Kechara Oasis & Kechara Paradise Official Opening
On 30 July 2011, was the official opening of Viva Home mall, Cheras. At the same time, branches of both Kechara Paradise (KP) and Kechara Oasis (KO) had their official opening in the mall!
It was a joint event for both Kechara departments. Starting at around 11.30am, the guests arrived at Kechara Paradise to view the outlet’s new 1,600 sq feet shop! This is KP’s 5th outlet in Malaysia, and with the bigger space they are able to showcase larger items like statues, Tibetan-style furniture and thangkas.
There to officiate the opening of KPVH (Kechara Paradise Viva Home) was the main sponsor, Phng Wee Kiat and his wife Lyn Phng. He cut the ribbon alongside his wife, Henry Ooi (Director of Kechara Paradise), Datuk May Phng (President of Kechara House), Venerable Dhammapala (our guest from Buddhist Maha Vihara, Brickfields) and His Excellency the Ambassador of Nepal to Malaysia Dr Rishi Adhikari.
Henry Ooi then gave his opening speech where he thanked those who attended and then spoke a little about Kechara Paradise’s history. KP’s very first outlet opened on the 1 Jan 2000. It was 1 tiny shop lot on the 2nd floor in SS2… it was with hard work that KP has managed to open 5 outlets in the past few years!
- Kechara Paradise SS2 – Opened 1st Jan 2000
- Kechara Paradise 1 Utama – Opened 28th December 2005
- Kechara Paradise Penang – Opened 22nd August 2009
- Kechara Paradise Sunway Pyramid – Opened 1st September 2009
- Kechara Paradise Viva Home – Opened 15th April 2011
At 12pm, both guests and the media moved to Kechara Oasis for the restaurant’s official opening. As guests continued to arrive, the Chinese Lion Dance started. According to my students, the Lion Dance drew in a big crowd. The lion dance is traditional to the Chinese custom… they usually perform on important occasions such as the Lunar New Year, birthdays, weddings, religious festivals and business official openings. The dance is believed to bring good luck, fortune and success to the business.
After the lion dance, the 2 emcees, Margaret Lee and Abby Foo, gave a short welcome greeting and invited Datuk May and Irene Lim (Director of Kechara Oasis) to cut the ribbon. Everyone then made their way into the restaurant where Datuk May gave a speech. She congratulated Irene Lim for her success: opening up a 2nd Kechara Oasis restaurant in less than 2.5 years!
Kechara Oasis has seen great success since they started. It was just last year that they got HAPA’s Top 10 award for Casual Dining!
His Excellency Dr Rishi Adhikari expressed how he really enjoyed the vegetarian food. He was also pleasantly surprised by the KP outlet… because they are mostly items from Nepal! He was very happy to see the beautiful Nepalese arts & crafts displayed.
We were honoured to have Ven. Dhammapala present as well. He is a 57-year-old monk from Sri Lanka. He decided to become a monk at the age of 10 and has been holding his monk vows for 47 years. Currently at visiting teacher to Buddhist Maha Vihara, Brickfields, he has been here for 2 months and will be here for another 3 weeks. He really enjoyed himself and even brought his own video camera to tape his experience in Kechara Oasis! Ven. Dhammapala has promised some of his followers to return and teach in the UK… how kind of him to spread the Dharma in a foreign country.
Below are photos of the opening. For those who couldn’t make it, I have added the links to the stores’ location below… as well as a video of Jean Ai giving a tour of Kechara Oasis. She even explains where to park your car for the most convenient way to the restaurant! Hehe
Viva Home is a great place to visit for those who would like to see both Kechara Paradise outlet and try our delicious vegetarian food.
Do any of you have any items from Kechara Paradise, or have eaten at Kechara Oasis before? Do share your experiences!
Tsem Rinpoche
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/Jean-Ai-Goes-to-Kechara-Oasis-Vegetarian-Restaurant-Viva-H.mp4
The new Kechara Paradise outlet signage!
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Tsongkhapa (middle), Chenrezig and Shakyamuni (left) greets guests into KP
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Irene (middle; Director of Kechara Oasis) with Su Ming (left; Head of Kechara Care and Kechara Lounge) and Wan (right; Manager of KP SS2)
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His Excellency the Ambassador of Nepal to Malaysia Dr Rishi Adhikari (middle) with Su Ming and Henry Ooi (Director of Kechara Paradise).
