HYDRO HAILS

THERE'S A REALLY NICE LITTLE PLACE which people have heard about but not many frequent, a shame because it's got good food and lovely surrounds: Palms Coffee House of the Hydro Hotel (formerly Hydro Majestic and Feringghi Beach). It's situated on the ground floor right next to the deep-blue swimming pool, and you can dine semi-alfresco with a view of the beautiful grounds. We were invited there last night to sample some of their new menu, and the breezes blowing in from the sea were really quite refreshing.

Save for the occasional roar of the traffic which whizzed by on the busy Batu Feringghi Road, it is a very pleasant place, and you even get entertained by the music from the all-girl Filipina band "D'Electric Blue' in the Sea Lounge upstairs!

As Executive Chef Zakaria (affectionately known as Zak) used to cook for no less exalted personage than the Sultan of Brunei himself, you can imagine his forte: yes, Malay food, and as he is from Johor, it covers a large range of fantastic curries and rices. Last night was no exception: the Nasi Kandar dishes which came out were excellent (a word I seldom use), particularly the Beef Rendang and Fish Curry.

From his Chinese chef came some delicious Chinese Ravioli soup and Shanghai Noodles (the only thing I can fault that with is it had a bit too much mushroom in it - not my favourite thing as you know - and a large dollop of chilli oil would have gone perfectly with it!).

HAVING SAID THAT, the reasonably-priced western dishes were and not to be sniffed at either. The Rack of Lamb was tender and tasty, as was the Beef. Good try with the lasagna but it was a tad dry and could have done with a bit more tomato puree. The Mixed Grill would have been my son's idea of heaven: a HUGE platter of steak, sausage and chicken sat on top of a MOUNTAIN of mash, covered with gravy.

Their nightly buffet is great value at just RM30++ and their Saturday BBQ is RM49++; they must be one of the cheapest in town! I was quite disappointed to hear that they'd stopped their Friday Night freeflow buffet due to lack of demand. Such things take years to build up - witness the E&O's very popular Friday and Saturday nights and of course the Rasa Sayang's Spice Market Cafe - and if you don't persevere it will never take off properly. And we can do with a cheap buffet this part of town really.

HOWEVER what I'd really like to try is their LADIES NIGHT on Thursdays where there's a 50% discount on all drinks for women (actually they say ladies but to be honest might be difficult to define one ... !!!). They should throw in a Chippendale or two ...