Home Improvement hypermarket retailer MR.DIY Group (M) Bhd (MR.DIY) has just launched its 700th outlet at Nu Sentral transportation hub, Kuala Lumpur. This new concept store features a Mr.TOY store within the same premises. MR.TOY was launched in 2019 to cater to children and has expanded to about 30 stores. Since MR.DIY opened its first store in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in July 2005, it has rapidly expanded its network of stores to become within 20 years, the largest home improvement retailer in Malaysia and in the region. MR.DIY went for listing in October 2020 and raised about RM1.5 billion from the placing out of its shares by...

The Serai restaurant group is a family business that was first started by an-ex Malaysian Airlines stewardess, Rina Abdullah, in 1990 in Shah Alam, Selangor. Serai Thai which served authentic Northern Malaysian and Thai cuisine gained a popular following from the time it opened its door for business. Today the Serai Group has 7 themed restaurants in its portfolio (www.seraigroup.com.my) Besides its signature brand name Serai, the others are Jibby & Co, Jibby Chow, Jibby East, Blonde and Jibby by the Park. Jibby by the Park took over the lovely glass house café at Empire Gallery, Subang that formerly housed the Korean french café called...

The Covid19 crisis has shipwrecked many industries. SME food entrepreneurs across the board are struggling to stay afloat until better times return. Many are scouting and hoping for new opportunities for growth. Mickey Quah, founder of Carefood Industries Sdn Bhd which produces halal sauces under the brand name Asian Meals, is one such entrepreneur. Asian Meals has a 400 product range which includes curry sauces, pasta sauces, dipping sauces, salad dressings, instant meal kits, rice noodle soup bowls, and konjac noodle soup bowls. Carefood Industries and Asian Meals are halal certified and have met International Quality standards for food...

Businessman Albert Wee and his wife Ng Sook Fun, founders of Ying Ker Lou Hakka restaurant chain in the Klang Valley, are ardent about preserving the culture of authentic Hakka cuisine and serving them to Malaysian Chinese. Even the interior of the Ying Ker Lou restaurants are designed to reflect elements of the century-old housing area in China called the Hakka Tulou. The first Ying Ker Lou restaurant was set up for business in 2006 at The Curve. That restaurant has been well patronised ever since. 

There are now Ying Ker Lou restaurants are the Gardens Mall, Atria Shopping Gallery, 1 Mont Kiara, Mutiara Damansara, Citta Mall and...

Fong Chi Chung, founder of Singapore based Putien restaurant chain, never thought that his love for his hometown cuisine in Putian, Fujian, China, would take him this far with a one Michelin Star along the way (2016 - 2019) and other prestige awards. Putian is situated in the central part of the coastal province of Fujian. The Putien cuisine is unpretentious, simple and pure using seasonal harvests from the sea and land according to its Brand Story. The people of Putian are proud Henghuas (Xinghua or Hinghua) who love their Mazu (Goddess of the sea) culture.  

Mr Fong started his first Putien eatery in Kitchener Road, Singapore in...

The signature dish at the Spice Garden group of restaurants is the Khazana Mutton Briyani encased in whole meal bread flour and baked in a tandoor oven. Spice Garden prides itself on the authenticity of its Northern Indian and Middle eastern cuisine. Managing Director and owner of Spice Garden, Pardeep Batra, an Indian national, started the first Spice Garden restaurant in Malaysia at Genting Highlands in April 2003. Malaysia was his second expansion outside India, the first Spice Garden being launched in Bishkek, Kyrgz Republic in 1998. After the success of its restaurant here, he opened three more – Spice Garden in Jalan Delima, off...

Bake with Yen was set up in 1987  at Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur by woman entrepreneur, Yen Khong Moi, to supply, distribute and retail baking ingredients, premixes, baking accessories and tools. The business did well and stores were opened in Sabah at Lintas (2000), Putatan (2003) and Kian Yap (2008). In Selangor she opened the popular Bake with Yen shop at Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya. Then more stores were opened in Puchong, Bangi, Kota Damansara, OUG and Klang and up north in Ipoh. By 2017 Bake with Yen had become a major supplier to home and professional bakers, and commercial businesses such as leading hotels,...

In 1984 a husband and wife team, Dato Dr. Hj. Ramly Mokni and his wife Datin Hjh. Shala Siah Abdul Manap, started Perusahaan Burger Ramly Mokni Sdn Bhd (now known as Ramly Food Processing Sdn Bhd) to produce halal quality frozen burgers at a small factory in Bandar Tun Razak. Before this the couple produced beef patties from their home and sold them at a burger stall near Chow Kit. Dato Ramly was working at a supermarket when he was frequently asked if burger patties were halal. He saw an opportunity which he felt he couldn’t miss. He was right.  

More than 3 decades on, the children, Mohd Zaharin bin Dato Dr Hj. Ramly and Siti Hayu bt...