FOAMING AT THE HARD ROCK HOTEL

LAST NIGHT I WAS PRIVILEGED TO BE INVITED to witness one of the Hard Rock Hotel's many fund raising sessions: their "Pink Foam Party", held on the beach by the pool, is part of their worldwide "Pinktober" campaign in support of breast cancer awareness and research.





At reception, a bed had been done up, resplendent in pink and complete with gleaming gorgeous chandelier and guitar, for the "Celebs Bed-in" session.





Actually, we were a bit early but it wasn't a bad thing - we were taken to Starz Diner and given a meal at the buffet counter, which included free-flow drinks.

The food is OK; some of the dishes are good, and there's salmon sashimi and big prawns as well as a good choice of salads at the counter. Can't expect TOO much for just RM70 or 80++.





Usually at such places the wine is pretty mediocre at best, to be frank, but I was really quite pleased that they give a fairly palatable white, which is my usual poison. Mac, as usual, is happy with his beer.





After that we headed for the beach which at that hour (still quite early - about 830pm by then) was still a bit quiet although some brave souls were in the "foam" "Cotton Candy Tub", and hula girls in skirts and others in pyjamas, trying to dance to the music.





A whole host of local celebrities had been invited to grace the event - although I have to say MOI wasn't included as part of the pack as a mere food writer you see - including Ash Nair, Yuri Wong, Jojo Struys and my old mate Dennis Lau, who when he saw me gave me a big hug, which stoked my rapidly decreasing ego a teeny bit ... !!! (Us writers have very frail and brittle egos...)





There were various performances after that, with top Malaysian rock band SEARCH at the Hard Rock Cafe although to be frank, it had started to rain a bit so oldies like me (non-celebrities ... !!! sob sob) had melted away by then ... !

Throughout October, Hard Rock Hotel will have a Seaview Deluxe Room decked out in pink at just RM580++ per night inclusive of breakfast for 2, Pink-A-Luscious cocktails for 2, and - this is the piece de resistance as far as I am concerned - a limited edition 2011 Pinktober Breast Cancer Awareness pin!

 

I even donated RM20 to adopt two special "pink ducks" to help!

HARD ROCK BIRTHDAY HAMBURGERS

IT WAS QUITE FUN LAST NIGHT. I'd been invited, along with several other press members, to witness Hard Rock birthday - in this case the day it was founded in London 39 years ago rather than when it was opened in Penang which if you can cast your mind that far back was in December last year.

Anyway the whole day had been put aside to do funny things in house, like the employees had to swap places with Management - apparently GM John Primmer was pretty sporting, and was last seen in the role of kitchen stewart mopping the floor ... and they had lots of other events like a birthday cake shaped like a hamburger etc. They were also offering patrons a special set menu at RM19.71 nett for one day only - that's what an original HRC Hamburger served with Seasoned Fries, Apple Pie and Milk Shake would have cost in 1971!

Everything culminated in the Hamburger Eating Competition at the Hard Rock Cafe last night, and 20 people were down to take part in it. Not sure if all arrived cos I didn't stay till the end, but the first two rounds were hilarious: they had to finish off a Double Decker Cheeseburger ... as each was 7 0z it meant 14 0z of meat plus bun and salad to imbibe .. and as fast as you can. That's nearly a pound of meat, ie 1/2 a kg. As one of the other reporters put it, "Kua liao pun pa" ie just one look and I'm full.

They were at it hammer and tongs, but the 3 eventual winners who emerged were Jason Tiong, Clay Quinn and Howard Ooi: First prize went to Jason who did it in an amazing 3 mins and 18 secs: he must have really wolfed it down without chewing, which really is the secret as it's the only way to do it. Once you start chewing you’re done for. The hungry (or was it greedy?) guy won a 3 Day/2 Night Hillview Deluxe Room with breakfast for 2 and a dinner voucher worth RM150 at Hard Rock Café. If he can face going there again!

Interesting to note that two of the three winners were locals - most of the Matt Sallehs who took part were knocked out! Anyway well done to all of them. All in the spirit of things.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARD ROCK!

HARD ROCK ROCKS!

OK THEY'VE BEEN OPEN FOR two weeks now, so what is the state of play at Penang's hottest happening place?

"It's been a bit busier than we anticipated," said the dry-humoured GM John Primmer, who has lost some weight since I last saw him, making his six foot something frame even taller. (He doesn't even have time to eat, it's been THAT busy!) And of course he's being modest - the novelty value of Hard Rock Hotel, which opened on 19 September, has not died down. They are packed, especially at weekends, when occupancy is practically 100%. In fact, the first few days they even had to turn people away!

As for the Hard Rock Cafe, their flagship f&b outlet, one has to practically book several days in advance, it's been that popular. On top of that, they are already catering for corporate and private functions. Last night when I was there they had THREE on. It's a bit tough for a very new outfit to handle, and would account for some delay in the food we had ordered from their seafront pizzeria, but I can appreciate the sorts of things they have to tackle. Even the Rasa Sayang had teething problems when they reopened 3 years ago.

In the hotel itself, they've tried for a chic and contemporary ambiance which has been quite successful: everything is white and modern. The ground-floor rooms have direct access to the long pool (longest in Penang) so families with children under 14 can't book them - I can understand why. Original items which used to belong to famous (and not so famous) rock stars line some walls and the cafe itself, including Madonna's famous bustier which is "priceless", according to Elisa Saw, their Communications Manager. In fact, their warehouse in the US stocks some 70,000 original items which they have been collecting since the 1970s! Hmmm ... I wonder if they want an original Helen Ong bra ... comes a lot cheaper. In fact, it will be priceless too ... but only cos no one will want to pay anything for it!!!!!

The pizzeria serves pizza and pastas, and Hard Rock Cafe the typical iconic menu which has made it such a famous name: burgers, chicken wings, potato skins and such like. Today I was there - again - for the launch of "Pinktober", the continuation of a 10-year worldwide campaign to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.

They will be selling t-shirts and pins at the hotel - I've rather got my eye on the dangling pink ribbon adorned with pink rhinestones ... but a bit pricey at RM75. However, 75% will go towards charity. Throughout October, they will also be holding a charity auction for a "Hello Kitty" Special Edition Fender electric guitar. Can't quite see my son playing on it somehow, as it's all pink ... ! There will be various smoothies and mocktails available, alcoholic and otherwise. It's a great cause, and it's great to see our latest hotel doing things for the good of society almost as soon as they open.

It's early days yet, but already I can see that they will be rocking Penang. Just a few minor things to iron out, but knowing John, it shouldn't be a problem. Rock on, Hard Rock!