Special thanks to Magstore for extending this food review invitation.
Since the debut of its Gurney Paragon outlet, Magstore (香港松坂库) has opened another outlet in Queensbay Mall too. This second store is located next to the Queens Hall at Level 3.
Magstore is renowned for its comprehensive stack of foreign products from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It is noteworthy to know that these products are identical to those sold in the home country, as opposed to being export versions.
Owing to smaller store size, the Queensbay Mall outlet has fewer products to offer. Nevertheless, the number of products still number in the hundreds. Customers have a respectable range of quality brands to select from.
The ever popular Yoobi Ice Cream (曜日アイスクリーム) is also available here, although the “three treasures” (三宝) – Japanese Style Takoyaki (日式章鱼小丸子), Hong Kong Style Egg Puffs (香港名物鸡蛋仔) and Korean Style Grilled Maruyaki (韩国釜山鲜烤鱿鱼) – are not available due to limited space.
Starting 12 March 2016, Magstore is rolling out 5 new flavors to replace the existing “weekday” flavors. The new toppings are mostly sourced from Korea.
As a form of showmanship, Earl Grey tea is poured into a cup of dry ice, causing the ice to sublimate and momentarily form a thick cloud of vapor. The vapor also carries fragrant aroma of tea leaves.
Each of these new flavors represents one of the 5 basic tastes of the tongue:
– Bitter: Bitter Melon Salt (苦瓜盐)
– Sour: Organic Yam Powder & Schisandra Chinensis (有机山药粉五味子汁)
– Sweet: Organic Acacia Honey (天然桦花树蜜)
– Salty: Organic Salt & Caramel Sauce (有机海盐焦糖酱)
– Spicy: Ginger Powder (天然老姜粉)
I am fortunate to catch a sneak peek of these 5 new flavors. Firstly, Bitter Melon Salt (苦瓜盐) is not as bitter as it sounds. In reality, the level of bitterness is quite mild as salt helps to round off the flavor.
Representing sourness is Organic Yam Powder & Schisandra Chinensis (有机山药粉五味子汁). The “yam” is not taro as commonly implied. Instead, this refers to Chinese yam, a useful ingredient used in alternative medicine. The syringe contains juice extract of Schisandra Chinensis, also known “five flavor berry” in traditional medicine parlance.
I predict that mainstream customers will be attracted by Organic Acacia Honey (天然桦花树蜜), just like honey bees are to acacia flowers. Derived from black locust trees, this viscous honey partially solidifies upon contact with ice cream instead of dissolving in within.
Not many people are aware that salt helps to sharpen the perception of other tastes. This attribute is evident with Organic Salt & Caramel Sauce (有机海盐焦糖酱) version. Despite the presence of caramel, saltiness still prevails in this ice cream version.
Last but not least, my personal favorite is Ginger Powder (天然老姜粉) for its unorthodox assimilation of pungency with subtle ice cream sweetness. I admit the pungency may be overpowering for some people. Nevertheless, I always enjoy being different anyway.
All 5 different choices of Yoobi Ice Cream differ in terms of toppings and sauce, but the ice cream itself remains the same. Made from Australian milk, the ice cream contains less than 25% creamer. As a result, it remains pleasantly soft yet not too creamy. However, one side effect is that the ice cream melts relatively quickly, forming a puddle of milk which I find to be quite enjoyable too.
Name: Magstore (香港松坂库)
Address: 3F-22A, Queensbay Mall, Persiaran Bayan Indah, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Pulau Pinang
Contact: N/A
Business hours: 10:30am-10:30pm
Website: https://www.facebook.com/MagstoreMalaysia
Coordinates: 5.33329 N, 100.30681 E
Directions: Magstore is located on Level 3 of Queensbay Mall, right next to Queens Hall and opposite of llaollao. Queensbay Mall has a multilevel parking garage and several outdoor parking spaces.