CHT Awards @ NIKKO Hotel

WHAT A GLITTERING EVENT the CHT Awards 2010 Dinner was on Saturday night. For the first time, it was held in KL, although it seemed like practically half of Penang was there ... actually half the people there were from Penang is more the way to describe it. We were there because we happened to be going down to pick up No2 Son who was arriving from Oz on Monday - he's been there nearly six months, so Mummy Dearest, who has missed him a fair bit, decided to kill two birds with one stone ... metaphorically speaking only, of course!I was invited because I am one of Essenze's writers, contributing but a humble short article once every quarter. Still, it was an honour to be there.

Anyway it was held at the Nikko Hotel's Grand Ballroom, with nearly 200 people attending, I think, although it seemed like a fair few didn't show up; many tables had a couple of seats empty, including our own which was the "Penang" table.

The theme was supposed to be "be wild and creative" but it's rather difficult to do that in a tuxedo which was the dress code! However a few, to give them their due, did get into the spirit of things (not moi of course, spoilsport that I am) and came almost in fancy dress. The evening started with a fashion parade from Just's Wardrobe although I wonder how many women really will wear such OTT stuff in their every day life, particularly in Penang!

Founder Ch'ng Huck Theng, he of the Ghee Hiang fame, was there of course, and Mark from Penang did the emceeing with HT's daughter. It's good exposure for her but I think she's still a bit young for it yet. There were several performances by violinist Joanne Yeoh, a blonde Chinese guy and a rather plump singer called Candy - a bit pitchy at times, dog (I sound like Randy).

Huck Theng himself conducted the auction which raised RM20 - RM30K for charity, which included some rather snazzy wine fridges and a sculpture donated by himself! The awards took most of the evening, going to an army of different personalities I'd never heard of.

The meal was a 5-course western with starter, soup, mains, dessert and coffee which was OK but not outstanding; difficult to be when this number of people are involved, but quite beautifully presented.

I think they tried really hard, and thought of everything - including a fantastic door gift of famed Ghee Hiang products: their sesame oil, almond biscuits (quite good) and white coffee - but on the whole I'd say it was slightly lacklustre but that may be because half the people there (the non-Penang half of course) weren't really sure what was happening! We of course are familiar with the procedure, as this is the 4th one of its kind and personally I've attended 3, and each of them has been really quite spectacular.

I'll say one thing for Huck Theng - a lot of people moan about Penang and its shortcomings etc etc etc but he DOES something for the state, and puts is all in doing it properly. And is prepared to bring it to KL even - must have cost him a fortune. I say well done to him.

SMAAK!!

THI STH EFRIKAANERS ARIN TAAN ... Sorry I mean the South Africaners are in town and by that I mean Smaak! the team promoting South African wines (www.smaakZA.com) in Malaysia going round doing in-depth "masterclasses" to promote the wines and wine regions of South Africa, parnered by South African Airways (SAA), the largest African airline. So South Africa, contrary to popular belief, isn't JUST about football!

Smaak means "taste" in Afrikaans, and the team, represented by Entwine Consultancy from KL, have been or are going all over: to Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu, Ipoh and a few other big towns. Here in Penang they did the "Wine and Dine" dinner at The Brasserie in Traders Hotel led by certified sommerlier Thomas Ling.

We started with a couple of whites: Neethlingshof Sauvignon Blanc, gorgeous crisp bouquet with an excellent aftertaste, which went well with the Modern Caesar Salad in Cheese Net, after that a fruity Chardonnay from the prestigious Fleur du Cap "cellar in the mountain" to accompany the Sweet Bean Soup.

Unfortunately I just cannot mix my wines, so I couldn't really tuck into the reds which followed: another Neethlingshof "The Owl Post Pinotage" which was served with the Duo Meat Sampler - Beef and Lamb although I did sneak in a little just to see how it went with the meats. All in the course of duty, I hasten to add ...

With the Spiced Tea Cake, we finished off with the Amarula Fruit Cream, a delicious, silky liqueur made from the fruit of the wild Marula tree which grows wild in the subequatorial Savannah. It's a bit like Baileys but lighter and fruitier, and was excellent iced. It will make a good little aperitif too I think.

New world wines, although I wonder why they are referred to that cos some of them have been producing wines for centuries, have rapidly established themselves as worthy rivals of the more traditional producers, some even overtaking the quantity and at time quality of the old countries.

During the evening Thomas tooks us through an interesting slide show trying to teach us a bit about the wines and regions but not sure how much we learnt cos we were too busy imbibing and chatting and enjoying the good food, but the important thing is we had great fun. And well done to Traders Executive Chef who was able to whizz up the mainly South African food from just recipes provided.

And will definitely will look out for them in the shops now.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY ...

HEY I CAN'T WAIT ... It's about time those of us at this end of the island had some of that free-flow buffet townees have access to every Friday night - I'm talking of course about the E&O Sarkies Corner's Wine and Dine. And I'm delighted that finally, Golden Sands Resort's Garden Cafe is offering it ... check this out:

Weekly Themed Buffet Dinner

7:00pm to 10:00pm

RM89.90++ adult | RM45.00++ child

Free flow of beer, wine, juices and soft drinks

Every Wednesday & Sunday | 1 to 31 July 2010

East Meets West Buffet

International buffet with Middle Eastern cuisine

Every Saturday | 1 July to 31 August 2010

Seafood Delight Buffet

Every Friday | 1 July to 31 August 2010

BBQ & Carvery Buffet

If the wine is reasonable (and to be frank sometimes with these free-flow affairs they can be pretty undrinkable) I will be the first in line so see you there!

