably using their mobile phones. The facility is expected to be extended to the UAE as well. A 10-member etisalat team is presently in Barcelona to study the programme and participate in the third GSM World Congress. Du said last night it is plan- ning something similar. The Gulf is home to six mil- lion Indian nationals, who are projected to send home around $20bn (Dh73.4bn) in remittances this year.