Meet Kelantan's Deadpool: He Serves Authentic Northern Dishes At A Shop In Kok Lanas
The owner of Kedah Nasi Kertas in Kereteh, Kelantan has been disguising himself as Deadpool while serving his customers just to add a little spice and fun to their meal experience at his shop.
By Daranee Balachandar — 21 May 2021, 06:57 PM
Meet Kelantan's very own Deadpool.
He serves customers an authentic array of Kelantanese dishes with a splash of entertaining antics to the customers who visit Kedai Nasi Kertas in Kereteh, Kelantan.
Mohd Alif Aikal Mohd Nadzir — who owns Kedai Nasi Kertas — told Bernama recently that he decided to don the cheeky superhero's costume when he serves customers at his restaurant and use it as one of his marketing strategies.
The 30-year-old said that he wanted to entertain his customers by doing so.
"On top of that, I am also a big fan of Marvel superheroes, especially Deadpool, because of his funny and playful nature," he said.
Mohd Alif added, "Previously, I wore this Deadpool costume just for fun, when there weren't many customers in the shop."
He was inspired to wear the costume full-time at the shop to liven up the atmosphere at his restaurant, which is located in front of the Petronas petrol station in Kok Lanas.
"This was when customers were allowed to dine in prior to the implementation of the current Movement Control Order (MCO). Many actually wanted to take pictures with Deadpool then," he told Bernama.
He is often joined by his two employees, who don Spider-Man and Black Panther costumes on weekends and public holidays.
Mohd Alif — who has a two-year-old daughter — said that the act attracts customers to the restaurant.
Kedai Nasi Kertas first opened its doors in 2016 and Mohd Alif had already planned to make his restaurant stand out with great food, fun antics, and an unusual name
The restaurant is known for selling a variety of authentic Kelantanese dishes like nasi kerabu, nasi berlauk, and several kinds of colek, usually served on brown paper. Their nasi ayam kampung madu is a favourite among loyal customers.
Mohd Alif said that the restaurant had received up to 500 orders a day during Ramadan.
The entrepreneur disclosed that he chose the unique name of the restaurant to stand out among other similar food outlets in Kelantan.
"Nasi Kertas is actually rice wrapped in paper, and if I put other names such as Nasi Berlauk Pagi or Nasi ala Kak Wok, I thought it would be a bit of a cliché," he said.
The name of the restaurant had piqued the interest of customers early on, with many asking the story behind the name, Mohd Alif told Bernama.
He said that a number of people had visited the restaurant just so they could see it for themselves and taste their dishes.
Initially, Mohd Alif's family was not receptive to his plans to open up a restaurant serving nasi berlauk
He recounted that he had opened the restaurant after he graduated from Universiti Putra Malaysia with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
With a capital of around RM80,000, sourced from his own savings and some financial help from his parents, he opened Kedai Nasi Kertas.
His family's initial uncertainty was because there were numerous shops around the area who sold the same products, but he decided to try his luck as he always had an interest in business since his university days.
"From the business that I did while still studying, I managed to save some capital. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah), I can now generate between RM10,000 to RM15,000 a month," Mohd Alif said.
The restaurant currently employs 12 workers.
