An Evening of Pure Indulgence…

Tucked behind the façade of a private bungalow, Indulgence is unassuming from the outside and makes no bones of itself on the inside.  Upon stepping into its wide doors, you are greeted by a glass refrigerator filled with elegant cheeses and desserts: none too fancy though, just the core classics, beckoning your attention without selling itself.  There was no irony, no false charm, only a loose ambience and a seriousness of food you’d come to appreciate.

The owner and head chef Julie Song glided out of her kitchen, welcomed our company, and then glided right back in.  We were in her charge for the night, she smiled, and then started us off with the Hiramasa King Fish Sashimi.  Delicate to the palate with its subtle blend of garlic, lime and cauliflower sauce, the fish felt like a firm tuna at first bite, and then endedgracefully into soft flakes that melt in the mouth.  There was no edge to the taste, no room for doubt.  At one point we debated if it was actually raw – it was.

The Tasmanian Salmon, with oven-dried tomatoes and caramelized onions,on the other hand, tasted slightly heavier.  I found the light toss of honey mustard and mint to be a little overpowering, although my dining companion enjoyed the zing of mint that lingered after the last chew.

Julie’s FoieGras, served with potatoes, spinach, nuts and finished with pepper froth, literally melted in my mouth upon taste.  The flavor of duck was strong but doesn’t linger– just the way I liked it.

Seafood seemed to be the highlight tonight, and I had no beef about that.   When the fresh Tomamo to oysters came up, I was bowed over with excitement.  The four fresh raw shellfish had different garnishes and toppings: sea urchin butter and nasturtium flower, pistachio and sesame with avocado, oven dried tomatoes, and finally olive and salsa.  Without a doubt the olive salsa shell was the first one I reached for, being one who lives for spice on my plate.  As the only one at the table who could stomach raw oysters, I washed down all four of them with slippery gusto.  These oysters were fresh and a tad raw with a strong back kick to the palate, but it was nothing a dash of lemon and Tabasco sauce couldn’t fix.

The next dish – Australian Littleneck clams steeped in white wine and tossed with chili angel hair pasta – would be one of my favourites.  It was practical but still full of charm, and was one of those dishes that you yearningly polish off down to the last bite.  These imported clams were just a tad larger and rounder on the edges compared to the local ones, but most definitely sweeter and more tender.  The garlic white wine sauce takes on the texture and flavour of a soup, so what you get is a delightful orchestra of clam, pasta and soup, each playing their own chords within the symphony.

Julie then showed us how the Hiramasa we sampled for appetizer could turn into its own main – baked and topped with champagne grapes, buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil.  The cooked version featured heavier flavour and a more sizeable chunk, but I preferred the firm raw texture of the fish uncooked.

For a firmer bite Julie whipped up a dish of Lamb Ribs.   Simply marinated with salt and pepper and then delicately grilled to medium, its flavour surpassed the dish’s simple ingredients. With a colour palate of light pink darkening into a deeper shade towards the center, the meat looked and tasted tender.  There are little-explored virtues in simplicity, and Indulgence repeatedly emphasizes this – with noted subtlety.  Admittedly I am not a lamb regular, but I was quick to convert; this dish would be the perfect mid-weight fare if you were thinking about room for dessert. 

For dessert, we started with the Chocolate Fondant with Chocolate Sauce, which was thick, creamy, and without a flaw.  It was the dish you knew you wouldn’t go wrong with.  We also tried the Fresh Turkish Figs that were glazed with sugar and topped with vanilla ice cream.  Dress with blood orange sauce, this was a less sweet and less rich treat, but still oozing with flavour.  My favourite that night was the Mango and Passion fruit Soufflé accompanied by lime and coconut ice cream, simply because the taste was so straightforward and was quite like nothing I have ever had before. 

At the end of the dinner spread, I felt as if every corner of my taste bud has been teased and fulfilled.  This was indulging with barely any gluttony. The pit of my stomach gurgles approvingly as Julie invites us for a cuppa coffee.

