While Klang Valley sleeps, Kelantan’s favourite flavours hit the road

Nasi Berlauk Kelate Express transports thousands of Kelantan delicacies nightly from the east coast to the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Terengganu, and Pahang.

The business started with small deliveries and now collaborates with over 20 suppliers, offering a wide variety of traditional dishes delivered via vans.

Despite occasional challenges like vehicle breakdowns, the business continues to create income opportunities for food operators and sellers across multiple states.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — While most people are fast asleep, thousands of packets of rice and side dishes, as well as kuih — all traditional delicacies of Kelantan — are transported hundreds of kilometres from the east coast almost daily to reach customers in the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka.

One of the businesses driving this delivery chain is Nasi Berlauk Kelate Express (NBK Express), operated by Mohd Syafrini Azmi, 38.

Embarking on the venture a decade ago, his delivery service started with about 200 packets per trip before expanding to more than 3,000 packets for each trip to the Klang Valley. The company has also since opened delivery routes to Terengganu and Pahang.

Speaking to Bernama recently about the business, Mohd Syafrini said it was his friend Mohd Yusri Mohd Yusoff, 38, who came up with the idea of bringing Kelantanese food to markets outside the state due to the sizeable Kelantanese community in the Klang Valley and beyond.

“When I first started, I used a Myvi car and at one point rented an Avanza. But as the orders grew, the cars could no longer accommodate the orders, while the food could also be damaged when the packets were stacked on top of one another.

“So, I switched to vans (one each for the Klang Valley route and Terengganu/Pahang route) and have continued using them to this day,” he said.

Mohd Syafrini said initially, he was only delivering nasi berlauk Air Dingin, but the “menu” has since expanded to a wider variety of Kelantan specialities, including rice with chicken, fish and beef dishes from popular “brands” such as Kak Chik, Tengku Noor, Depey Tanggo and Kakak Aisyah, as well as Nasi Kerabu Paloh.

His company also transports a variety of traditional Kelantanese kuih and delicacies, including tepung bungkus , lompat tikam , nasi tumpang , ketupat and nasi kapit sambal .

He said more than 20 suppliers and food operators in Kelantan are now supplying the various dishes and delicacies to NBK Express, with collection taking place at several locations in the state, including Tumpat, Wakaf Che Yeh and Machang.

For the Klang Valley route, the van stops in Gombak, Selangor, where the food packets are handed over to over 80 agents and runners who distribute them to restaurants and other sellers in the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka.

NBK Express opened the new route to Terengganu and Pahang two months ago, transporting about 2,000 packets of food on each trip to several areas, including Setiu, Kuala Terengganu, Paka, Kuantan and Rompin.

Mohd Syafrini, who resides in Selangor, said for the Klang Valley route, the driver begins collecting supplies in Tumpat at around 10 pm before heading to other collection points.

“The van usually leaves for Kuala Lumpur at around 11pm.

“After about five hours on the road, the van can arrive in Gombak as early as 4am, where the food is collected by agents and runners for distribution in their respective areas,” he said, adding that punctuality is crucial as some agents start selling as early as 6.30am to meet demand from customers heading to work.

However, sometimes the van driver is unable to reach the destination on time due to incidents such as accidents, vehicle breakdowns and punctured tyres.

“In 2017, the van skidded on the highway near Lipis, Pahang, due to slippery road conditions before spinning and overturning, leaving the vehicle completely wrecked.

“When we found out about it, the first thing that came to mind was the driver’s safety. Fortunately, he was safe, but the company had to bear the cost of the food (that could not be supplied that day) and refund payments to the agents,” he said.

For Mohd Syafrini, the most meaningful aspect of running the business is that it has created income opportunities for food operators in Kelantan as well as sellers across the Klang Valley and other states.

“For me, the satisfaction does not come from my achievement alone because, indirectly, this effort also provides a source of income for others,” he said, adding that he is also considering expanding his delivery service to Johor if time and logistical constraints can be overcome.

Meanwhile, Datuk Azri Che Zan, who operates Stesen Bukuh restaurant in Puchong, Selangor, said he has been selling the Kelantan food packets supplied by NBK Express since September 12, after seeing strong demand for the food in several other areas, including Shah Alam and Bangi.

“We did not expect such an encouraging response. Our highest sales reached about 2,000 packets on September 16, which sold out within just three hours, starting from 7am,” he said.