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Crowd building up around Kechara Paradise official opening. |
Main sponsor, Phng Wee Kiat, cutting the official ribbon.
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President of Kechara House, Datuk May, giving Wee Kiat a token of appreciation. |
Henry Ooi gives Wee Kiat a Setrap thangka together with a bouquet of flowers.
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Datuk May having a casual chat with Dr Rishi Adhikari.
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Henry Ooi giving his official opening speech. |
He thanks everyone for coming… |
Seated next to Wee Kiat is Venerable Dhammapala.
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Henry Ooi gives special thanks to Venerable Dhammapala and Dr Rishi Adhikari.
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Wee Kiat gives his official speech. |
Wee Kiat is seated next to his wife, Lyn Phng, and Venerable Dhammapala.
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Guests browse through the items on display.
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Henry Ooi is pleased with all of the work that the Kechara Paradise staff have done to open their 5th outlet!
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Guests browse through the items displayed by Kechara Discovery.
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Eric Siow explaining to some guests about our latest Kechara magazine, No More Caves.
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Kechara Discovery staff explaining some of the items displayed.
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There was also a blog corner where people could browse on the blog live!
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Wee Kiat having a chat with KPVH Manager, May Woo.
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Wah Ying (right) answering questions posed by a guest who is interested in Buddha statues…
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Kechara Oasis signage! Congratulations!
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The stage display.
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Ying Ee, Wen Sheng (Irene’s son), Irene Lim and Mee Cheng.
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Our 2 emcees for the day: Margaret Lee (right) and Abby Foo (left). Margaret is emcee-ing in English, while Abby is our Chinese emcee!
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Guests sign in as the enter the restaurant…
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Beautiful flowers surround KO’s entrance.
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Each of the Kechara departments sent flowers for the opening.
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William, Jeffrey Gan (Manager of KO Jaya One and Owner of Atlier Hair Saloon.
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Kechara Oasis staff welcoming guests in.
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(from left) Mee Cheng, Irene Lim, Wee Liang, Datuk May Phng, Wee Kiat and Lyn Phng.
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Both the media and guests sign in.
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Guests continue to arrive…
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Congratulatory flowers next to a Kechara Oasis bunting.
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Irene Lim and Datuk May (right) cutting the official ribbon.
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(from left) Su Ming, Irene Lim, Henry Ooi, Dr Rishi Adhikari, Datuk May Phng, Dato’ Ruby Khong.
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President of Kechara House, Datuk May Phng gives a speech and congratulates Irene Lim and her team for all of their hard work.
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Datuk May gives Irene Lim a heartfelt hug.
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The Lion Dance crew with Datuk May Phng, Irene Lim and Eddie Teoh (Manager of KOVH).
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The Lion Dance crew poses for the camera.
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A crowd builds up around the Lion Dance! |
Passer-bys are very excited about the Lion Dance.
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A bit of entertainment hehe
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Part of the Lion Dance crew!
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Our 2 emcees inviting guests into the dining hall.
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Fresh, delicious and healthy food.
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Kechara Oasis floor. |
VIP table: (from left) Datuk May, Lyn Phng, Henry Ooi, Dr Rishi Adhikari, Dato’ Ruby Khong, Phng Wee Kiat, Ven Dhammapala, Albert Ratchaga, Angel Ooi.
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Guests enter to a line of delicious vegetarian food!
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Venerable Dhammapala and Albert having a chat.
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I congratulation to Kechara Oasis and kechara Paradise official opening ceremonial , I am really inspire with Irene and Henry effort to making it happens and spread the Rinpoche dharma in town. i am really rejoice !
I never regret to have joined Kechara even though there are times my parents and friends do not understand and found me weird.
With devoted students like Irene and Henry (and many more) Kechara is opening more vegetarian restaurant and outlets to make it easy and convenient for people to be vegetarian and get statues, Dharma books and other prayer items. There is no excuse not to be vegetarian and spiritual as things have been set up for us, and it is depends on us whether we wants to do it or not.
I congratulate Kechara Oasis and Kechara Paradise!