Foodies baffled why expat Chinese minting RM2m ‘Nasi Kerabu’ biz in London, not Kelantanese Malay?

 

GREAT CUISINE will always travel and find a willing audience – sushi, tapas and dim sim are but a smattering of well-known examples.

Foodies can now add nasi kerabu to that list – a pop-up stall in London charmingly called ‘Eat Lah’ serving the Kelantanese specialty has been doing brisk business, shifting am impressive 300 servings daily.

The business is the brainchild of former architect, Robert Ngo, who ditched his scale ruler to dive head-long into the F&B (food and beverage). 

Inspired by his Kelantanese spouse, Ngo was determined to offer Londoners a taste of authentic Malaysian flavours with its signature blue-hued dish. Thus Eat Lah was established in 2019.

According to the proprietor, annual takings are as high as RM2 mil a year and this has given him the impetus to expand into another restaurant called Ong Lai Kopitiam in the Wood Wharf vicinity of the capital city.

The UK-born Ngo’s enterprising stint was also highlighted on the Facebook page of Mooda which highlights Malaysian entrepreneurial success stories. The underlying sentiment is that Malaysia’s East Coast cuisine could capture the taste buds of an international audience.

The question that somehow lingers in the mind of local foodies in the post that has garnered 2.7K likes, 328 comments and 141 shares at the time of writing is why it needed an expat Chinese in London to introduce this delicacy to Londoners. 

Why not a true-blue Kelantan-born Malay?

One commenter praised Ngo for seizing the opportunity. However, it was also opined that it was missed opportunity for Malay entrepreneurs who were described as “slow” as nasi kerabu had won awards as a dish at a food festival in Dubai. 

The difference in mindset between the Chinese and Malay communities was also highlighted. The latter was said to prioritise holidays and luxury purchases.

One commenter made the pointed observation that the Chinese were focused on business while the Malays were busy politicking 24/7. 

This comment didn’t go down well as another Malay commenter highlighted that there were many Malay high achievers in various spheres, counselling that people should NOT fall for lazy stereotypes. 

However, one Malaysian pointed out that the ethnicity of the entrepreneur should not matter as long local food gets the thumbs up from diners. Be proud and support was the rallying cry.

A few lessons this article highlights. Firstly, some Malaysians would appear unable to move beyond the rhetoric of race.

Everything needs to be filtered through race-tinted lens as highlighted by the comment below. He seemed unable to celebrate success of other races.

Secondly, as highlighted by one commenter, nasi kerabu isn’t the exclusive purview of Malays or even Kelantanese as the Thais also serve a similar dish.

Lastly and most pertinently, there would appear to be a healthy appetite for East Coast cuisine in London. Could an explosion in popularity be on the cards?

If yes, the time is ripe for more Malaysians of all races to make a fist of it. On the other hand, perhaps PAS which has a strong foothold in Kelantan should take the lead. 

- Focus malaysia