IPPIN

We had a whole day to utilise during our last day in Penang and I decided to search popular cafes on IG to find a nice cafe to chill out before our next itinerary in the afternoon

Located in Butterworth, which is about 20 20-minute car ride from Georgetown, IPPIN is nestled along a stretch of shop houses. Offering its signature lemon cake which is extremely popular in Tai Chung, Taiwan, the cafe also offers other hot dishes

The moment you enter the cafe, you will be greeted by shelves stocked with popular snacks and biscuits from Taiwan as well as their cake display. The seating area for dining customers is located to the left with a fairly simple yet comfortable decoration. The colour scheme is more natural staying with wood furnishings and potted plants all around the cafe

You can tell from their cake chiller that the lemon cake is definitely one of the best sellers as they have many cakes pre-packed for customers. They also have many different kinds of cakes and pastries for sale. Some Taiwanese snacks sold included pineapple cake, nougat biscuit, jelly and traditional baked parties with red bean, sesame and yam paste. I bought a couple of the traditional pastries which were individually vacuumed packed and they were extremely delicious. I would buy them again if I was around the area

As a Taiwan-inspired cafe, they offered a great variety of fruit-flavoured tea and bubble milk teas served in a familiar bubble tea cup. The drinks were refreshing in the scorching heat and I liked that they were not too sweet. The coffee was also pretty decent with a pretty latte art

As we visited around noon after checking out of our room, we missed the breakfast menu, including french toast, a big breakfast, sandwiches and Taiwanese egg pancakes. We were left with snacks for savoury items like the salted popcorn chicken, sweet potato fries and pan-fried gyozas. As the items were fried only upon our order, they took some time to serve them to us piping hot and extremely crispy. The flavours of the snacks were nice with balanced flavours from the seasoning. The chicken was tender and not dry while the gyozas were oozing with meat juices

Lastly, we had to order their signature lemon cake platter served with yoghurt ice cream, fresh fruits and some macaroons for dessert. The cake was drizzled with creamy lemon cream giving the cake a pretty pastel yellow exterior. The cake itself was very light with a nice tangy and slightly sweet flavour. Combined with yoghurt ice cream and fruits, the cake was easy on the stomach and perfect for afternoon tea. Our other desserts were a yam mont blanc tart and cheese tart. The tart shells were both crumbly and buttery which is the texture I like and the fillings of both tarts were also sweet and smooth.

Overall, the environment at IPPIN is great as it is peaceful and quiet for a nice chill afternoon. The cakes and desserts are also great in taste and appearance and are perfect for pictures. The drinks are also nice and the prices are quite wallet-friendly. It was a pity we did not get to eat the breakfast menu as they looked delicious. The Taiwanese snacks sold at the store are also great as gifts or for personal consumption. I brought them back to SG and my family loves them. My only gripe is the distance away from Georgetown and the time spent to get there since I would typically stay at a hotel at Georgetown

Address: 7053&7054, Jalan Ong Yi How, Taman Teratai, 13000 Butterworth, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Operating hours: 9 am to 9 pm ( till 10 pm on Sat)