Craving for Japanese food? Head over to Tairyo Izakaya at E-Gate. The restaurant/bar is located at the far end of the E-Gate building, in the shop lots previously occupied by Papparich E-Gate. Tairyo Izakaya offers a good selection of Japanese food and alcoholic drinks, and I believe most people go there for the food. Tairyo Izakaya has a full selection of Japanese food. There are many varieties of sushi, sashimi, grilled seafood/meat, wagyu beef, tempura, donburi, noodles, hotpot and much more. Seafood air-flown from Japan are also available (of course, these are higher priced). Really good ..read more

A painting/colouring competition was held in 1st Avenue Mall on Sunday, 14 May 2023. The theme of the competition was the Rabbit zodiac (2023 is the Year of the Rabbit), so the rabbit is the main character in the drawings painted by participants. Participants were divided into 2 categories based on their age: Group A (7-9 years old) and Group B (10-12 years old). The younger participants in Group A used colour pencils and crayons, while the older participants in Group B used the water colour. There were quite a number of Chinese primary school students participating in the competition. They t ..read more

This year’s Wesak Day celebration fell on Thursday, 4 May 2023 (part of a short work week which also include the May 1st Labour Day holiday). This year marks the 2567th year of the Buddhist calendar. For the first time in 3 years (after the COVID-19 pandemic), the Wesak Day procession was being held again in Penang, with the participation of 25 organizations. The 7km-long procession started from the Malaysian Buddhist Association building in Jalan Burma at around 6.30PM, and passed through Jalan Pangkor, Jalan Kelawai, Lorong Burma, Jalan Perak, Lebuhraya Peel, Jalan Macalister, Jalan Anson an ..read more

The World Sport Stacking Association (WSSA) organized the 2023 Sport Stacking Championship at 1st Avenue Mall, Penang last Sunday, 30 April 2023. The event started from 9.00 AM in the morning till 5.00 PM in the afternoon. Sport stacking is probably not very popular in Malaysia, but the championship at 1st Avenue Mall has managed to attract a significant number of participants, mostly kids and teenagers. The participants are grouped in categories based on age and gender. For the uninitiated, Sport Stacking (also known as cup stacking or speed stacking) involves stacking specially designed cups ..read more

The Hari Raya Aidilfitri decorations at Straits Quay this year were simple and nostalgic. The decorations depict a kampung house and its surrounding on one side, and a sampan (wooden boat) and the sea on the other side. Both of these sceneries were synonymous with the Malay communities in the rural areas. There was a wooden walkway (bridge) for visitors to walk through. The decorations brought up the feeling of living in the kampung (village) leading up to the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations. Here are some pictures of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri decorations at Straits Quay: There were al ..read more

Queensbay Mall presented a golden Hari Raya Aidilfitri decoration this year. Transporting us back to the olden days “Malay Royal Courtyard”, the “Senandung Aidilfitri” decorations are royally beautiful and photo-worthy. There are golden arches with beautiful Islamic-inspired designs, and palm trees dotted around the area. For avid shoppers, there are various stalls on the side that blended well into the beautiful environment. Here are some pictures of the 2023 Hari Raya Aidilfitri decorations at Queensbay Mall: Throughout the month of April leading to the Hari Raya celebration, Quee ..read more

Mixue Ice Cream & Tea was launched in Zhengzhou, China in 1997 by Mr Zhang Hongchao (a college student). Starting up Mixue, Mr Zhang’s goal was to bring high quality and affordable products to everyone around the world. That is quite a lofty mission, but it looks like he has been pretty successfully, gauging from the expansion of Mixue stores to many countries. At the time of writing, Mixue has over 21,000 outlets in China and other countries. Mixue Ice Cream & Tea outlets can be found in many places in Malaysia too, with over 20 outlets mainly in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysi ..read more

If you are looking for Thai food in the heart of Georgetown, Penang, head over to Krung Thep, a small, simple Thai restaurant in Lorong Selamat. The restaurant is quite easy to find. Upon entering Lorong Selamat, there is a row of restaurants on the left hand side, where Krung Thep is located. The shop is located roughly in the centre of the row. The Thai food at Krung Thep is pretty authentic, as they are prepared by Thai cooks. You can expect to find many of the main Thai dishes, including seafood tomyam, fried fish with mango salad, cha-om omelette, claypot glass noodles with prawns, pad k ..read more

Coffee is “A Necessity, Not A Luxury”, that is ZUS Coffee’s driving principle. Since its launch in 2019, ZUS Coffee strives to deliver coffee as a daily necessity for everyone. Rather than viewing specialty coffee as a luxury, ZUS Coffee is changing that by serving coffee at a lower price point, without compromising quality. It is about bringing good coffee to customers, and less about having a large, luxurious cafe space. From its first outlet in Binjai, ZUS Coffee has now expanded throughout Malaysia. At the time of writing, there are 195 stores across Malaysia. Here is the list of ZUS Coff ..read more

Toh Soon Cafe is a popular alley-way kopitiam in the heart of Georgetown, specializing in half-boiled eggs, charcoal toasted bread and Hainanese-style coffee. It is located in an alley off Lebuh Campbell (Address: Lebuh Campbell, 10450 Georgetown, Penang. Tel: 04-2613754). Toh Soon Cafe is open Mondays to Saturdays, 8AM-5PM. It is normally very crowded in the morning during breakfast, where the half-boiled eggs and charcoal toasted bread with coffee are considered one of the traditional Penang breakfasts. The food is simple and good. There are also nasi lemak packets on the table that patro ..read more