By: Grace Liew

Tasty-licious @ HRC Penang

There are, broadly, 2 kinds of eating: stuff yourself like a Christmas stocking, or dainty nibbles at cute cutlets.  Either way, we await the pleasure of a warm gurgle at the pit of our stomachs after every meal. Hard Rock Café Penang certainly seems dedicated to this end goal.  ‘Generous’ would be a modest word to describe their portions; four of us did little damage to our appetizer of nachos, and the side dish of mac and cheese stared back at us with a silent fury.


The standard American fare favors portion over flavor, and makes eating an endeavor of bravado.  Without a doubt I was never a fan of such dining.  Hard Rock Café Penang’s menu parades an array of American dishes – so what prompted my interest to even set foot in the place?  It was easy: American fare also tend to serve up a good slab of steak, at least in my experience.  I haven’t had red meat for a while, so I knew exactly what I wanted.    


To start, the Hard Rock Nachos came highly recommended, and it did not disappoint – if you could eat it fast enough.  The fresh corn tortilla chips, buried under a mountain of Jack and Cheddar cheeses, are addictive to the last crunch.  The spread was big enough to appetize four people, and the salsa was so fresh I could still hear the swishing of a knife slicing through the tomatoes as I sink my overflowing nacho into the dip.  A hotter version of the salsa doesn’t exist yet, but I am bating my breath for it and will continue to shamelessly pester for it.   It was a shame to bid goodbye to the still half-full plate of nachos as it sinks under the cold heavy cheese – we were ready to move on to the mains.

My medium-rare New York strip steak arrived with a chunk of butter sitting at the top – melting rapidly – beckoning.  I vacillate between rare and medium-rare for my steaks, and medium-rare for this strip steak was the perfect cook.  The strip steak is a cut right next to the tenderloin, comparable in tenderness with the tenderloin, with a fuller bite.  It is also leaner, but still succulent to sink your teeth into.  Because of its own complex flavour, strip steaks are best grilled and paired as simply as possible, and marinades and sauces are kept to a minimum. 




The steak was almost perfect.  Its flesh was tender and squished ever so slightly every time I sunk my knife into it, revealing a shade of pink light as a girl’s fading flush.  Although the smokiness from the grill lingered a little longer than I would have liked, the satisfying chew more than made up for it.  I was pleased to dig into the simple sides of fresh vegetables and mashed potatoes, which went with the steak seamlessly. 

Another signature dish on the menu is the Legendary 10-oz burger Facing with a tower of a 10-oz patty topped with strips of bacon, cheddar, an onion ring, lettuce and pickles, one might wonder how best to eat this.  After a brief stare-down, we went the fork and knife way in an effort to invoke a sense of class.  With a burger.  Also done medium rare, the patty is tender and thick. While we found that the onion ring did little to the symphony of patty-lettuce-pickles-cheese (in the end we just picked up what’s left of it and ate it on its own), the bacon strips blended gloriously.  The somewhat tight grind of the patty gave out juices sparingly, which in the same instant seeped into the bacon and created a fine concoction of flavor in the mouth.  At the same time, though, I wished the patty would flood up more at each bite.  Towards the middle, we put away our fork and knife (neatly), and started picking the burger apart with our fingers.  A highly recommended way to finish. 

While the side of mac and cheese met expectations, there simply wasn’t enough room for sides.   And as expected, halfway through my main I was hit with the realization that there was absolutely no more room for dessert.  But being troopers, we forged on and got mini versions of the Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae anyway, upon (little-needed) insistence of the manager, and needless to say, this was the one dish that everyone cleaned through with licks and smacks.

Another thing worth noting is the Hard Rock cocktail menu.   It was fun choosing from the crazy variety and then wrangling with the waiters on what best to order.  If you are adventurous enough, flag over the restaurant and bar manager Ah Beng and he would be more than delighted to have you road taste his funky concoctions.   Which he might or might not name after you.  At Hard Rock, experiments tend to be more hits than misses, but playing it safe can also satisfy more than you expect.




