Sunday, September 26, 2010

BLIMEY, IT'S BACK TO BLIGHTY


HERE WE ARE BACK IN OLD BLIGHTY once again ... we flew here by British Airways and the word I can use to summarise the experience was ADEQUATE. Service and amenities were basic, food was just OK. They were not the cheapest airline nor were they the most expensive either, and they got us here safely and on time which was some 5am on Friday morning so not much to complain about there BUT I have to say have flown better airlines before.

The first thing about the UK is it's BLUDDY freezing! Ai yo, despite the fact they did have a good summer (yea thanks for constantly telling me that friends!), and that the sun does occasionally peep out from behind the massive grey clouds, during which time it does warm up slightly, overall it is cold, damp and dismal. It rained practically all afternoon the day we arrived, and in the evening it gets even worse, as temperatures plunge to 5 or 8C. I tell you, going to the loo is like sitting on a block of ice doing your business. Now I understand why people wear those jumpsuits with a panel at the back that you "undo" to go to the toilet ... LOL.




HOWEVER there are nice things about being back here. Like wot, you ask. Well as it was so early when we landed, we got to Surrey in record time as the M25, although fairly busy, was moving - it's not known as the "World's Biggest Car Park" for no reason! So we decided to drive by old favourite Tesco to check out if it was open and at 730am - it was, yay, hooray!
In we popped to get a few things ... hah! Ended up with 90 quids' worth of shopping including biscuits, wine and beer, bits and bobs and SIM cards for our Malaysian phones. They cost just 99p (RM4.80) with just 20p worth of time on it but there is a special offer on at the moment and if you top up (online, via sms or call them) you get 3x the value so if you top up 20 quid then you get 60 pounds in value. Worth it of course to a canny Penangite like MOI ...




After due formalities were over like greetings and "How ARE you?" and "How NICE to see you again" that kind of stuff, settling into bro-and-sis-in-law's place and giving out prezzies - the jumper, although a tad large, was admired with suitable oohing and aahing, as was my due ... ahem ... (joking lah), we set off again - this time to London itself, and the first ever Malaysia Night to be held in Trafalgar Square. But that's another story.

Suffice it to say that the trip up by British Rail was uneventful if expensive - something like 12 pounds for a return to Waterloo, and another fiver to get me to Charing Cross by Underground on the Bakerloo Line, which used to be the oldest and most knackered line with really dark and seedy old trains but is now modern and bright. I've always loved the way they advertise on the platforms.




Ahhh ... despite the cold and expense, it's GOOD to be back!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

WE'RE OFF!

WEELLLLLL .... we're off - well, nearly. The taxi is coming in approximately 1 hour! The whole morning, as indeed the last few days, has been spent running around doing all kinds of chores and errands related to going away: buying gifts and souvenirs for friends and relatives (Tau Sar Peah galore together with belacan etc - if I could take it they'd ask for Char Kuey Teow too, probably).

I've been sorting out the dry cleaning and foreign currency, and also eating ... eating and eating, as kind friends wish us a "Bon Voyage".

HOWEVER this will not be the last post that you see, as I intend to blog a LOT about the trip, seeing as last time we were abroad I had only just about started to do so - there will be a lot to report from London, where I shall be (hopefully) attending the very first Malaysian Pasar Malam at Trafalgar Square tomorrow night - talk about hitting the ground running. That's assuming I'm not too jetlagged of course. I've tried to stave off "Ai yo can't be bothered lah" by arranging to meet No1 Son at Waterloo Station on Friday afternoon. Gulp. It will however be nice to see him again after almost a year, probably the longest we've ever been apart.

After a few days in Surrey we will be heading north to take No2 Son to uni, then back down to London - thinking of a couple of days in Rome as I have never been there and watching "Rome" and "Spartacus" has whetted my appetite for a bit of the Coliseum.

At the end of November, we will be heading across to US so lots to write about then too. What an epic trip. I dread the airport security checks and queues at Immigration and the cold (urgghhh!!!) and the jetlag but, as my father always says, these are rich men's problems. Quite right too.

Until the next post, Arrivederci!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARD ROCK HOTEL





WOW, WHAT A NIGHT! Yes, it was Hard Rock Hotel Penang's first birthday party - difficult to believe they have been there just a year, seems like forever, they have been such a part of Penang's scene now. Anyone was anyone had been invited - there were over 650 on the guest list, including even humble food writers.








The whole beach side of their long pool had been converted into a party area, with a stage at one side to house the two bands who were performing that night: Bongga Bongga and Albert Chua, national champion of Malaysia Air Guitar Championship hosted by the hotel. After the beautiful sunset, more people arrived, the place started to live up to its name: ie ROCK!




Guests of Honour included TYT Governor of Penang and CM YAB Lim Guan Eng, who arrived a bit later in the evening, giving all the freeloaders like moi a chance to stuff their faces.






And what an array of Hard Rock goodies there were on offer, masses and masses of it, wraps, satays, foot-long Chicken Sausage including, of course, their world-famous Burger.