He said the majority of customers were Kelantanese who said the taste was close to what they enjoyed in their home state, with nasi kapit sambal and Kak Chik dishes among the most popular choices. — Bernama

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Nasi Berlauk Kelate Express 每晚将数千种吉兰丹美食从东海岸运送到巴生谷、森美兰、马六甲、登嘉楼和彭亨。

该企业最初以小规模配送起家，现在与 20 多家供应商合作，提供各种各样的传统菜肴，并通过货车进行配送。

尽管偶尔会遇到车辆故障等挑战，但该业务仍然为多个州的食品经营者和销售商创造了收入机会。

吉隆坡，9 月 28 日讯——当大多数人还在熟睡时，成千上万包米饭、小菜以及糕点——这些都是吉兰丹的传统美食——几乎每天都从东海岸运送数百公里，送到巴生谷、森美兰州和马六甲的顾客手中。

推动这条配送链的企业之一是 Nasi Berlauk Kelate Express (NBK Express)，由 38 岁的 Mohd Syafrini Azmi 经营。

十年前，他开始创业，最初每次配送约200件包裹，后来扩展到每次配送3000多件，覆盖巴生谷地区。此后，该公司还开通了通往登嘉楼和彭亨的配送路线。

莫哈末·沙夫里尼最近在接受马新社采访时谈到这项生意，他说，是他的朋友莫哈末·尤斯里·莫哈末·尤索夫（38岁）提出了将吉兰丹美食带到州外市场的想法，因为巴生谷及其他地区有相当数量的吉兰丹人。

“我刚开始的时候，用的是一辆Myvi车，后来又租了一辆Avanza。但是随着订单越来越多，这些车已经装不下这么多订单了，而且食物包装叠放在一起也容易损坏食物。

“所以，我改用面包车（巴生谷路线和登嘉楼/彭亨路线各一辆），并且一直使用到今天，”他说。

Mohd Syafrini 表示，最初他只提供 Nasi berlauk Air Dingin，但后来“菜单”已扩展到更广泛的吉兰丹特色菜，包括来自 Kak Chik、Tengku Noor、Depey Tanggo 和 Kakak Aisyah 等热门“品牌”的鸡肉、鱼和牛肉米饭，以及 Nasi Kerabu Paloh。

他的公司还运输各种传统的吉兰丹糕点和美食，包括tepung bungkus、lompat tikam、nasi tumpang、ketupat 和nasi kapit sambal。

他表示，吉兰丹州有 20 多家供应商和食品经营者正在向 NBK Express 供应各种菜肴和美食，取货地点遍布该州的多个地点，包括 Tumpat、Wakaf Che Yeh 和 Machang。

对于巴生谷路线，货车会在雪兰莪州鹅唛停留，在那里，食品包会被交给 80 多名代理商和跑腿人员，由他们将食品包分发给巴生谷、森美兰州和马六甲的餐馆和其他商贩。

NBK Express 两个月前开通了前往登嘉楼和彭亨的新路线，每次行程运送约 2000 包食品到包括 Setiu、瓜拉登嘉楼、Paka、关丹和 Rompin 在内的多个地区。

居住在雪兰莪州的 Mohd Syafrini 表示，巴生谷路线的司机大约晚上 10 点开始在 Tumpat 收集物资，然后再前往其他收集点。

“面包车通常在晚上 11 点左右出发前往吉隆坡。”

“经过大约五个小时的车程，货车最早可以在凌晨 4 点到达贡巴克，在那里，代理商和送货员会领取食物，然后分发到各自的区域，”他说，并补充说，准时至关重要，因为一些代理商早在早上 6 点 30 分就开始销售，以满足上班族顾客的需求。

然而，有时由于事故、车辆故障和轮胎爆胎等事件，货车司机无法按时到达目的地。

“2017 年，这辆面包车在彭亨州立卑附近的高速公路上因路面湿滑而打滑，随后旋转翻车，导致车辆完全损毁。

“得知此事后，我们首先想到的就是司机的安全。幸运的是，他平安无事，但公司不得不承担当天无法提供的餐食费用，并退还给代理商的款项，”他说。

对于 Mohd Syafrini 来说，经营这项业务最有意义的方面是它为吉兰丹的食品经营者以及巴生谷和其他州的销售商创造了收入机会。

“对我来说，满足感不仅仅来自于我的成就，因为间接地，这项努力也为其他人提供了收入来源，”他说道，并补充说，如果能够克服时间和物流方面的限制，他也在考虑将送货服务扩展到柔佛州。

与此同时，在雪兰莪州蒲种经营 Stesen Bukuh 餐厅的 Datuk Azri Che Zan 表示，自 9 月 12 日起，他一直在销售 NBK Express 供应的吉兰丹食品包，因为他看到包括莎阿南和万宜在内的其他几个地区对这种食品的需求强劲。

他说：“我们没想到会有如此令人鼓舞的反响。9月16日，我们的销量最高达到约2000包，从早上7点开始，短短三个小时内就全部售罄。”

他说，顾客大多是吉兰丹人，他们表示味道和家乡的味道很接近，其中最受欢迎的是椰浆饭配叁巴酱和鸡肉咖喱。——马新社

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