By: Grace Liew

Music, Body & Soul

There’s no place like Hard Rock Hotel when it comes to bringing out everyone’s inner rock star. Lucky for us, that’s what’s going on in Penang. The Hard Rock Hotel Penang is not just a hotel with breathtaking beach frontage. Nor is it just another hangout for party people who need a good fix. Oh no, this is a whole new level of noise.

You know the feeling when you step into a mall and you go, “Oh I have SO many things to do”? That’s exactly what you feel stepping into the posh lobby of Hard Rock Hotel Penang. Don’t get me wrong, by no means are the couches intimidating (they are pretty comfy, to be honest). But hovering crystal lights? Check. Hotel greeters with genuinely warm congeniality? Check. Awesome music played all day? Check. Biggest free-form pool in Penang? Check. Abundant beach activities? Check.
And did I mention the check-in counter that doubles up as a bar?

For those who are fortunate enough to have experienced the style of Hard Rock Hotel elsewhere, you will be delighted to know that the essence of Hard Rock can still be found in every corner of this relatively new hotel. For the ones who are itching to see what the hype is about? Let us spin it for you real quick.

Aiming to be the most sought-after vacation stay in Penang, it is not difficult to see how much Hard Rock Hotel has to offer Malaysia and its visitors. For die hard music fans, there are more than 500 pieces of authentic rock n’ roll memorabilia adorning the walls of Hard Rock Hotel and the Hard Rock Café (which is conveniently located next door but we’ll get to that). These collections are also showcased through the ‘E-wall’ comprising of 8 screens located in the lobby.  Want to get your hands on these babies? There’s even a merchandise store located just a few steps away from the hotel lobby.

Now, some might argue that the beaches of Penang are not exactly much to  shout about. But with Hard Rock Hotel right off the shores of Batu Feringgi, there’s certainly an additional 'x-factor' to it. Tourists from all across the world can be seen riding horses along the sandy beaches, trying their hands on jet-skiing and also trying to convince themselves that there’s nothing scary about para-gliding hundreds of meters up in the air. There is not a single dull moment to be experienced from the second you step into the hotel. It makes sleeping seems like a waste of time but thankfully the beds are just as exquisite as everything else you can’t sit on.

The six-storey hotel has 250 tricked out rooms; most of them come with a sea view that will prove to be a pleasure to the eyes every morning. Bedrooms are tastefully furnished and completed with the ‘rock’ element. Rain showers, branded bedding, LCD TVs, wireless broadband internet connection AND an i-Pod dock.  You really have to be there in order to truly indulge your senses in the essence of Hard Rock.

However much there is to do inside the bedroom, the awe doesn’t strike  until you see the gorgeous swimming pool. There’s nothing better than basking in the warm Penang sun and dipping into the coolness of one of the biggest (and perhaps most beautiful) pools in Penang. If you get a Lagoon Deluxe room located on the ground floor, you can even (wait for it) jump into the pool from your very own room deck!


When everything seems too good to be true, nothing is good enough for those who claim that they want nothing but peace of mind. And perhaps the greatest offer from Hard Rock Hotel Penang is that it has something for everyone. This includes the world-class Rock Spa, where you can be pampered in the hands of skilled therapists in  gazebos that are facing the sea. There is really no way for you not to have a great time whilst you’re there.


For all the boys (and girls, yes) oozing with unlimited energy, pack your gym gear and head straight to the pool. The awesome part of it is the pool view, where you can pretty much stare at anyone on the outside as much as they can enjoy looking back at you in your glorious sweatiness whilst working out on the state-of-the-art gym equipment.

No luxurious hotel would be complete without its signature café. For the gastronomically inclined Hard Rock Hotel Penang is paradise with FOUR spots to get your food, including the Starz Diner, The Shack, the amazing Pizzeria and the legendary Hard Rock Café.


With great food, music and everything you need in a kick-a** place to stay , Hard Rock Hotel Penang is bringing Penang to new heights with its authentic Hard Rock experience. This hip and trendy hotel is definitely the place to go if you need to unwind and have a good time. Don’t miss out on some of their fantastic holiday packages which can be found on their website.

Are you ready to ROCK and ROLL ??


By: Kevin Chong