Limited food choices at Syopz, say Taylorians

Despite being excited to be back on university grounds for classes and activities, Taylorians are facing a problem after discovering how the on-campus commercial building Syopz lacks food choices.

Almost ten restaurants and cafes in Syopz closed their doors during the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chay Hew Thoong, who had been to campus during her Foundation year in Taylor’s College, pointed out that there used to be more restaurants selling a variety of food and beverages.

“Right now, for example, there are restaurants that only sell coffee, or sandwiches,” Chay said, adding that the prices are also not student-friendly.

Another student, Ameera Huda, shared the same sentiments by also saying that the restaurants mostly offer unhealthy food.

“If you want to go for a healthier option, you will have to travel out of campus to Sunway, but that’s time consuming,” she said.

With few places available, students are often forced to dine in cramped and crowded conditions during peak lunch hour.

Students having lunch at the crowded Lower Ground 1 of Syopz, where most of the available restaurants are located.

Muhammad Aqil said that spreading out by going to different places is still important due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Aqil also said that the minimal food choices is causing issues for Muslim students like him who finish classes just before Iftar and have to break fast on campus instead.

“I went to one place once, and I couldn’t even get food because everything was sold out and there was nowhere else to eat,” he said.

According to an Instagram post by Taylor’s University Student Council detailing a summary of the September 2021 Student Representative Welfare Meeting, around fifteen more restaurants and cafes are expected to be opened soon.

The Instagram post also wrote that the management requested for students to be patient as they work on the issue.

At publication time, only two new restaurants have joined the current few food options at Lower Ground 1 of Syopz since the March semester began.