An Overpriced Pin Shop 🚪

A guide to the best "tzu char" spots in Penang: 📍 Tek Sen Restaurant (George Town) 📍 Boey Chong Kee (George Town) 📍 Yoong Kee Eating Shop (Bukit Mertajam) #thepenangguide #backdoorbodega

BACKDOOR BODEDA We have Penang’s big boy with us this weekend Friday and Saturday at Stay Gold! Come through our front door, we’ll have a drink ready for you, while stocks last. 8pm onwards

Welcome to The Penang Guide: a virtual extension of Backdoor Bodega's award-winning cocktail menu, "The Backdoor Bodega Guide To Penang" — a platform to celebrate all the things we love about Penang, personally curated by the team at Backdoor Bodega. So spread the word, tag a friend, and follow @thepenangguide to discover some not-so-popular and heavily-biased spots to eat, drink, and explore in Penang — through the "Cincailah!" generator, as we bring to life the stories, folklore, and recommendations from the pages of The Backdoor Bodega Guide To Penang and beyond. Trust us, we know where to go! #thepenangguide #weknowwheretogo #backdoorbodega @backdoorbodega

Throwing it back to The Other Side Chapter 8 with @backdoorbodega it’s all about good pours, the crowd and the right energy.

"What do you do when you're not bartending?" To celebrate #GiffardWestCup2026, I'll answer one of the most common questions I get when I'm behind the bar, by showing my guests how I usually spend my day off — from sunrise until the moonlight shines. *Sunrise: "La Liberté"* 20ml Giffard Blue Curacao Syrup 20ml Giffard Coconut Liqueur 30ml Citadelle Gin 10ml Citric Solution 5ml Pastis Freedom! The liberating feeling on my day off is encapsulated in the colour of this cocktail — the iconic and striking French blue colour of Giffard Blue Curacao represents the beautiful sky that greets me when I awake, the sea that surrounds the coast of Penang island where I love to unwind with a coconut in hand, and the one passion I love even more than bartending: football. Nothing beats the feeling of breaking a sweat in my Les Bleus jersey on the pitch with my friends (and scoring goals against @stayin6ftunder 😂). *Moonlight: "Nightowl"* 25ml Giffard Coffee Liqueur 10ml Giffard Agave Syrup 30ml Tequila Reposado 30ml Tomato Juice 10ml Lime Juice Coconut Foam Sunset brings my favourite part of the day — dinner. Living in Penang, I'm spoilt for choice when it comes to food, but Tomato Rice is always a staple. And there's no better way to spend a night off from the bar than at my favourite coffee shop, watching live football with friends. The coffee, inspired by the aromatic punch from the Giffard Coffee Liqueur, keeps me awake for the late-night games, tomato rice satisfies my tummy, and watching my team win under the beautiful moonlight completes a perfect day off. I'm grateful that bartending gives me the opportunity to meet people from all around the world, and I love being able to show my guests the side of Penang that I enjoy through these Giffard cocktails that I make, powered by the inspiring and natural flavours of Giffard liqueurs and syrups to encapsulate the laidback and easy life in Penang, just like in Angers. @giffardmalaysia @giffardasiapacific #giffardwestcup2026 #gwc2026 #giffardasiapacific

The Other Side Chapter 8 Feat. Shen and Thanesh of Backdoor Bodega (Penang, Malaysia) Playfully-dubbed an “overpriced pin shop”, Backdoor Bodega is a speakeasy run by award-winning self-taught bartenders. Backdoor Bodega has made serious noise: winning Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award, being the first bar from Penang to break into Asia’s 100 Best Bars in 2022, and the first in Asia to win World’s Best Cocktail Menu Award at The World’s 50 Best Bars 2025. Here for one night only. Come see what the noise is about. *Saturday, 25 April 2026* 8PM onwards _Beats by_ Billy Taner, VIEZ, Dylan Kenneth RSVP +6281252227022 Instagram @dualism.bar SOL Collective Space, SCBD

