Bringing people together for more than 90 years.
Bringing people together for more than 90 years.
You'll enjoy and learn about fine wine, expertly paired
You'll enjoy and learn about fine wine, expertly paired
with elegant food, made from the finest ingredients.
with elegant food, made from the finest ingredients.
All in the company of good friends, both old and new.
All in the company of good friends, both old and new.
Begin your own journey of Wine, Food & Friends!
Begin your own journey of Wine, Food & Friends!
Select your region below and learn more about
Select your region below and learn more about

Branch News

A FRIENDLY WELCOME

Members welcoming visitors from other branches, when on their travels, is a valuable benefit of being an IWFS member. This extensive network of contacts around the world takes some of the 'unknown' away and often means you get the inside track on the best a country has to offer straight away. The Cape Town branch recently introduced John and Mwansa Chitoshi, visiting members from the Melbourne and Lusaka branches, to a local favourite - the renowned Grub & Vine restaurant on Bree Street. The Penang branch members, Venessa Khoo, Loy Tan and Vivien Teoh also kindly welcomed overseas visitors through the IWFS - Susan Low, Editor for the latest IWFS monograph, and her companions. Thank you to our host branches for their friendly welcome.  

 

TRAVEL TIPS FROM PENANG with Susan Low

As any traveller knows, being able to tap into the local culture when you get off the plane in parts unknown can transform a journey – even more so when it comes to discovering the local food and drink.

Back in February I and my husband Guy, a former restaurant critic, and our Luxembourgish friend Anne Faber, a broadcaster and filmmaker who specialises in food, travelled to George Town, Penang, where we spent just over two weeks. We were incredibly grateful to meet with IWFS member Venessa Khoo, who took us under her wing and introduced us to two of the city’s best food markets (there are many), Chowrasta and Cecil Street.

At Chowrasta for breakfast, she introduced us to chee cheong fun – rice-flour rolls that are steamed, sliced and served with a sweet, nutty dipping sauce. This nickname of this dish, Venessa told us, is ‘pig intestine noodles’ – solely because of their appearance (no pork offal is involved). At Cecil Street, we tried a fantastic noodle dish called lam mee, a Nyonya speciality that’s typically served to people on their birthdays. The broth is made with prawn and pork (or chicken) and it’s made with two types of noodle – yellow wheat noodles and rice vermicelli. Breakfast dishes like these put granola to shame.

We soon fell into a pattern of eating several breakfasts, a few lunches and multiple dinners, punctuated by snacks. We also were also very generously treated to an excellent Cantonese-meets-Western lunch at Maple Palace restaurant, owned by IWFS members Loy Tan and Vivien Teoh (Loy Tan is executive chef). We enjoyed course after course of exquisite food, starting with hot and sour soup, including duck-skin pancakes with plum sauce, rare-cooked beef tenderloin, and finishing with mango pudding with pomelo. Exquisite.

Our trip was too short; though we did our best, we only scratched the surface of the city’s incredibly rich food culture. We’re already planning the dishes we want to try next when we return.

Susan Low