GEORGE TOWN: Excitement is back in the heart of George Town with clubs and pubs coming alive again.

       A check at several outlets over the weekend showed droves of people thronging pubs and eateries, enjoying themselves with friends and family over a few drinks.

       The concentration of the crowd was in Chulia Street and Love Lane, which are the favourite nightlife spots for many.

       Patrons were seen enjoying life band performances, with groups of people hanging out at the joints as early as 8pm.

       The Pokok, a set-up under a ketapang tree along Chulia Street which offers alfresco seating areas with live music, saw droves of people waiting for a place to sit.

       Outlet partner Gurmeet Singh was upbeat about the night scene returning to Penang after more than two years.

       “It is not easy running these type of outlets as the overheads are high and we are short of manpower as many left when we shut down during the pandemic.

       “We are just glad that the gloom has ended and look forward to better days,” she said.

       Another joint seeing brisk business was The Brew, which attracted sports enthusiasts catching up on their favourite sports events on the LED screens set up there.

       “The biggest drawback right now is the shortage of workers and I have to seek the assistance of family members to run my business,” said owner Howie Tan.

       He said ever since they were allowed to reopen on May 15, the crowd came back in droves as there were no watering holes for a long time.

       At least five other joints along Chulia Street were lively with people chilling out with drinks and enjoying their Western and local dishes close to midnight.

       Those looking for their must-have nasi kandar or mutton soup were spotted at Sup Hameed in Penang Road, a walking distance from Chulia Street.

       The outlet, famous for its mutton and oxtail soup, is doing roaring business but hampered by a shortage of manpower.

       “I have no worries about the business as we have good crowd every day, especially during weekends as you can see the upper stretch of Penang Road is crowded,” said owner Shahul Hameed Kadeer Ibramsha, 62, who has been running the establishment for 33 years.

       Hameeediyah Restaurant in Campbell Street, the country’s oldest nasi kandar restaurant, saw people waiting to be seated even at 9pm.

       “People from other states simply relish the Penang nasi kandar and once the state borders reopened, they came over and all the nasi kandar stalls are full during the weekend,” said its director Muhammad Riyaaz Syed Ibrahim.