The Malaysian Insider :: Food
The Malaysian Insider :: Food |
| Top ranking MyKuali Noodles newest craze Posted: 01 May 2014 08:15 PM PDT After making number seven on the Ramen Rater's 'spiciest list' in August last year, it is now number one on the 'Top 10 Instant Noodles of All Time: 2014 Edition'. The Penang homegrown brand beat 1,365 other instant noodles from around the world, including the 335 varieties American noodle reviewer Hans Lienesch had reviewed since last year, for the top spot. Lienesch, who runs the Ramen Rater blog, gave the instant noodle five stars out of five and described it as "fantastic stuff". "The noodles are just the right texture and gauge – not too wide or too narrow with a chewiness that is perfection. "The broth is amazing – extremely spicy and features a strong curry flavor and a hearty finish. "I am truly impressed with this one and would consider it to be the one I would love to eat every day. Bravo!" Lienesch wrote in his review. The instant noodle rater said he had never heard of Penang until last June when he first had a taste of the white curry instant noodle by MyKuali. He had little experience with Malaysian instant noodle varieties, he said. "I had no clue what to expect and was absolutely elated with this one. My core interest in reviewing instant noodles is that I want to try new things every day. This was definitely something new to me," he added. MyKuali's Penang white curry noodle beat Prima Taste's Laksa and Curry La Mian noodles from Singapore (second and third), Japan's Sapporo Ichiban Otafuku Okonomi Sauce Yakisoba (fourth), South Korea's Samyang Foods Maesaengyitangmyun Baked Noodles and Palso Cheese noodles (fifth and sixth), Malaysia's Mamee Chef Curry Laksa Flavour noodle (seventh), Singapore's Prima Taste Chilli Crab La Mian (eighth), South Korea's Nongshim Soon Veggie Noodle Soup (ninth) and Thailand's Mama Yentafo Tom Yum Mohfai Flavour instant noodles (10th). Fast-selling phenomenon The MyKuali brand has become a household name in Penang and other places in Malaysia. At times, people find the noodles hard to get as they are always low in stock, which is partly due to its popularity. A phenomenon shortly after it was introduced in May last year, it is said to be the best curry instant noodle in the market – a success due to its curry paste that makes the noodle almost as good as the real thing serve by hawkers. Consumers discuss the product and post photos of it on social media sites like Facebook, and even share information on when and where new stocks are available since the instant noodle sells faster than the manufacturer can make it. Even guests at Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's office on Level 28 of Komtar building leave with packs of the curry instant noodles as gifts. The DAP leader occasionally gives the noodles away to close business partners and selected guests, not to everyone as there is hardly enough stock, one of his aides said. "We buy and have at least a box on standby in case he wants to give away the famous noodles," she said, adding that her boss also buys them for his son who enjoys instant noodles. There are even occassions when sponsors of state events ask Guan Eng's office to help put in their orders for the noodles with the manufacturer, as they too have found it difficult to buy sometimes. Mini market operator Lim Goay Suan, 48, said she usually gets a supply of 20 to 50 boxes of the instant noodles from the manufacturer, Sky Thomas Food Industries Sdn Bhd. Each box (carton) has 12 packages, each containing four packs of the noodles. "It only takes a few hours to sell all of them. The demand is that good. Many of my regulars buy in bulk because they send them to relatives and their children who are studying overseas. "They sell so fast that sometimes I am forced to limit the number of purchases per customer to ensure others get a chance to buy the noodles too. "It is a normal thing if customers have to wait days to a week to buy the noodles, which always sell out very quickly," she told The Malaysian Insider at her shop in Seri Delima, Penang recently. Goay Suan's Suan Hin mini market sells dry goods, vegetables, fresh fish, meat and poultry, and is a stone's throw away from a popular coffee shop in the neighbourhood. When the 200 boxes arrived at her shop recently, there were as many people buying the noodles as there were customers buying fresh produce. During the busy morning, she paused to pick up the ringing phone and told her customer on the line that a new stock of the much sought after noodle had just arrived. As expected, they sold fast. There were customers buying entire boxes of the instant noodles. "I was first captivated by the product myself when the noodle's manufacturer conducted a product sampling in front of my shop last year when the noodle was first introduced. "They just set up a makeshift stall by the road and people made a beeline for it as soon as they smelled the soup. "People loved the taste immediately and they started telling others about the product," she said. Goay Suan, who had been selling Sky Thomas' cooking paste products for some time, found the noodle irresistible herself and decided to carry it too. "I don't sell food products that I don't think is delicious," she added. The MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodle is currently sold in selected mini markets, wet markets, supermarkets and hypermarkets like Giant and Cold Storage nationwide. The price for a pack of four ranges from RM6.90 to RM7.90, with some outlets selling at over RM8. Expanding horizons Sky Thomas founder and marketing manager Thomas Tang said the company sells 30,000 cartons of the product a month, with a daily output at 1,500 cartons. "Most of the outlets carrying the product run out of stock within a week. As the demand is high, our present capacity still cannot serve the market demand. We are also still a new company," he told The Malaysian Insider in an email interview recently. However, there will be an increase in output soon, as the company is expecting its new plant in Bukit Minyak to be ready for operation this July. With the new factory being five times larger, Tang said daily production is expected to increase by seven to eight times. "With the increased output, we hope to hit RM30 million in sales this year," he said. The company is also planning to increase its export of the noodle, which is now at 40% and making RM600,000 worth of sales per month in foreign markets like Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and the United Kingdom. Tang said the company is now working out the distribution networks in the United States and Europe. After the success of the white curry noodle, which also made the Top 10 Spiciest Instant Noodle of All Time 2013 list on the American food blog 'The Ramen Rater', the company will introduce one or two new products to the MyKuali brand this year, he said. "For now, our new Hokkien and Tomyum instant noodles are still undergoing research and development," he said. Hokkien and Tomyum noodles are also popular hawker offerings in Penang. – May 2, 2014. |
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