GOLDEN QING

NOW THAT ALL THE EXCITEMENT HAS DIED DOWN, it's back to business as usual: the business of eating, I mean. And so it was that last night I was invited to attend the soft launch of Penang's latest outlet, GOLDEN QING.

The cavernous place at the corner of Gurney Drive and Jalan Concordia used to be called The Porch, but is now offering a Steamboat Buffet. At RM28 per person it seemed quite reasonable.

Their USP (unique selling point) is the stone hotpots that were specially imported from China, whic is supposed to disseminate heat more evenly and add a certain "je ne sais quois" to the taste. However, these are not too big and good only for 2-4 pax, although they have some big ones too. If you want to "split" stocks, then it will have to be the good old stainless steel pots.

But to me it's taste foremost, then value and quality of the food and last night I thought it was quite good, considering it was their first day. Pots like that need to be "seasoned", and that takes time. There are some six stocks on offer. Personally, steamboat for me always means qing tong - plain broth which builds up in taste the more stuff you cook in it.

They also have some charcoal barbeques going in one corner where you can grill the food, which proved to be a hit with the kids especially but of course they will require constant supervision.

I thought the spread was good: it all looked quite inviting, with a lot of meat including beef and chicken; seafood, vegetables and noodles and of course all the usual fishballs etc.

There's a bit of cooked food to one side as "fillers": fried rice, fried noodles, etc - the Belacan Chicken was excellent, succulent and tasty, unlike some which look dry and taste like sawdust - and there were plenty of condiments going.

The staff are dressed in traditional Chinese garb: red and black, which is a bit different. Their learning curve will be steep, but the location is great with lots of passing trade, so I think with a bit more experience, it will be quite successful. It was quite nice sitting there enjoying the night time passing crowd, in the short time I was there we saw and were seen by a number of friends and acquaintances. It was surprisingly busy too, for their first night although I think that was just as well cos I'm not sure they would have coped!

GDiP2 - It's HERE!

Yes, after eight months of it hanging over my head, eating out practically every night and trying desperately to keep my weight - and corresponding cholesterol - under control, it's done and dusted. Great Dining in Penang 2 is finally out, launched by State Exco for Tourism Development and Culture YB Danny Law, who incidentally also launched my first book in April 2008, only a few weeks after assuming the position.

The event itself, as everyone knows now, was at the trendy Sigi's in Golden Sands Resort. Over 120 people attended, although I'm not really sure of the final count, cos not everyone took the goodie bags as they left. In fact, we were expecting 100 and had to turn down others who asked to come, which I was sorry to do. However, what I can tell you is that it went splendidly, and everyone had a great time. It really WAS the Launch of the Year. You don't often see photos of my in my blog but I decided to include a few ... after all, it was MY event!

The food was excellent, or so everyone told me, because to be honest I was really much too stressed out to eat anything. John Brock, Executive Sous Chef, (that's me with him - what do you think of the t-shirt - neat eh!) really excelled himself, and he and his magnificent team produced some great stuff: particularly the Fish 'n Chips which was wrapped in ... a newspaper article about the launch! Caused quite a sensation, it did.

The event started at 4pm with everyone tucking into the food and drink like no tomorrow: the Carlsberg Gold, the Angove wines (which were superb, btw) and the Evian Limited Edition Jean Paul Gaultier designer water.

YB Danny Law was bang on time as usual, showing up for once in casual togs because it was in line with Sigi's relaxed image. At one point it got a bit hot - I don't think they're used to having so many people in there all at once! - but the conversation definitely got louder and louder as people got more and more "relaxed". It was a great chance for people to network and restaurateurs to meet each other, and old friends to get together again. Anyone who was anyone was there - at least 8 or 9 GMs of Penang hotels including Desmond Hatton, GM of the Rasa Sayang, and Marco Battistotti, GM of g Hotel and Chairman of MAH. I was really deeply honoured; they all "hor wa been" (gave me face), as they say.

At 5pm Suleiman, Director of Communications for the Shangri-La in Penang, started the ball rolling and introduced Bruno Cristol, GM of Golden Sands, who gave a short speech. After that YB took the mike and then it was my turn to thank everyone.

I was particularly nervous because we were trying something different: we wanted to make use of the long "pond" in the middle of the room, so the book placed in the middle of a polystyrene fish which they had made specially for the occasion, then it was buried in the sand in the pond. Although we'd had a few trial runs beforehand, I was still a bit unsure how it would work out.

And I was wrong to doubt John, whose idea it was, because it worked wonderfully - something different! There was a drum roll as YB was reeling the fish in, then when he hooked it out the Comms Team let off some "poppers"! It was all quite fun and thankfully, had gone smoothly! I thought YB was quite sporting. When I expressed my nervousness, he said, "Don't worry about it! It's all casual and relaxed!"

YB then cut out the book, displayed it to everyone, then the three of us cut the wonderful cake, specially made for me decorated in the GDiP2 logo by the chefs at Traders Hotel, thanks to good friend Karl Karlsson, GM of Traders Hotel.

After that the books went on sale and I'm delighted to say that nearly 500 were sold altogether. Actually we ran out, as the printer only delivered the first batch of 400 so I'm still waiting on the rest, and the book shops are waiting for theirs! If you are planning on getting one - which of course I hope you do - please be patient. A lot of blood, sweat and calories went into its making!

It was after that that I was able to relax and have a drink as I was interviewed by the press, then people started to wonder off as we packed up and bade everyone adieu. What a day, but what a grand and successful day.

My sincere thanks to Bruno Cristol, Suleiman TAR, John Brock, YB Law, and everyone else who made the effort to come. You done me proud. Here's to Great Dining in Penang!