In the recent Malaysia Fest at Robinsons Supermarket on Oct. 30 to Nov. 15, the Trade office of the Malaysian Embassy featured its country’s convenience food brands.
According to officials, Malaysian convenience food items are halal-certified (passed Islamic dietary laws and food preparation), healthy, and affordable.
“Malaysia offers halal-certified foods that cater not only to Muslims. People who are looking for hygienic food will find them in our brands. A company can not receive a halal certification unless they get approval from HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point),” said Siti Azlina, trade commissioner of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation.
Malaysia’s booming urban population has driven the demand for hassle-free food and drinks that complement fast-paced lifestyle, including frozen products, instant sauces, beverages, and packaged snacks.
Some of the popular Malaysian food items include Chek Hup coffee and milk tea, and Old Town Coffee whose founders discovered white coffee by experimenting with different beans and roasting procedures and mixed them with condensed milk.
Uncle Saba’s Poppadoms is a ready-to-eat version of the classic papadam, deep-fried bean flour doughs. Kawan (“friend” in Malay) offers pastry shells and wraps. SoyFresh’s Hershey’s Chocolate is available in several variants. Sun Soya comes in handy sachets for 3-in-1 coffees and its popular matcha latte.
For snacks, biscuit company Hwa Tai has been popular for its Luxury Cheese and Tiramisu crackers; Mr. Potato, Malaysia’s top potato chips brand, is known for its density and crunch; and Vochelle and Alfredo chocolate brands pride themselves on using premium ingredients.