Peanut Royale und Maruku...M'sia Mari

Last week, during SIL brief visit we were given two boxes of Malaysian delicacies. One box of peanut biscuit ( ala..from the look of it on the box, like the ones you would find during hari raya..something like kuih raya lah!) and the other, Malaysian Muruku. I was overjoyed. To receive something Malaysian is greatly appreciated. You'd eventually appreciate anything Malaysian when you are abroad. True....! I started to appreciate listening to Malay songs and watch Malay movies when I studied abroad. It wasn't only that, then came along some other things that may relate to home. Air sirap, cendol, the smell of your old room, your mom's cooking, anything really. Once, I longed for pisang goreng like the ones they fry and sell at the stalls back home.

Ok, back to about the gifts. I studied the boxes and suddenly my enthusiasm is shortlived. The boxes bear dull presentation of the contents. They look amateurish, you know, like it have been produced to be sold in pasar malam. The boxes are too light, say flimsy-like. It wonders me because these products are exclusively produced and packaged for sales in KLIA.. and hence why the dull and amateur boxes...? aiyaa..

I know, I know, you must be saying quality and taste of the content that matters. But hey, we are talking about M'sian products for tourists as potential buyers here! Shouldn't the packaging be an extra overwhelming?

Later, I stripped off the openings (box of the peanut biscuits) and there were two foil packagings. Hmm...good. I didn't expect them to be foil-packed within. I do not know how the biscuits packagings are like now in M'sia but as far as I remember my boarding-school-days, Hwa Tai or Julie's biscuits had never been foil-packed within. And so I thought, this one isn't too bad..foil-packed!

A minute later we snacked on the peanut biscuits and whoooaaa...........! I was lost for words..I had never tasted peanut biscuit that delicious! We snacked on them non-stop and by the time we had our 2nd cuppa tea, the biscuits were almost gone. I was impressed, to say the least. DH demanded to have a look at the box and found the price tag. RM 10. He counted the seatings on the biscuit tray..1,2...3...10. One tiny peanut biscuit=RM0.10. But we felt worth it. They were really delicious.

And the Maruku? Two thumbs up ! It too had a foil packaging and the muruku is the finest I have ever tasted. A good pat on the shoulder for Che Mah Saad, ( stated on the box, the supplier cum manufacturer). However, the content is very little. I can say if it was the choice of snack over a movie, you'd probably finished them before the trailer finishes. No price tag detected but I'd say it had probably cost around RM10 too.

So, you people, do not judge biscuits by its boxes!

However, I strongly feel that they (the manufacturers) could have done a better job with the presentation box. If I were a tourist and have seen these boxes on the shelf, I'd probably not even have the nudge to purchase them! What they should do is improvise the outer packaging. Concentrate more on the visual rather than the wordings.

Kenapa tak percaya? If you have the chance to go to KLIA...purchase these and tell me what you think of their tastes. I will guarantee you'd think the same!