Bringing Kulai to Kuala Lumpur

When it comes to good food, food junkies across the nation would swear that they’ll recommend only the best for you. Most of the time we are on the ground hunting (good food that is) but there are a lot of times when such good food can be found up in the air as well. That’s right. Who says you can’t have a proper, nutritious and tasty meal when you’re travelling 10,000 feet in the air?

The business of Sri Kulai is “the” business that everyone should pay attention to now, especially busy people. Mention the word fast-to-cook meals, images of long springy noodles with loads of MSG comes into mind, no? Mind you, those meals aren’t so healthy either. Remember when your mother used to tell you that eating too much of instant noodles will make you go bald? Up until today, the convenience of dining is only limited to fast-to-cook meals, which sometimes can be such a hassle to prepare. But, that’s about to change with the very first microwavable halal frozen ready-to-eat meals. This package not only is easy to prepare, but it is just as authentic as you can get just like your home-cooked food.

I had the opportunity to meet and enjoyed a small talk session with Mr Liow Ren Jan, CEO of Sri Kulai, who is also the same man responsible for such great creation. All thanks to Mr Liow, none of us will have to skip our meals even when we’re so busy attending to (endless) meetings.

The following interview was done at the Sri Kulai store located at Jaya One.

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Loong Wai Ting tries to learn a thing or two about business

1. Why Sri Kulai?

I’ve been in the corporate world for almost eighteen years. I want to start my own business and be my own boss, thus I came out with this idea of microwavable, ready-to-eat food. I like to be my own boss because then I will have the freedom to make decisions. And since then I’ve created a completely new category. I used Kulai because I came from a small town in the southern part of Malaysia, which is Kulai. It’s not a surprise that people don’t know where Kulai is. So, by using this name, I can promote my hometown and Malaysian culture in the form of food. I find it difficult to find Malaysia food in foreign land, and my main focus is on Malaysia alone.

2. What are the concepts of Sri Kulai, which you had in mind before making it a reality?

My main concept is to do a take-away and self-service business. Not only that it’s a ready-to-eat meal, I want my product to simply have the perfect quality. I make sure everything is made accordingly like temperature and moisture control. Of course, the most important thing about my product is that it’s halal. I got it certified by Jakim.

3. Besides Nasi Lemak and steam dim sum, what can consumers hope to expect in terms of variation?

We’re looking into introducing western fares such as steak, spaghetti and chicken chop all made affordable for everyone. By March 2010, I hope to market a wider range of dim sum to the consumers. Besides that, I’m planning to include favourite Asian meals, which will be ready-to-eat in a matter of minutes.

4. Can you share with us some of the Asian recipes that you plan to include?

Sure. I’m looking into bringing Green Curry Rice from Thailand and Nasi Padang of Indonesia. It’s the mark convenient and hopefully Sri Kulai will be a recognised as a household name.

5. What about first-timers out there who is not familiar with your product just yet?

All I want to say is “Eating is Believing.” It’s safe to eat, though it’s cook by using microwave. It’s has been part of life and it’s a trend of today. Oh yes, one more thing. Our product container is made with biodegradable material. Why not plastic?I know for the fact that plastic is cheaper but for the sake our environment, I only use biodegradable pack. Haven’t we had enough of the rising temperature and natural disaster?

For more information, visit www.ays.com.my

The Food

Personally, I’ve sampled quite a number of sumptuous feasts by Sri Kulai and there is only one word to sum it all up: Surprise. Yes, I am still as surprise as before. I am a little sceptical to pick up my fork and plunge into a few bites of the dim sum fare, fearing it might taste “plastic-ish.” But, what surprised me is the taste. It isn’t tasteless, ugly-looking nor is it “plastic-ish.” The Sri Kulai Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam is something you should watch out for. And as if I was transported back in time to a small fishing village somewhere in the most remote part of Malaysia, eating and relaxing near the seashore. The taste is incredible. It’s like what you have on a lazy Sunday morning over a cup of steaming coffee. The rice is cooked to perfection. The hero of this dish is the rendang ayam itself. It’s creamy, tasty and you can taste it’s many different spices like lemongrass. It’s sidekick, sambals are no exception either. Fans of Sri Kulai Nasi Lemak love its generous portion of sambals more than anything else.

Before I have time to digest my Nasi Lemak, Mr Liow has been pushing his dim sum into my plate, insisting on me taking every bite, savouring the taste. Well, I am not a big fan of dim sum, especially those steam dumplings. But, it isn’t bad either. Though a little mushy, I find the taste quite similar to what you normally have in dim sum stalls. It’s rich in ingredients such as prawns, mushrooms and lots of coriander. Besides dumpling, there is also fried dim sum. It’s pre-cooked and frozen. All you need to do is to re-fry the prawn fritters, pour out some chilli sauce and you’re ready to go.

The Verdict

For a microwavable food, it’s quite a surprise to see and taste the food as if it’s made fresh in front of you. It’s not the usual pre-package or pre-frozen food, where the taste can be very different than you normally have. What’s worst is that the image you see on the cover is not what you get inside. But for Sri Kulai, what you see is what you got. And I wouldn’t mind having it everyday for my lunch or dinner. It’s that’s good. Words can’t describe how it actually tastes like. You need to try it for yourself.

Highly recommended for everyone.