Four Points by Sheraton Penang – Tanjung Bungah: Days of beautiful sea, beach runs, Penang Hill hikes, burgers, food and shopping

When I was back in Penang earlier last month to witness the launch of the new Sheraton Four Points Penang, I was amazed by the change on this “other side” of town. My earlier visits this year has primarily been limited to the city centre, and the transformation on the road from Island Plaza to Sheraton Four Points Penang had me staring open-mouthed as the hotel shuttle drove past.

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RAMEN BURGER – Javries Restaurant Gurney Paragon, Penang

This is not the first ramen burger I have tasted in Malaysia; my first being the ones by myBurgerlab who unfortunately decided not to make it permanent on their menu as the texture of the ramen wasn’t to their liking.

This would be the first commercially available ramen burger that I have tried and thankfully it wasn’t entirely a disaster.

Javries Restaurant at Gurney Paragon is actually more of a pizzeria. The below are basically the options for the Ramen Burger here. I took a beef and a chicken for comparison sake.

ramen burger penang - menu
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Penang Char Koay Teow – Jalan Johor Hawker Centre (near Convent Dato Keramat )

On my previous Penang trip, I attempted a char koay teow feat of eating char koay teow from 10 different stalls. All of these were recommendations from people who are living in Penang, or  those who were from Penang and had migrated to KL.
All of these recommendations came from my FB status where I asked my friends for their favourite Penang Char Koay Teow stall.
I’m a Penangite yes, born and bred but I have left the state for almost a decade. I can’t say I know the island very well anymore. In fact being a Penangite means I have my favorites, and it also means I have always stuck to my favorites instead of going around to try the char koay teow from other stalls.

Penang Jalan Johor Char kuey teow - charcoal and duck egg
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Tourism Malaysia – Majlis Rumah Terbuka Riang-Ria Adilfitri – Ipoh and Penang

Selamat Hari Raya! 😀
Yes, it’s a month long celebration. And it’s not over as yet!
Just last week I joined the team from Tourism Malaysia for a wonderful celebration with the local people of Perak and Penang. The recently appointed Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Moha­med Nazri Aziz was present at both open houses. Throngs of people came and there were cultural performances, plenty of fabulous local cuisine and entertainment the whole evening.

Location: Padang Rengas, Perak.
Datuk Seri Moha­med Nazri Aziz (in white), Tourism and Culture Minister.

Malaysia Tourism - Majlis Rumah Terbuka Riang-Ria Adilfitri - Ipoh & Penang-004
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Good Penang Food in KL – Penang One Puchong

You have met Rainier HERE, or if you haven’t, Rainier is a good friend of mine who is currently residing in Singapore. When I was in Singapore, I couldn’t have asked for a better host. He secured the booking for my L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon dinner and lunch at Jaan. He took time to explain & helped me understand the dishes at both places. That certainly aided me a lot in my reviews. So when he was in town recently, I had to make certain that he had a good time too.

I remembered he saying that he liked Penang food, knowing that I’m a Penangite myself. There’s plenty of places selling Penang food in KL, but since he wanted to have a whole lot of them instead of just one or two dishes that originates from Penang, I brought him to Penang One, a restaurant in Puchong where you can actually get your authentic Penang food fix under one roof.

Good Penang Food in KL - Penang One Puchong
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Penang with Chef Michael Han – Hennessy X.O Appreciation Grows Gastronomy Dinner

Barely 48 hours after 6 days of driving over 1500km for the Malaysia Tourism Hunt 2012, I threw out my stinky tees from the very same luggage bag, threw in a gold dress and was whisked to the Pearl of the Orient for a night of luxury; a night where the golden elixir of Hennessy flow continuously and the humble hawker food of Penang Island were given a new interpretation.
I was told to expect Penang fare, but deconstructed and matched with cognac. If that didn’t set my digestive fluids into overdrive, I’m not sure what else will.

Penang with Chef Michael Han - Hennessy X.O Appreciation dinner-013

What is exactly is deconstructed food?
In simple terms it means taking apart a dish or an ingredient, separating the individual components and in the process producing a new usage/dish. The components should be recognizable by themselves but when eaten together should bring about the idea of the original dish – meaning still recognizable in taste; whether it resembles the original version in appearance or otherwise.

I learnt this from my stint at the Singapore’s World Gourmet Summit 2012 from Chef Andre Chiang and Chef Dani Garcia.

Below: Chef Andre deconstructing his lemon.

Citibank Gastronomic Jam Session 2012 (20)

And here’s Chef Andre Chiang’s final deconstructed lemon – all parts of the original were used and “put back together“. The gelatin skin for the “lemon” was made from the original lemon rind, the pulp within was made from the original lemon pulp. Trust me, it was mind-f***  mind-blowing and I barely blinked throughout the demo.
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Chef Michael Han – Hennessy X.O Appreciation Grows Gastronomy 2012

September is a good month! 🙂
I just got back from meeting some amazing chefs in the World Gourmet Festival 2012 in Bangkok, had a lovely meet & interview session with Sharone Hakman of the Master Chef US, will be tasting the menu for this year’s Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 2012 Gala Launch tonight and tomorrow I’m flying off to Penang; my hometown to meet and savour Penang deconstructed dishes (hhmmm wonder how the reinterpretation of Penang laksa will look and taste like!) by Celebrity Chef Michael Han.

Chef Michael Han
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