Event: Hennessy Artistry 2013 (Penang)

Party goers will be delighted to see that the date for the Hennessy Artistry party in Penang has now been announced.  25 May 2013.  Surely a date for the diary 'Artistry' 2013 will doubtless be as good as it gets, featuring top artists, great music and of course - Hennessy!!  This year the event will be held at the SPICE Arena (formerly known as PISA) which I am sure will be a great venue.

As ever, as soon as more details are available they will be published here including information on the artists and how you might be able to obtain tickets.  You can also keep a watch on the Hennessy Page and the specific 'Artistry' link for details of the event and how you can score tickets.  Keep a watch too for promotions through Penang's top night-spots featuring ticket offers.

Roll on May 25th!!!!

NB: Further details about Artistry Penang 2013 can be found here.

Event: Amour Fashion Show - Penang

Penang recently hosted the 'Amour Fashion Show' with 6 shows in total spanning, two days.  The event was held at the '1st Avenue Mall' in Georgetown and was arranged by my good chums at Iconic Model Managament, in conjunction with First Avenue and the designers.  The event featured the top models from the Amber Chia Academy from both Penang and KL, both guys and gals, and was extremely well organised and run.

It was great to see (and shoot) a well thought out, designed and perfectly lit catwalk / runway.  In a move away from the traditional pre-selected soundtracks Iconic also once again used a local DJ, my good buddy DJ Chan who spins regularly at the ever popular Cuvee and Slippery Senoritas night clubs.  The models were billed as the best and they certainly were!!  One of the girls featured was my lovely friend Jane See.  Jane always does a great show and her superb figure is paired with a great personality.

Another friend, Sofia Yeng, also featured in the line up.

What was really great though was meeting and shooting five fantastic models that I have not shot before.  First up was Gwen Chin, based in KL......  Very graceful and elegant and with a classic beauty that makes her highly photogenic.

Another KL based girl, and one of my show favourites, Angelina Tong.  Her runway style and posing really are superb, her figure and stunning looks all adding up to a really superb model.

Briefly returning to Penang and we have another of my show favourites, Jinju Koid.  A stellar performance from Jinju as well, to such an extent it was really hard to decide which of her shots not to keep.  Grace, poise, elegance and outstandingly attractive, Jinju would look great in anything!

Back again to KL for the final two 'discoveries' who delivered 'wow' performances, again ending up as firm show favourites, starting with Vier Tan.  Very, very good reason why she was wearing the shortest dresses of the show!!  Vier shares the stunning looks and fantastic figures of her colleagues and once again, has a fantastic personality.

....and finally, Amanda Cheng, whose catwalk and posing was truly captivating.  Amanda's performance was outstanding and she really knows how to turn on the charm, appeal and make the absolute most of the outfits she models, well evidenced by the shrieks of joy from the crowd each time she graced the catwalk.

The event is best covered by pictures rather than words and links to the individual (designer) albums are here:

Esprit

BeBe Butterfly

Cotton On

Hush Puppies

A truly great event and congratulations must go the organisers for their efforts.  The professionalism and style from the models was great to see and arrangements are already in hand to shoot more of the stunning models I had not previously encountered, girls who would not be out of place at Paris, London or Milan Fashion Weeks or indeed gracing the covers of 'Vogue' or 'Mode' magazines.

All of the models can be contacted via Iconic Model Management and / or Amber Chia Academy.

Restaurant: Sky Restaurant (Char Siu) - Chulia Street, Georgetown

Sky Restaurant at Chulia Street

Quite a short post this as it's focussed on one single, but very good, kopitiam style restaurant, based in the 'Sky Hotel' in Chulia Street, Gerogetwown, at its junction with Love Lane.  It's a short post because this particular eatery is renowned for one thing, its excellent 'char siu' (often spelled 'siew'), both pork and duck.

Plates of char siu duck with pork in centre shot.

For those that are not aware 'char siu' is quite simply, roasted duck or pork which has been marinated in a mixture which often combines '5 spice' powder, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sherry or wine, though of course each establishment will have its own unique recipe which will often be a fiercely guarded secret.  It is generally served chopped into slices with a plate of rice with an accompaniment of vegetable (maybe bok choy) along with small dishes of soy and chilli sauce.

Rightly popular, Sky Restaurant gets busy!

You can get this dish all over Penang and it is extremely popular but the reason for posting this is to highlight this particular restaurant which is quite famous here, so much so that, come after about 11am, right up until about 1-2pm and you MAY find it difficult to get a seat.

