Should Tealive Philippines Include Malaysian Dishes in Its Menu?

Tealive Asia

I've tasted many milk tea brands. However, Tealive is the first one I've tasted that fits into the halal standards. Tealive Philippines has its more or less standard coffee shop food with a halal twist. During the time when the ube flavors came in--I wrote that Tealive may want to invest in the Bangsamoro region. I checked the Tealive Asia Facebook page and found some items not yet served at Tealive Philippines. One of them is the Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang (picture above). Historically, the Philippines has had its settlers from Malaysia and Indonesia. Taiwanese natives also descended from Malaysians and Indonesians. I even remember seeing how Malaysians and Indonesians are often mistaken as Filipinos.

One might find similar delicacies between Mindanao Malaysia and Indonesia. For example, reading about 25 Malaysian desserts made me think, "It's closer than expected!" The lokot-lokot of the Philippines is similar to the garajilu of Malaysia or Indonesia. The use of coconut pancakes, dadar-gulung can also be found in Malaysia and Indonesia. It's also worth mentioning that the Malaysian-Filipino sweet tooth demographic is similar (read here).

Can Malaysian meals be part of the regular menu in Tealive Philippines? Some establishments will adjust the taste or menu to fit the demographic. Indians tend to offer milder options to Filipinos. Hawker Chan from Singapore has added more salt to the Filipino taste--in their Filipino branches. However, there are halal restaurants around. As a Cebuano, those I know are Persian Palate (which also has some Malaysian food), Shawarma Gourmet, Ya Habibi (which is delivery only, no dine-in), and Hussam Middle Eastern Cuisine to name a few. Given the number of halal restaurants (called by Cebuanos as "kan-anan sa Muslim") in the mall. It could be a yes if the cards are played right. After all, Arab restaurants have survived in the Philippines--even in the non-Muslim dominant regions.

Food in Mindanao and food in Malaysia are similar. If Tealive should consider opening in the Bangsamoro region (which I believe they should)--they may want to sell their Malaysian-style cooking there. It might be best to see which parts of the Philippines should sell Malaysian-style cooking. However, I still believe that it can work if the dishes are modified (in some way) for the Filipino taste.

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