Lobster fever
Worried about his job at the start of the pandemic, an experienced chef started a side hustle featuring lobsterthemed meals.
THE Covid-19 pandemic tested the mettle of many F&B stalwarts. Some faltered and eventually ended up being casualties of the pandemic while others discovered new reservoirs of strength and soldiered on, sometimes ending up with unexpected blessings.
The latter is exactly what happened to Muhammad Fhaizal Mustafa, a seasoned chef who has been in the industry for nearly two decades. When the pandemic first hit and restaurants were forced to shutter their doors, Fhaizal – who is the chef at popular local brunch spot The Red Beanbag – decided the time was ripe for a side gig.
“Everyone in F&B was severely affected by the pandemic. Many of my friends and colleagues got retrenched so I thought ‘I need a back-up plan in case I get fired’.
“At the same time, so many food delivery services were popping up – people were making things like chicken rice and nasi lemak. So I wanted to join the crowd, but because I am a chef, I didn’t want to make safe dishes like everyone else – I wanted to go further.
“I have always loved seafood and lobster in particular, so I thought of creating lobster rolls and developing the lobster market in Kuala Lumpur. I took the leap and tried it out,” says Fhaizal.
So, in July 2020, Fhaizal started his new brand Mobster Lobster by Mad Chef. In the beginning, he wasn’t sure if there actually was a market for lobster rolls, but when his sales kept picking up, he knew he was on the right path.
Fhaizal’s bosses at The Red Beanbag let him use the restaurant’s kitchen to run his business at first, as the restaurant was closed during the lockdowns. Eventually, he rented a space in a cloud kitchen.
These days, he runs his business out of Artisan Playground in KL, a sprawling space dotted with F&B heavyweights of every stripe.
Still, being a chef and running an F&B business of your own are two entirely alien concepts and Fhaizal says that there were challenges aplenty in setting up Mobster Lobster.
“Actually it was quite challenging at the beginning because I don’t have a business background, so it was a bit hard to manage my capital and figure out how to survive.
“On a day-to-day basis, I also have to think up ways to establish a name for the business, gain more exposure and increase sales so that hopefully one day, the brand can be a big thing,” says Fhaizal.
Amazingly, Fhaizal continues to straddle his full-time job at The Red Beanbag alongside his side hustle and says while it is a struggle to balance both jobs, he ensures that he carves out enough time for each of his endeavours.
“The great thing is, all my staff know what they are doing, so I just have to supervise everything. The challenging part is having to constantly find new menu ideas and figure out how to execute them, so I am often quite mentally tired,” says Fhaizal.
The menu at Mobster Lobster is true to its namesake and will fulfil all those lobster fantasies and then some. Fhaizal gets his lobsters from Canada and has worked with a local baker to perfect the brioche bread for his lobster rolls, which are made to order according to his specifications.
To dip your toes in the wonderful world of lobster, try The Classic lobster roll (RM102). Here, you will discover lobster meat tossed with homemade mayonnaise, celery and scallions all sandwiched between a house-made brioche roll.
The brioche is spectacularly good – a lightly crusty exterior gives way to an interior that is pillowy soft, cushiony and buttery. This is an able accoutrement to the lobster which is fat, voluptuous and perfectly cooked. The mayonnaise offers a hint of creaminess, but not too much that it spoils your enjoyment of the lobster’s natural attributes.
Up next, try The Original lobster roll (RM100). Here, you will discover fresh, plump lobster complemented by lots of butter in what proves to be a smooth, seductive pairing, highlighting two ingredients that are amiable, perfectly-matched teammates.
The Sambal lobster roll (RM111) meanwhile is Fhaizal’s nod to local predilections and flavour profiles.
“I love sambal and I love lobster, so I thought, why not combine the two? This is my signature roll for Malaysians who love spicy food but don’t want it to overpower the lobster,” he says.
The roll is pretty good, with a sambal that is present and accounted for, but not too fiery that it kills all the aquatic goodness of the lobster. This makes for a good introduction to lobster rolls for those with a penchant for familiar, home territory flavours.
If you’re not into lobster rolls, there are other lobster-adjacent meals you can indulge in. Like the Mobster Lobster’s Bisque (RM20) which is a smooth, slightly creamy pool of pure lobster flavours encapsulated in the form of a soup. The bisque is understated and quite delightful, but could probably do with a smidge more seasoning. But this is a tiny quibble in an otherwise satisfying meal.
Next up, try the Lobster Mac & Cheese (RM102) which is a rich, creamy upmarket version of this classic pasta dish. Here, you will discover corpulent chunks of lobster wedged in between the richness of the macaroni and cheese in a meal that will prove to be something you never knew you needed in your mac and cheese.
Perhaps one of the surprise hits at Mobster Lobster is the Lobster Sammich (RM125). This grilled cheese beauty is a 100% hedonistic delight that charms and bewitches with a combination of ooey-gooey melted cheese secreted between lovely toasted, buttered bread and fat, fat chunks of lobster adding an opulent, indulgent quality to the meal.
Rest assured, this is a sandwich that will make any other sandwich you’ve tried seem lacklustre and colourless by comparison.
Fhaizal says his goal is to one day open a physical restaurant devoted to lobster, but given the amount of capital outlay required (approximately RM400,000 by his estimates) he is content to just grow his brand organically for now and focus on the delivery market – which he says is more profitable than dine-in.
But still he says he isn’t entirely ruling out the possibility of expanding – if the right opportunity presents itself.
“It’s not easy for me as a start-up to have the money to open a new restaurant. That’s why I am open to licensing my brand to others that have the capital to open a restaurant and want to use my brand as a launchpad,” he says.