KUALA TERENGGANU: Fancy having the famous musang king durian for iftar (breaking of fast) this Ramadan?
If so, check out a booth, currently promoting the king of fruits, at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC) in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
With dozens of tour buses ferrying thousands of guests daily to MaTiC, the booth has the potential to generate gross sales of an estimated RM300,000 a month.
This is because the premium quality durians are sold at between RM50 and RM150 a kilogramme, depending on the season. Patrons can also buy ready-to-eat packs priced reasonably from RM20.
Matic Food and Beverage Sdn Bhd serves only the ‘best among the best’ of premium quality durians that include the red prawn, musang king, D24, D13 and XO varieties.
Also on the menu are fresh coconut juice, packed mok durian pie, mochi and dried jackfruit. And you can have frozen take-aways in a tupperware with insulated bag.
The brainchild of Datuk Seri Roger Ly Kim Cheong, the company’s managing director, the booth is open for 12 hours daily, all-year round, from 10am at the car park of MaTiC.
Ly, who is also People’s Progressive Party national youth treasurer, came up with the idea during a casual discussion with Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz, recently.
“Nazri wanted me to expeditiously begin promoting the durian as one of Malaysia’s most loved fruits.
“I immediately organised a business plan and got the operations going within days on June 3.
“Business has picked up tremendously as tourists and even locals find it ideal to relish a good quality durian at the heart of the federal capital, hassle-free and in a comfortable environment,” said Ly.
He added that with his booth, durian lovers need not travel far out into the rural areas to seek the premium quality ones, which at times were difficult to find.
“Also, they risk paying hefty prices for non-satisfactory fruits.
"Here, we assure that they get only the best quality, as our fruits are sourced from our own farm and elsewhere in Raub and Bentong, Pahang,” said Ly, adding that MaTiC was an ideal location to promote not only durians but any other Malaysian favourite for the benefit of tourists.
Ly, who invested RM500,000 for his fully furnished booth complete with refrigeration, is now planning to expand his business to include other favoured tropical Malaysian fruits.
The booth has an indoor dining and outdoor alfresco facility lined by Italian umbrellas.
“Eventually, I plan to establish similar booths in all the other states to promote Malaysia’s fruits on a larger scale,” he said.
Ly added that business was brisk as his premium durians were not only nutritious and rich in vitamins like niacin, riboflavin, thiam, B5 and B6, but were good for blood circulation.