These 6 Malaysian Brands Just Couldn't Resist Jumping On The "Crispy Rendang" Bandwagon
Since news of the Masterchef debacle broke on 2 April, these brands have jumped at the priceless marketing opportunity.
By Katrina Khairul Azman — 04 Apr 2018, 07:14 PM
Zaleha Kadir Olpin's elimination from Masterchef UK made international headlines after Malaysians caught wind of the fact that the judges called her chicken rendang not 'crispy' enough
"The chicken skin isn't crispy, it can't be eaten," Gregg Wallace said to Zaleha when she presented her nasi lemak and chicken rendang to the panel of judges.
Malaysians, Indonesians, and Singaporeans took to social media to express their outrage at the judges' disregard for the traditional way of preparing the treasured local dish.
KFC Malaysia took advantage of the piping hot attention surrounding 'Rendang gate' to promote their finger licking good fried chicken
In a playful Facebook post, KFC revealed their new advertisement that simply read, "Not rendang".
At the time of writing, the post had received over 16k shares and 23k likes.
The ad came shortly after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad tweeted Masterchef judge John Torode saying that, "Maybe you are confusing chicken rendang with KFC."
Not to miss a valuable marketing opportunity, TGV Cinemas followed suit with an ad for their 'crispy' popcorn chicken
The caption "Know what's right" subtly hints at the unspoken understanding between Malaysians on how rendang should be cooked.
The Facebook post garnered 506 shares and 1.3k likes at the time of writing.
MAS chimed in with a post of their on-flight nasi lemak meal that comes with a side of "real" rendang
myBurgerLab joined in on the fun when a Twitter follower brought up their Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang burger, which was introduced last July
Despite not jumping on the rendang bandwagon on their own, myBurgerLab admitted via their Twitter account that they appreciate the free publicity.
Penang based Spade's Burger introduced a rendang inspired chicken burger to their menu, available for a limited period
Even the Vice-Chancellor of Sunway University decided to poke fun at Rendang Gate with a short video
He can be heard saying, "Rendang...definitely not crispy!" before the camera zooms into the plate of rendang.