We all love our keropok lekor since the first time we tried it. In fact, we would always ask our parents to get us a pack of these delicious fish crackers whenever they would go out to buy kuih for teatime. However, did you know that we aren’t the only ones who enjoy this snack?
Recently, The Star reported that dishes like nasi dagang and our favourite keropok lekor are being exported globally. Wow! Who knew?
The Terengganu-origin dishes are exported through the state-owned Terengganu Kitchen Sdn. Bhd.
“As a first step, we’ve recently sent about 20,000 packs of nasi dagang and keropok lekor to London and it was well-received,” said the Terengganu Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman.
Who wouldn’t love these dishes, right?
Ahmad Razif further added that the nasi dagang was sold at 4 pounds (RM21) a pack while the keropok lekor was sold for 3.50 pounds (RM19) a pack in London, UK. Decent pricing.
He said this after the launch of Chicken Cottage and Terengganu Kitchen food trucks at Expo Terengganu on Sunday (25 February 2018). Not only that, Ahmad Razif doesn’t wish to stop there as he hopes to expand the menu to include ikan celup tepung, ikan singgang, and some local cakes.
Well, the Brits are definitely in for a treat!
On the other hand, he also said that the state government (Terengganu) hopes to open another nine Chicken Cottage outlets gradually – six outlets in Dubai and one each in Algeria, Germany and Britain.
Wonder what Chicken Cottage is?
Well, it is a fast food restaurant that was first opened in Britain. It is halal and it’s fully owned by TI Global Food Holdings Ltd incorporated in Labuan, Malaysia. So, technically it’s a Malaysian fast food chain even though it only came to Malaysia in 2015.
This fast food restaurant is a joint venture between the Global Food Brands Inc. and Terengganu Inc. Sdn Bhd, who bought more than half of the stake (70%) in Chicken Cottage. Soon, in March 2018, they are going to open another branch in Kuala Lumpur and we will get to see what the fuss is all about!
In the meantime, if you want to have a taste of the food from these restaurants, you can visit their pop-up trucks in the Expo Terengganu 2018 event starting from 25 February to 3 March 2018.
So, what do you think of our Malaysian traditional cuisines making their mark across the sea?
Also read: Did You Know That These Foods Are Part of Malaysia’s Cultural Heritage List?