The dish makes a great lunch if you are in and around Chulia Street and, as with most restaurants of this type, a single 'main' serving will cost around RM 6.  A wide variety of soft drinks are also on offer at about RM 2.

Rainforest Bakery: Chulia St, Georgetown (Top Pick)

I'm quite a bit of a 'foodie' and seem to have switched almost entirely to Asian food since I moved here, but then I always found I switched pretty much exclusively to local food wherever I have lived. Often fresher, better and certainly cheaper.  Every now and then though I do get a craving for things not traditionally associated with Asian cuisine and one such instance is Western style bread (as opposed to the more Asian roti style).

Western style bread is widely available here in Penang but the quality of it varies, much of it sold in supermarkets being too sweet for many Western tastes, and / or not 'dense' enough, lacking in substance.  I have previously written about the bread from Penang Adventist Hospital Bakery (some of which which can also be found at Cold Storage in Island Plaza) and in particular their 'sprouted seed' loaf.  That bread is still a favourite of mine but at times I do find the slices a little on the small side. As such I was always looking for other options, additions rather than a replacement. I have to say that of all the options I have tried the Rainforest Bakery in Chulia Street, Georgetown is by far my favourite and is now pretty much my number one supplier of bread.  Rainforest is situated near the 7-Eleven in Chulia Street, close to its junction with Love Lane.

Rainforest have branches in Taman Desaria and also Taman Mutiara and their shops really bring out the feeling of a traditional bakery.  Nicely decorated and designed, the warm colours and inviting environment provide the perfect combination to linger over the dazzling array of breads, biscuits and cakes.  The Chulia St branch also has a cafe attached so you can grab a coffee while pondering which of the offerings to take home.

Wholemeal Loaf

The breads are very reasonably priced and they produce a full colour double-sided price list, very useful as the bakery even offers a free home delivery service Monday to Saturday with deliveries arriving some time after 2pm.  Orders can be 'phoned through and need to be placed before 12 noon and there is no minimum order.  One of my favourite breads is the 'traditional wholemeal loaf', priced at just RM 3.80 and which is very tasty with large sized thick slices, perfect for a nice filling sandwich or toast.  Other popular breads include 'French Farmhouse', 'Ciabatta', 'English Bloomer', 'French Baguette', 'Sour Dough', 'Croissant' and 'Rustic Onion'.  But there are many, many others, far too numerous to list them all.

Chewy Nut Trail Cookie

Rainforest also produce a wide variety of sweet breads and cakes including 'Chelsea Buns', 'Butter Cake', scones, muffins, brownies and even 'Apple Crumble'.  One of my other favourites are the 'Chewy Nut Trail Cookies', great as a mid-morning snack with a cup of tea.

The useful and informative price list

Rainforest for me is a great bakery, warranting a 'Top Pick' and the free delivery service is a real bonus as getting to and parking in Chulia Street can be a bit of a pain, as a result of which I only tend to go when I need to go for other things.  Rainforest in Penang can be contacted on: +60 4 261 4641.

IndiePG: Day 2

'Beatburns'

Somewhat delayed due to other commitments, here are a few shots from the second and final night of what we hope will be the first of many excellent IndiePG events, held at PenangPAC, Straits Quay.  The second act of the night was the very lively band 'Beatburns' who wowed the crowd with an upbeat and powerful performance that really set the scene for the evening.

Kelvyn Yeang of 'Ocean of Fire'

Another of my favourite performances was from the superb 'Ocean of Fire', featuring my good chum Kelvyn Yeang.  'Ocean' delivered some of the finest guitar music I have heard for a long time and Kelvyn's solos had the crowd mesmerised.  His skills really have to be seen and heard to be believed.

'An Honest Mistake'

'An Honest Mistake' is a fantastic KL based rock band who already have a massive following and with the show they put on it's easy to see why.  Track after track of earth shaking rock delivered with maximum energy throughout again had the crowd going wild.  The atmosphere was electric.

Nick Davis

Final act of the night was the very atmospheric sound of Nick Davis and his band who delivered an outstanding performance of electronic rock with a great light show.

Indie PG really was a superb event and I shall certainly be making a point of watching out for and going to see many of the bands I discovered here, even if it means a trip to KL.  Thanks must go to the organisers and PenangPAC for bringing this event to Penang and I hope there will be more in the future.

A larger album of pictures from the second night can be found on the 'Pick of Penang' Facebook Page here.