BADMINTON STAR TURNS 80

THIS IS IN DANGER OF BECOMING A "Society" rather than food blog, but hey, at least it's free! That's cos only two nights ago we were one of the chosen few ... actually there must have been nigh on 500 people there that night ... to attend Dato' Eddie Choong's 80th birthday party at Jade Palace in Abu Siti Lane.

It was indeed a grand celebration indeed, with no less than the Chief Minister himself attending with his wife Betty Chew. Dato' Eddy (I call him DDE for short - Dear Dato Eddie) was in fine form, and for an 80 year old, incredibly fit and VERY with it - he can joke, eat and talk better than most younger people I meet, and definitely drink them under the table! Yes, our very own Badminton Grand Master is the bee's knees.

Anyone who was anyone was there - all the datos and datins, dato seris and datin seris, dato and datin wannabes, other former badminton champs from yesteryear, bankers and restaurateurs, society folk; even a humble old food writer like me had been invited ... and a lot of press. Poor old CM; he can't even go anywhere private although this occasion really wasn't supposed to be one because even Astro had been invited!

He also took the opportunity to launch his autobiography "Dato Eddy Choong Talk About History", which was being sold to raise money for charity. It's in Chinese translated into English which rather meant the wording was a bit strange, but it's in aid of a good cause and good of him to donate all the proceeds, and a wonderful way to capture history.

He is, after all, one of Penang's greats. There're some good black and white pics of him in action from before.

The food, considering how many people there were, was acceptable. One can only appreciate the mayhem that was going on behind the scenes in the kitchen; it must have been controlled chaos. Unfortunately the band was a little bit too loud; as the ceiling is very low there was a lot of resonance and it was sometimes ear-splitting. Old friend Marlene Fox rendered her usual "Yue Liang Tai Piao Wo Di Xin" which I must say she does very well for a Mat Salleh.

Dato Eddy gave his speech quite early on in the dinner, followed by the CM who was his usual energetic self - he spotted me in the crowd and told me that he has already written the preface to Great Dining in Penang 2 which is great news - and after a couple of courses they left, to great fanfare.

It was a great do, and they put a lot of effort into it; the but when the evening descends into karaoke you know it's time to leave so with that we sloped off quietly as Dato Eddy was still doing his rounds YUM SENGing with everyone else.

Happy Birthday DDE, and many more to come!

CHOO of the SHOE(S)

IT WAS AN EVENING TO BE SAVOURED AND DINED OUT ON FOR THE NEXT FEW weeks. I had been invited, along with, as would be expected, a load of other media to meet Tourism Malaysia's new ambassador to Old Blighty: shoemaker to the stars DATO' JIMMY CHOO.

It was his inaugural visit here in his official capacity, and on a whistle-stop tour to Penang introducing key members of the UK press to Malaysia. On his rather short 3-night stay here in he was staying at, where else, his favourite when he is here - the swanky Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa in Batu Ferringhi, and the hotel had laid on the evening to introduce him. It was an exalted evening as no less than the Chief Minister himself was there, with his wife Betty Chew, to meet him as well as Ms Ooi, the new General Manager of Penang Global Tourism.

Chef Adam Roy cooked up his usual FG specialities: a starter combining the best of their appetisers including grilled duck liver and pizette, and a Grillin' n Chillin' from land and sea: smoked lamb, double-smoked beef short rib and my favourite the smooth and delicious black cod, finished off with "Death by Chocolate" ... mmmm

It was interesting to meet the Dato, who was there with his Hong Kong wife. Very suave and sophisticated, and quite chatty, which would imply that Tourism have appointed the right person for the job! Hopefully, he will promote not just Malaysia but PENANG, as he is a Penangite from Hutton Lane.

I was lucky enough to have a 15-minute tete-a-tete with him after the meal, to ask him about his favourite ... er ... what else did you expect me to talk to him about but FOOD, which I shall be writing about in Star Sunday Metro. He did say that his all-time favourite is Kuey Teow T'ng.

For a change, the CM stepped aside whilst Dato Jimmy presented the Rasa Sayang with their "World Travel Awards" "Malaysia's leading spa resort to resident manager Christian Nannucci.