Wong (left) and Su are the chefs behind a brand-new self-funded initiative to show regional journalists and editors the best foods that Penang has to offer.
Sometime this year, two chefs came up with an idea to drive gastro-tourism to the northern Malaysian state of Penang, long regarded as one of the world’s best food destinations.
They realised there was huge untapped potential – in terms of both local tourists as well as the drove of regional tourists from Singapore, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea.
It is no coincidence that the two chefs concerned – Su Kim Hock of Penang’s Michelin-starred Au Jardin – and Johnson Wong of the Michelin Selected Gen in Penang – are also arguably two of Penang’s most well-known chefs.
Su is a Penang boy through and through – he was born in Kedah (his father was working there at the time), but the family later moved back to Penang when Su was a child. His parents and grandparents are all Penangites and Su himself still lives here with his wife and children.
His popularity throughout the island is evident – everywhere he goes, people stop to chat with him – friends, neighbours, and schoolmates. Everyone knows Su and perhaps more pertinently, everyone likes him.
Wong, meanwhile, is an outlier who moved to Penang a decade ago from Johor. Ten years later, it is clear that he loves Penang and considers it his home (his family is now based here).
Over the years, Su and Wong became good friends. They both share a love of Penang and aspirations for it to be a must-visit culinary destination. But to get to that point, they realised they needed to nudge people in the right direction.
So this year, they pooled together their financial resources, roped in a few collaborators and started inviting select journalists and editors throughout the region – especially from countries with burgeoning tourism like China – on food trips to Penang.
Their goal is for more information to be disseminated about Penang’s food landscape and for readers in different regions to be able to truly see the richness of Penang’s culinary scene and to understand the culture and nuance behind each meal.
Important to note is that this is their own initiative and the entire project is entirely self-funded, except for the involvement of key collaborators like 88 Armenian, a gorgeous six-room boutique hotel on George Town’s Armenian Street – that hosts the journalists’ stays.
“We started inviting key people recommended through word-of-mouth this year, so we’ve been running these trips this whole year. We are targeting regional media that are able to come to Penang on a direct flight.
“Why did we start doing it? Because we believe that if we can do it, we should do it. There’s no harm in being the first batch of people doing something like this,” says the hilarious Wong.
Su takes journalists to eat street foods and restaurant dishes that he himself likes, like this duck meat koay teow th’ng.
Both Wong and Su had themselves been on numerous trips overseas where they had seen how integral chefs were to a curated culinary experience.
“That’s why we want to take people to places we think are good. And that encompasses everything – our itinerary includes street foods, Peranakan restaurants, kuih spots and our own restaurants (to showcase progressive Malaysian cuisine),” says Su.
In many ways, Su and Wong are exactly the kind of people who can build itineraries like this and help disseminate information about Penang’s food scene. After all, who better to tell you where to eat than a chef?
Throughout these trips, Su and Wong keep things real – they reveal the history and cultural nuances behind the meals, why a certain place is thriving and why they think some dishes are one-of-a-kind.
Su and Wong’s goal is to highlight the rich diversity of Penang’s culinary scene, covering everything from street food to their own high-end Malaysian-driven restaurants. — Photos: ABIRAMI DURAI/The Star
It’s million-dollar insight – the kind you would pay to experience, because it’s so real and authentic. Ultimately, it’s basically the equivalent of watching a documentary on Penang food, starring Su and Wong in leading roles.
“I think the difference in us doing this versus tour guides is that we come in from the perspective that food upgrades culture. And of course, we make it more interesting.
“And whatever we do, it’s not transactional. We’re not doing it for money – we just curate these experiences based on what we feel is the best Penang has to offer,” says Su.
But putting this together is no mean feat and Su and Wong say they are already fast running out of money.
Their hope now is to show what they’ve been able to achieve to government-led tourism bodies and get enough funding to be able to continue running this project.
“Hopefully we can try and show the tourism world what we’re capable of. Because if no one’s funding it – we cannot continue because we’re running out of money and the funds have to come from somewhere. So we really hope the government agencies will consider our proposal,” says Su.