Chef Kenny and his team had their work cut out, but apart from the satay which unfortunately kept running out (people were grabbing many sticks at a time!), there was plenty on offer, and chocolate sauce aplenty for the marshmallows.







Highlight of the evening was French guitarist, singer songwriter Louis Bertignac, founding member of rock band Telephone.It really was a free-flow evening with Mojitos (yum ...), wines, beers and other drinks on offer, ending with dancing and fireworks at midnight. Happy Birthday Hard Rock, and here's to your second birthday!


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

A PARADISE FAREWELL ...



IT'S ALL GO GO GO AS USUAL, with preparations for impending European/American trip going gung-ho. SOOoo much to do and so little time to do it, which is about par for the course. There's the making (you've seen my show-off Aran jumper) or buying of gifts and presents for friends and relatives over there, including some curry powder and belacan.



I also have a good (English) friend who LOVES Asian food, and every time we visit with them, I bring along some of my home-made chilli sauce which he adores, and polishes off the whole jar within a matter of days. He eats it with absolutely EVERYTHING: roast beef, pizza, fried rice and even cheese on toast. His (English) wife always jokes that he should have married ME instead! LOL. So there's that to cook still.


Mealwise, we have had lots of invitations to eat out, therefore lots of dinners to repay, and last night we went to a mate's farewell party as they leave Penang for a few months' assignment to Beijing.


Interestingly enough, she had it somewhere I wouldn't have thought of doing myself, but that's the thing. Everyone thinks as a food writer I should know everywhere but I don't - I have to learn from friends and other people as well!



Anyway I digress ... it was held at the Paradise Sandy Beach Hotel, a cosy friendly resort in Tg Bungah. At first I was a bit wary, thinking it might be quite hot but it turned out to be in their coffee house which was air conditioned. We had an impressive long table, beautifully laid out, set up for the 15 of us, tucked away in the corner, which was quite nice and fairly private - anyway the place was empty!




The food was what their chefs do best - typical Malay food served "Hidang" style. There was Beef Rendang (which was, if truth be told, more like a Beef Curry); Chicken Curry, Mutton Korma, and a few other dishes served with some flavoured rice which was probably Nasi Tomato but I couldn't really tell.


It was all quite delicious though, and a very convivial evening which started off with some bubbly wine so you can imagine how the rest of the evening went! Really not a bad place to hold a private dinner, with good service and food.

What a wonderful send off. See you in China, guys!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010




OK I DON'T WANNA BRAG ... or maybe I do, but I just HAD to show off my latest handiwork: an Aran jumper that MOI personally knitted.


Yes, I created it with my own fair hands, although I'd be embarrassed to tell you exactly how long it took from start to finish: almost six months! In all fairness, I only manage a few rows late at night when we're relaxing in front of the TV, and that's not often. All these dinners you see ... sigh ...




It's so thick (weighs at least one or two kilos I think!) and heavy that it's obviously not the sort of thing for our weather, and, lest you think I'm going bonkers it's not. It's a present for my sister-in-law who lives in freezing UK.



However, I love knitting; there's something very relaxing about the mechanical process, and seeing it grow from nothing but a ball of wool and two needles. Having said that, I get bored with just plain old knit all the way or purl (stocking stitch) all the way, so I tend to opt for something with a bit of a challenging pattern hence Aran.

And they make great gifts for friends or relatives in Europe, as they certainly can't be for myself! This is about my 40th, I think, and as you can see I've even gone so far as to have labels made!

Hope she likes it ...

Monday, September 6, 2010

SOUNDS YUMMY ... Rasa Sayang here I go ...



All You Can Eat

Baskin Robbins Ice Cream


Choice of flavours include rainbow sherbet, rum & raisin, mango tango, chocolate chip, very berry strawberry and vanilla.


1:00pm to 5:00pm daily

RM38.00++ per person

Served at Garden Wing Terrace outside Lobby Lounge

COME TO MONTE'S




AS WE WILL BE IN UK FOR A FEW WEEKS, came down to KL to see ma fa and bro (father and brother) yesterday, so last night we went to one of their favourite places to dine which is Monte's on the first floor of the infamous Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC for those who know).





The family restaurant recently underwent, together with the entire complex, a complete refurbishment - possibly to get rid of its previous image - and although not very different from what it was before ie big and spacious, is now a bit smarter, with lots of plant separators.




It's a traditional steakhouse with salads, fish and whatnots, fairly reasonably priced for KL, and what is there is quite excellent, like the ribeye (RM56) I had last night - it was tasty, succulent and perfectly "medium well" done. Mac's Filet Mignon was "like butter" he reckoned; smooth and silky.




Their Oxtail is always good, thick and delicious with lots of meaty bits, however the Potato Skin starter was, like No2 son said, like eating a curry puff, because although it had a bit of melted cheese and minced beef on top, there was lots of potato underneath and for some reason a dash of curry powder. Edible, but like I said, it was an expensive curry puff.


