I am new at this phenomenon of blogging – forgive my naiveté and my rather clichéd title. But an attitude of gloom begets a reality of doom. And well, I want to correct that, in any small way I can offer.

2008 was actually a good year for the gardens and we managed to accomplish a few notable milestones – small but significant steps.

We’re 5!

November 2003 we opened our gates to Penang Island and beyond. We’re 5 years old now and we know all too well that the next stage means maturity and even more excellence in whatever we do. How can we let our fans down? We must soldier on and take the proverbial OX by it’s horns!

Stephanie & Wee Jin marry at Tropical Spice Garden

Kat pretending to get married...again!

We introduced sea salts in to our Café operations. [Whoppee! You might be thinking] but when you compare the price of cheap sodium chloride (table salt) [can be attained for less than RM1] to the more robustly priced organic sea salt – the move was huge. But in the larger scheme of things- a small sacrifice for good health and good practice for both customer and staff alike. I figured a couple less days on Medical Leave from the staff would be a welcome move not to mention lowering my guilt index in terms of polluting staff meals!

This will in fact augur the move to eco-friendly detergents at the Café in 2009 so that we do away with nasty, soap-spewing washing up liquids being flushed back into our precious eco-system. Again a small chip away at the worlds excesses of pollutants but a small chip nonetheless. In 2009, we will begin to introduce brown rice to all staff meals – we’re serious about keeping healthy.

Who knows, by 2010, solar panels, electric cars and “HIRING VEGANS ONLY” may be our new eco-marketing position!

Retail Range

We were able to able to introduce to our retail range some pretty exciting stuff to stretch our guests pockets ever so slightly further. Most notably, we launched the evergreen, ever loved Citronella range for all those fans out there. I learned one lesson – people are such practical consumers – massage oils – only for the discerning purchaser. Citronella body spray – give me 10!

 We also finally introduced, after much delay, the historical spice map — information that was very much sought after by our guests who fully grasped the significance of history of the spice trade that has shaped global history.

Cakes & Calories

Vijaya, our bubbly Café cook, was ever so pleased that she was able to pick up some new skills in cake making last year. She learnt a variety of cheese cakes, marble cakes and cookies which she has been putting to good use. So do catch up with her and her cakes especially during our peak seasons. We’re trying to get her to speak more English, which she is very shy to use and rather limited, but she loves to chat and would love to meet you too.

Fine Young Guides

Thanks to Joseph Teoh (our in-house guide) we successfully trained 2 enthusiastic students from Methodist Girls School to undertake guided tours at a slightly cheaper rate for those who dare!  We launched afternoon weekend tours with their help which has been implemented for 2009 and we look forward to eventually offering tours around the clock, 365. Well done to Chloe and Rebecca for some great work done during the last school holidays.

Famous Friends

Chef Wan and Kat

We had the pleasure of company with Chef Wan who visited with his film crew on the ‘Jom Makan Makan’ TV9 series. He left his indelible mark with a great little quip in our guest book which reads “Fabulous, what would the world be without the wonderful spices that colors our life?” – 18 July 2008

Our staff also managed to catch glimpses of Alex Yoong (Malaysia’s Formula 1 driver) & wife but were to shy to ask for his autograph!

On a more official note we welcomed Li Changjiang (Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Minister from China), Y.B. Dato’ Sri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib (Deputy Tourism Minister Malaysia) and Dato’ Kee Phaik Cheen (Chairman, Penang Tourism Action Council) through our sanctuary who were all on official visits to Penang.

It was made known to us that Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Great Britain was in town in early 2008 on a private tour but unfortunately I misplaced his phone number and missed having a cup of spiced tea with him. Next time eh?

So they say the Year of the Ox will bring change and progress (did you know Barack Obama is born in Year of the Ox?) I’m not sure that this mythical animal will bring anything at all and I am certainly not banking on it but what I do count on is my wonderful team and our endurance in facing any challenge with our heads held high. And I like that Chinese expression that speaks of opportunity that emerges from crisis. God bless the gardens…