On Friday 30 September 2011,  from 7.30 to 8.30 p.m.,  Ambassador Nopadol Gunavibool was invited to be one of the Special Guests at the official opening of Coco Ichibanya Restaurant at B2 Level of 313 Sommerset Shopping Mall.  Joining the Ambassador were Mr.  Yoshiyasu  Iseki,  Counsellor of the Japanese Embassy, and Singaporean stars and celebrities, namely Elvin Ng, Rebecca Lim, Holly Grabarek and Edwin Goh.

He was welcomed upon arrival at the Restaurantb by Mr. Daisaku and Mrs. Ratchanee Tanaka, Managing Director of Coco Ichibanya (Thailand), which owns the franchise of the Japanese curry restaurant chain in Asia.  The brand, known as King of Japanese curry rice, has about 1,200 branches in Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand.   Further information can be found at the folowing website:  http://www.cocothailand.com/home/ or http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/index.html

Mr.  Tanaka, who has lived in Thailand for over 30 years,  also owns  Fuji, a popular restaurant chain in Thailand.  The Fuji Group, based in Thailand, comprises Japanese, Thai, French restaurants and other entertainment and hotel in Thailand and Japan.