From eating out to eating in
THE Malaysian obsession with eating is so well documented that it is often called a national pastime. But interestingly, the ways and means in which Malaysians consume their food have changed dramatically in the past century.
Until the mid 19th century, options for eating out were virtually nil so the women of the household often cooked up meals fashioned out of ingredients that were readily available or indigenous to the area, resulting in a complex web of locally charged meals like kerabu pucuk betik, itik salai and pekasam. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, change blew in with the advent of Chinese and Indian migrants who often travelled the streets peddling creations like wantan mee, which quickly became neighbourhood staples.
By the mid 20th century, hawker stalls were being set up. The iconic Sek Yuen restaurant along Jalan Pudu, for example was once part of a thriving network of hawker stalls in Kuala Lumpur in the 1940s.
While some restaurants pre-dated these hawker stalls – Coliseum, for instance, opened in 1921 – they often served the colonial British, who were typically the richest people in the land at the time.
But once Malaysia achieved independence in 1957, things began to change dramatically as the Malaysian economy grew.
By 1965, A&W had opened the first drive-through outlet in Petaling Jaya while in the 1970s, The Ship operated in Kuala Lumpur, offering quality steaks to Malaysians hungry for a taste of the West.
This growing demand for food from other parts of the world was met in the 1980s when an economic boom resulted in a surge of restaurant openings, with fast food chains like Shakey’s Pizza and Mcdonalds establishing dominance in the country. In the 1990s and beyond, more Western chains opened up, like TGI Fridays.
While hawker stalls and local restaurants serving Malaysian comfort food continued to thrive over the years, it is only in the past 10 years that local F&B entrepreneurs have really come into their own.
As a result, the culinary landscape is now peppered with everything from Myburgerlab’s gourmet burgers and Inside Scoop’s artisanal ice creams to even fine-dining options like Nadodi’s innovative South Asian food and Dewakan’s modern Malaysian fare.
While the local predilection for eating out has not really waned – data from local ride-hailing app Grab shows that most rides are for journeys to restaurants – another tandem trend has emerged: The rising popularity of online food delivery services that offer an incredible range of on-demand offerings right to customers’ doorsteps.