We are honoured to be once again considered amongst Tatler Malaysia's Best 20 Bars for 2026, along with an additional accolade for our one and only Thanesh Joel as the Rising Star (Bar) in conjunction with this year's Tatler Best Malaysia awards. Congratulations to all the bars, restaurants, and hotels for the recognition, it is indeed a pleasure to be in the company of all these great Malaysian establishments. Thank you, @tatlerdiningmy and @tatlermalaysia ! 🧡 #tatlerbestmalaysia #tatlerbest2026

As we finally get into gear for 2026 — Backdoor Bodega's 10th year of dropping pins and serving drinks, we're proud to kick-start our 10th year celebrations with a special guest bartending shift by Joshua Hernández of Drifter's Joint (@driftersjoint ), all the way from SF, California. A globetrotting, content-creating bartender, Joshua develops beautiful and engaging cinematic content rooted in the storytelling of culture, travel, and the craft of hospitality as he visits bars and collaborates with bartenders on his journeys around the world. Catch the man behind Drifter's Joint in the flesh at Backdoor Bodega, on Friday (20/3/2026) from 8 PM onwards, as he stops by George Town as part of the Drifter's Joint Asia Tour, made possible by our friends at The Elephant Room (@elephantroomsg ) and DrinksConnexion (@drinksconnexion ). RSVP early for the best seats in the house. #backdoorbodega #driftersjoint

As we count down to the new year, we would like to convey our sincere gratitude to everyone who made 2025 such an amazing and eventful year for Backdoor Bodega. Thank you to each and every guest who traveled near and far to have a drink at our establishment, every journalist and media that wrote about and featured us in publications and awards, every bartender and industry peer who collaborated with us in Penang and hosted us abroad, every single brand and supplier who consistently supported us throughout the years, and of course every individual, past and present, in the team who contributed selflessly to the day-to-day magic of Backdoor Bodega. 2025 would not have been what it is without each and every one of you. Wishing everyone a happy and amazing 2026 with all the love from us at Backdoor Bodega — from the heart. ❤️ #backdoorbodega

It's been two months since our cocktail love letter to Penang, "The Backdoor Bodega Guide To Penang" was named the winner of the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award as part of The World's 50 Best Bars 2025 ceremony in Hong Kong, making Backdoor Bodega the first bar from Asia to receive this amazing accolade. It means the world to us and we cannot describe what an honour it is to have this opportunity to put our beloved city in the global spotlight. Thank you, everyone — from the heart. ❤️ Malaysia Boleh! @50bestbars #backdoorbodega #penangonebetter

In an industry as chaotic yet creative as the bartending scene, it can be difficult to stand out. But @stayin6ftunder AKA BURO’s Bartender of the Year 2025 has done just that. With his seemingly never-ending pockets of energy, Thanesh Joel has become one of the propelling forces in our local cocktail universe. Alongside his team at @backdoorbodega , George Town, Penang has catapulted onto the global arena, while also keeping things fresh and consistent back home. Read more about Thanesh at buro247.my. 🔗 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / @its_jaylim CREATIVE DIRECTION & STYLING / @saintskeleton TEXT & INTERVIEW / @feedingamanda   STYLING ASSISTED BY / @benalterm ART DIRECTION ASSISTED BY / @eveiwereyou PHOTOGRAPHY / @herryyyyy17 @herrystudio PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTED BY / @david_ongyj @sleepyvisuals_ VIDEOGRAPHY / @th3littleproductions @dennis_kho92   VIDEOGRAPHY ASSISTED BY / @leon_kangkang MAKEUP / @charsewfan HAIR / @mmaymay for @schwarzkopfpro.my WARDROBE / @behati.my @friesenguys JEWELLERY / @beondiamond #buromy #BUROImpactAwards #BIA2025

#PinPals: It was a 11.11 night to remember as Martell's Master Mixologist, Rémy Savage (@remy_savage_ ) took over the bar at Backdoor Bodega for one exclusive evening, serving up his signature Martell cocktails on 11th November 2025, courtesy of Martell (@martellofficial ). #backdoorbodega #MakeitwithMartell