PETALING JAYA: Home-grown Dragon-i Restaurant Sdn Bhd, which owns and operates the Canton-i chain of restaurants, has opened its newest Canton-i outlet at Sunway Pyramid's new wing.

In a statement on March 13, Dragon-i said renovated at a cost of RM2 million, the 4,600 square feet outlet on the ground floor of The Blue Atrium had a seating capacity of 180 and features the group’s signature open kitchen concept.

Canton-i is the second brand under Dragon-i Restaurant, renowned for serving some of the best and most authentic Shanghainese cuisine at its popular Dragon-i chain of restaurants.

Canton-i serves authentic Hong Kong cuisine by skilled chefs from Hong Kong and Guangzhou. It has three other Canton-i outlets in Malaysia - at 1 Utama Shopping Centre, The Gardens at Mid Valley City, and Queensbay Mall in Penang.

Dragon-i Restaurant said it was making is first foray abroad with the opening of a Canton-i restaurant at Singapore’s newest upmarket shopping mall, ION Orchard this June.

“Our success in Malaysia has given us the confidence to venture into Singapore.  As the food and beverage industry there is extremely competitive, it would be a stern test of our capabilities and would spur us to raise our standards in all aspects to new levels,” Dragon-i Restaurant chief executive officer Henry Yip said in a statement.

Yip added that the economic downturn was a blessing for the Dragon-i Restaurant group.

“It actually lowered the cost of entry into the Singapore market as prime retail space had become more readily available at lower rates and suppliers were willing to lower their prices.  Otherwise the investment would have been very much higher,” he said.