The service is fairly quick and efficient considering the size of the place and the fact that it was packed as usual for a Sunday night. What I miss though is their Set Dinner Menu which was excellent value: starter, mains, coffee and dessert for just about RM35 or so if I remember correctly. Shame they had to give it up cos of the higher rental I guess.

Whatever, I wish we had more places like this in Penang: good plain food which doesn't cost the earth, great service and which I can rave about.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

LA LA LA LA BAMBA ... or something Latino sounding like that



IF I'VE SAID THIS ONCE, I've said it a hundred times ... well at least twice anyway. Sigi's does a grand special evening, going all out to lay on a really great do, and last night was no different.





Billed as "Latino Evening", it didn't start off too well, because as we know it had been threatening to rain all day, and finally the heavens opened precisely an hour before it was due to start. However, luckily for them, after about an hour of fairly steady drizzle during which time we were all ensconced under shelter having our pre-dinner cocktails, it dried up, so by the time we were ushered to the tents under where all the tables were set up, we were ok. At least the rains had cooled the weather down a bit. It was very well timed, really, cos after it all ended, I think it proceeded to pour all night again.




The wines and beers were flowing freely, and I'll say this for them: they didn't stint on those, nor on the Ginger Beer and Rum cocktail which wasn't exactly a "Dark and Fiery" or anything I'd heard of, although to be honest I would have definitely preferred a crisp, ice-cold Mojito with lots of mint and lime juice. Yummy.


Anyway, Executive Sous Chef John Brock, good MAN that he is, took it all in his usual pragmatic stride, and produced a solid menu of Latin dishes which proved quite popular. There were Secco de Polo, chicken braised in cilantro; Moqueca de Peixe (Brazilian Fish Stew), Chaquican - Chilean Beef Stew, Chicken Enchiladas and many more with impressive-sounding names, but my favourite, which oink oink me had TWO helpings of was the Swiss Chard with Chorizo Tart, which was really a pie because it was covered with puff pastry, as it was very good, cheesy and tasty. In fact my even piggier dining neighbour who was sat next to me had even MORE.




The stage was divided from the dining area by an open air dance floor, and a Filipino band was there to jazz things up. They were good, and the singer was fantastic with a great voice, but somehow the music didn't quite hit the spot I felt, because not many got up to dance when they played live except a few brave souls like moi cos I do like a good bop every so often, although having said that, I had to rest after each bout of activity 'cos not young any more lah.


The local "magician" they laid on was impressive, although like the MC said what he had to do with "latin" was a mystery, but he was entertaining, and so were the colourfully-clad dancers.

After the lucky draw people started to drift off as the staff started to clear up so it was diehards who stayed on to the bitter end. The next one is a Halloween Night which I don't think will be a big one like this but should be worth a shot - look out for it, although I'm sorry to say I won't be able to make it.

Well done Golden Sands and John, ma MAN!


Thursday, September 2, 2010

LET'S GO!



I LOVE ITALIAN FOOD as it's such a cross between our local noodles and the deep, fruity textures of gorgeous red tomato purees and greens combined with rich cheeses. However, there aren't that many places in town which do it justice, as most of our western-style restaurants tend to just go for that ie western and not specifically Italian as such. Especially since Peppino's in Golden Sands Resort closed down, which was a great loss to Penang I feel, as the food there was good if a tad pricey, but then they have to be as the raw ingredients are too.


So it was with great alacrity that I accepted Chris and Denise's invitation to try out their Italian restaurant in Batu Ferringhi, which I had eaten at once or twice before but not for a while. As I always protest, I am but a poor writer (sob sob, bring out the violins), so off we trotted last night.

The restaurant, which started down a side street a bit further up 14 years ago, is now based on the main road going into Batu Ferringhi, opposite the far car park of Rasa Sayang Resort. It was quite busy, full of Matt Sallehs tourists and their families and a smattering of locals too.


Their new menu, updated some time last year, has some lip-smacking items ... ah, when I come back in the next life I want to have the ability to eat all I want but not gain weight ... ! so we had to stick to the favourites. Starters included various breads and a tasty Spinach and Ricotta Cheese pastie; I opted for the Mr Stroney (Ministrone of course), but wish I'd gone for the Clam Chowder they recommended, which comes in a home-made sourdough "loaf", which was excellent, creamy but not too fishy.




Their wood-fired Hawaiian was so good that despite being full to bursting point Mac polished off. However, as far as I was concerned, and I'd go back ANYTIME they care to invite me (hint hint) was the Linguini Alio Olio with Tiger Prawns - it was DELISH, which is not a word I often use because I don't get the opportunity to do so! It was tasty, the huge prawns were fresh and crunchy, and had a kick to it with the addition of some chopped chilli padi. Not cheap, obviously, but worth every penny.


By then we really didn't have much room left for dessert but of course in the name of duty I had to so we opted for some Tiramisu and Lemon Cheesecake which was again excellent, tart but not so much that it makes you screw up your mouth and melts your teeth.

Overall a wonderful review, which allows me the ability to wax lyrical about the place, which I like cos that doesn't happen very often so I heartily recommend it.