Ramadan Bazaar Owner Explains Why He Sells RM20 Murtabak After Netizens Slammed His Booth
"The picture that went viral is not accurate at all because the image actually showed the murtabak cut in half," the owner told SAYS.
By Aqasha Nalani — 28 Mar 2023, 06:02 PM — Updated over 1 year ago
A photo of a Ramadan bazaar vendor selling murtabak at RM20 each has recently been circulating Twitter for being overpriced
The image was first uploaded by @twt_cyberjaya on Monday, 27 March, and they posted it with the intention of promoting the bazaar to the locals of Cyberjaya, Selangor.
Despite the innocent marketing strategy, another user reposted the picture with a different message.
The user who reposted the photo said that the murtabak sold at the booth must have only been made for people of the T20 income group.
"T20 Ramadan bazaar," they wrote, implying that the food was expensive.
At the time of writing, the tweet has garnered over 1,400 retweets and over 502,000 views.
The tweet sparked a debate among netizens, with many questioning the murtabak's price
One user mocked the vendor and said that they sold the dish at that price because they used wagyu beef.
Another wrote that they would rather make the dish themselves than buy it there.
"[They should] increase the price so they can do a tour around the world," another user wrote in jest.
Speaking with SAYS, the Ramadan bazaar stall owner said that the tweet was misleading
The owner said that he and his team have set up booths in front of their restaurant, Barbabros & Cuz, and will be selling food throughout Ramadan.
At the booths, they sell different kinds of food, some of which they cook themselves and some of which they buy from other business owners to resell.
The items that they resell are boko ubi and the food that went viral, murtabak mengkasar.
However, the owner said that the actual murtabak sold there is not like what was shown in the picture, adding that the real item is double the size and filled with more meat.
"The picture that went viral is not accurate at all because the image actually showed the murtabak cut in half," he said.
The murtabak is actually delivered to the restaurant frozen, and it is only fried when customers order it
The owner said that they buy the frozen dish for RM18 each from Kuantan, adding that the profit margin is not even high as they are reselling them for RM20 each.
He went on to say that the team decided to sell the murtabak because it is already famous in Kuantan, and they would like to share the rare delicacy with all of their customers in Cyberjaya.
"Barbabros has always been known for its affordable food, especially our signature fusion pasta. The last thing we want to do is to overcharge our customers," he told SAYS.
"We were quite shocked that this became viral and we felt sad that the whole confusion has given a negative image to our business," he added.
Meanwhile, a Malaysian man was surprised that his sister had to pay slightly over RM100 for several sticks of satay from a restaurant in Cheras recently:
