I'm proud to announce that the VisitPenang website, of which I am the official foodie as mentioned in a previous post, was launched by none other than the Chief Minister himself Lim Guan Eng at the trendy G Hotel in Penang's Gurney Drive today.

It was a relatively swift event, with a fairly amusing speech by the CM, some of it touching upon the fact that, sometimes, new initiatives are criticised, meaning the Tiger Park that was announced recently. He went on to say that as these tigers had been bred in captivity, it was better to allow them to roam freely in a safe environment rather than be caged ... and said to the audience, "Of course YOU haven't been caged ..."

(Pause for dramatic effect)

"I have!"

That led to a rousing response from the audience - he was of course referring to his own incarceration not that long ago - ... "and it's not fun!"

After a short "BANG" to release confetti and some photo sessions, the CM and YB Danny Law went off for the press conference.

We the hoi polloi were left to mingle and chat amongst ourselves and partake of some "light refreshments" provided by the hotel. As Eddy Low, Chairman of ATAP (Association of Tourist Attractions of Penang) said, "I love their cheesecake here."

Me? I left to have a bite with a couple of mates - more of that later.

Not Worth it to the Power of Three (Cubing)

Whilst I was in KL a distant (but close) cousin kindly took pity on her country bumkin of a cuz and treated me to a lunch at Jaya One. We were going for Thai but unfortunately they were shut (sigh) so we decided to try Cubes, a Chinese, which boasted "Best London Duck" or words to that effect.

Situated on the first floor, its interior is quite a pleasant, nothing to shout about. However, they saw my cousin coming from afar, and recommended some quite expensive dishes and far too much of it, considering there were only three of us lunching.

We started with some jiu hoo (cuttlefish) which had been grilled till crispy then tossed with some veg - tasty but it would have been difficult to go wrong. Then we had to have their duck in pancakes, which was OK but there could have been more sauce and, having lived in London before, I didn't think they lived up to their motto. The Belly of Pork with Mui Chai was not bad (I know, I know, it's bad for you but only once in a while lah!) and some fried lotus roots in veg.

However they had also recommended steamed cod - and for the THREE of us they chose to serve us TWO large pieces when one, especially with the other dishes, would have sufficed. And it cost an astronomical RM88. That, I feel, was not on, especially when the fish, although very fresh, was bland and virtually tasteless. However being typically Chinese, we cannot stand seeing food go to waste, especially at that price, so we forced ourselves to finish most of it off. When we made a point of telling them they took away the remainder to "try" but still charged us anyway. For all that plus 3 glasses of water and a bowl of rice the total bill came to nearly RM200. They did however deign to give us some complimentary fruit for afters ... call me KS (kiam siap, kiasu .. whichever you like) but personally, I didn't feel it was worth it. I think it's one place I'll skip next time round.

Whew! Wot a weekend. First of all there was the drive down to KL on Saturday - the motorway was rather busy, I guess with all the southerners heading back after the school holidays. As usual there were the road crazies who drive as though they are the only ones on the road. Luckily there were no mishaps, and the traffic into KL was quite free-flowing.

That evening we had my father's 86th birthday dinner at the Jaya Palace in PJ. It was a small gathering, with close family (including M my older bro) and two of his oldest friends. Uncle Paul, his ex-boss, was, at the ripe old age of 92 still incredibly hale and hearty, and so with-it that he put us all to shame! He was the only one with the right to call my father "young man" ... I think Dad found it quite strange, as he's usually the oldest in the group!

We had a private room, but because there was a wedding on at the same time, it took quite a long time for the food to be served. We started at 8 and didn't leave till past midnight! Dishes included Braised Lamb (quite tender), Australian snow crab (only available at certain times of the year) cooked in two different ways (fried in chilli and steamed - the latter was much more appetising) and birthday noodles. All was tasty enough but not outstanding.

Highlight of the evening was when they switched off the lights and brought in his birthday cake together with the steamed peach buns to celebrate the occasion. Dad was quite touched - every year is more precious, and I know I'm very lucky to have both parents still with me.

Here's to many more, Dad!

Greetings. It's been a while, but things have been a bit hectic, although I haven't done that much except write, write and write.

Yesterday was a particularly busy day, starting with a trip to town to do all the chores I'd been putting off. It included a trip to the Star office, and whilst I was there I thought I would pop by Little India and see what little treasures I could come up with.

I realised I should go there more often. Firstly, there's the entire separate subject of our bowels, and the fact that there you can get the cheapest psillium husk in town - about RM11 for a 400g pack. This stuff is fantastic ... talk about regular! But enough of that.

For a while now I've been thinking of adding to my current Magimix Food Processor, which although a professional chef's machine and cost an absolute arm and a leg isn't that brilliant when it comes to blending or making the sort of rempah (paste) that is required for our kind of cooking. Not that I cook that much, you might add and of course you're right. However, it's always a nice to have, and I have been known to do a mean Assam Laksa ...

Anyway I also read somewhere that if you want a good, energising breakfast that isn't too rich in calories (bang goes my Nasi Lemak and Hokkien Mee) then a power drink is great: put together a banana and whatever fruit is available, some cereal (muesli is good), semi-skimmed milk and blend then drink. HOWEVER the important thing is the thought of doing it first thing in the morning is a bit off-putting, so the hint is to prepare the container THE NIGHT BEFORE, then all you do is reach into the fridge (a spare pair of sunglasses strategically placed nearby will help, particularly if it's been a heavy night), pour in the milk and give it a blast.

