BAD OUTLETS

OK so sorry but so much has been happening I haven't known what to write about - so ended up writing NOTHING!

It was interesting meeting up with Penangtuapui and exchanging the different facets of being a food writer. One thing was clear though - unlike me, they started off with the pure intention of telling people their honest opinion of the particular outlet they were visiting. And interestingly enough, found that they just could not do it. Maybe it's not in their character (they are really quite nice people whose main interest is in places which serve good food, not lambasting those who don't); maybe it's also not a very Malaysian thing - telling the truth. Not because we are an untruthful people but because we have been brought up to not criticise so succinctly.

In the UK there are a few food critics (and in this case they really are CRITICS) who take pride on being as nasty to the restaurant or outlet they are reviewing as possible. And the more people who write in to disagree with them the better. Their interest is in being read and not helping the restaurant. Like I always say, Penang is too small. I would like to be welcomed when I go to an outlet, not have the door slammed on my face ... or worse!

Still, I was interested to receive an email about a website called:

http://not2eat.blogspot.com/

which encourages people to write in about places they were not satisfied with. Personally, I think this is not a bad idea, as I have sometimes felt the need to point out certain shortfalls in some outlets but have refrained from for the reasons mentioned above. HOWEVER a site like this can be misused, and therefore must be strictly policed. ANYONE could write in with false information about a competitor's outlet - what is there to stop this sort of thing from happening?

So please, much as I know it's bad for your blood pressure, take the entries that you read about with a big pinch of salt.

Bloggers Meet Up

One day last week I had a very pleasant outing: to meet up with fellow bloggers Penangtuapui. Our small inaugural get-together was held at the delightful Saigon Kitchen (formerly known as Com Viet) in Lintang Burmah, Pulau Tikus.









It was certainly a pleasure meeting with them, and we had many interesting anecdotes to exchange with each other. More about that another time (or place), but it was good to know that we are equally passionate about eating and Penang, and all face similar problems when we write about food. However, what made it even better was tucking into the Vietnamese street and home-cooked food that proprietor Lesley Loh and sister Louis had organised for us.







There was an unusual and colourful "Vietnamese Platter" of fresh julienned vegetables wrapped in rice paper with some lai fun (laksa noodles) and a "fragrant" belacan and chili padi sauce. Although a spring roll of sorts, it reminded me of our sour laksa, probably because of the noodles, mint and belacan.

After that we had various dishes with rice: a tender fatty pork braised in coconut water, prawns with lemongrass and chilli (similar to prawn sambal but lighter); fried bitter gourd, and a "Chicken Pie". This was followed by a sweet home-made cinnamon ice cream with their famous apple pie, redolent with a light springkling of cinnamon powder.

All in all, an interesting and wonderful afternoon.