Reviews & Press : : Helen Ong's Great Dining in Penang

The Star, 24 April 2008

Guide to top eateries

PENANG may be famous for its hawker food but there are also good restaurants as well.

Freelance writer and food reviewer Helen Ong has come up with a book to show that the island has many more culinary delights to offer apart from hawker food.

The book Guide to Great Dining in Penang was launched by Penang Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Danny Law at Rasa Sayang Resort on Tuesday.

Law said Tourism Penang was proud to have co-sponsored the book as it would support the state’s burgeoning restaurant industry.

Culinary delights: Ong showing her book "Great Dining in Penang".

“I know that many people are like me, tending to stick to tried-and-tested places. So this book is most welcomed, as it gives infor-mation about an outlet before we even step into it,” said Law who described the book, which features over 70 outlets in Penang, as an informative guide for locals and visitors.

Said Ong: “The idea of Great Dining started when people started asking me where to go for something other than laksa or char kuey teow; where they could go for good western food; or which outlet was big enough to host a large party.

“This book has been put together to not just answer those questions but also give other useful information about eating out in Penang.

“One man’s meat can indeed be another man’s poison, so deciding what’s good and what’s not is really down to individual taste.”

Ong said the guide, which was her first book, was endorsed by the Penang Chapter of the Chefs Association of Malaysia.

It will be updated regularly and the next issue will be out in 2010, she added.

For more information, visit www.great-dining.net.