Anyway I'd been looking for one for a while and finally decided on a PREMIER machine (apparently the Indian equivalent of PRESTIGE) - in Little India they cost just RM190-RM250, with THREE different-sized containers and spare blades. No more excuses. You'll see a trimmer, fitter, slimmer Helen Ong from now on. ... well, at least that's the plan!

I also bought myself a set of SIX stainless steel pots with lids and copper bottoms (good conduction) for just RM80 - they would have cost at least twice that in an upmarket shopping mall.

HOWEVER I've not used anything yet - no time - so the jury is still out. Watch this space, although it won't be till next week as I am off to KL shortly to celebrate my father's 86th birthday.

Going Bananas

I've just had a quick business cum catch-up lunch with my good friend at the Parkroyal Resort in Batu Ferringhi.

I love the place - it's one of the hotels we used to enjoy staying at when we came back on hols from UK, before we moved here permanently. The colourful well-maintained grounds with the lovely palms, bougainvillia bushes and frangipanni trees are just gorgeous, the blue seas in the near horizon a beautiful backdrop to the large, clean pool, and the staff are friendly and attentive without being overfamiliar or too subservient. My boys used to adore the kids' club, and it was somewhere I was quite happy to leave them whilst I went gallivanting in town.

Cool Bananas itself is a more funky, casual eatery with inside and outside seating - under the fan outside allows you the best of both worlds, as the view is unbeatable.

The food? A good mix of east and west, and one of my favourite Vietnamese Beef Noodles in town - delish with a bunch of fresh Thai Basil and big teaspoonful of chili padi in soya sauce. However today I chose to be good (a gal's gotta watch her figure ... what figure you may ask) so opted for the Rocket with Grilled Chicken instead. Verdict? Tasty enough, but rather expensive for what it was (RM38++), although I love the taste of the nutty fresh green leaves. (This pix is of the "usual" Rocket with Prawns - I changed it to chicken.)

The Haagan Dazs Coffee Ice Cream with Chocolate Fudge Cake made up for it though!

NEGATIVELY POSITIVE .. or is it the other way round?

I've just finished 3 days as a judge at the Penang Battle of the Chefs. Wonderful experience, although sad to say as a very junior judge I didn't really do that much. But more about that to come.

Today I wanted to respond to some comments I've been getting from various parties about the poor food served at some places I've recommended.

Firstly, thank you for even reading my articles, let alone taking the trouble to visit the places I've written about. Any writer will tell you that we are all basically insecure.

Secondly, please let me explain that I do TWO types of articles: paid-for advertorials (Star Metro North) and others. As far as the former is concerned, they are not recommendations per se, so I cannot write my true opinion. HOWEVER regular readers read between the lines, and know that I will not rave about something if it's not good. I consider it my job just to tell you the place exists. Having said that I always try to let the proprietor know if I don't think it's up to scratch. Whether they choose to do something about it is their prerogative: generally they will try and improve, but you'll be surprised at the number who think they know best and refuse to change their recipe/taste/menu etc.

The other category is in my blog like what you are reading now and my fortnightly column in Star Sunday Metro. Here, nobody pays for any write-up, and it is where I have the leeway to write, although if truth be told I can still not be too frank as it could mean whether a place survives or not. And like I always say, Penang is a small place. I want to be welcomed when I visit an establishment, not have the door slammed in my face or, it doesn't bear thinking about, worse!

On top of that readers should understand that when I do a formal food review it is not incognito, and therefore the food is/should be the best they can come up with. And although admittedly they should not drop their standards for paying clients, sometimes, unfortunately, they do. C'est la vie - that's life.

I hope this clarifies the position, but as Star Metro North have now decided in their wisdom to use inhouse reporters to do their food reviews anyway, I am no longer obliged to always provide positive feedback on the establishments I visit - so be warned! I may now sharpen my claws ... !!

Thai Takes

IT'S NOT THAT we haven't anything better to do, but a group of friends got together and decided to make a quick overnight trip to Haadjai - what else can a foodie do but agree to join them. Thai food is, after all, my absolute favourite cuisine.

After what seemed like forever (it's fun, but much slower, with a large group) we finally checked into the hotel and were out again to have our first Thai meal of the year at "59", a Thai-Teochew restaurant in town.

They suggested "less spicy" food for us "foreigners" but we soon put them right ... "No lah! Must be THAI ... just a bit less chilli!". Ya we chickened out slightly. However the food was really quite good. We had Steamed Fish Thai Style with the green sour chilli paste (mmm just thinking about it made me salivate); claypot prawns and glass noodles; taukua with leeks, and braised trotters. The only slight disappointment was the Belacan Kang Kong - ours is much better in Penang.

A friend who has Thai blood was a bit disappointed as she was expecting THAI Thai food, not Teochew Thai food. However, I think there is very little distinction between the two: they just eat it much hotter, but the food is very similar. And considering there were 11 of us and 4 bottles of beer had been consumed together with sugar cane water (their speciality), the bill of about 2000 baht (approx RM200) was very reasonable.

That evening, we went to a seafood place: much too much food; slightly cheaper but not as good I felt. The fried rice was very disappointing (no "wok hei"), and the chilli crab didn't have much aroma although the seafood was fresh.

On the way back we stopped at the border for a quick lunch: fried rice, mee and bee hoon. Again, not really bril. I think they are good for some things (their sour and spicy dishes) but we knock the socks off them for others.

Still, overall, I can't wait to go back for another Thai Take!