Malaysian alumni cooks up a fast food sensation

25 December 2013

A team of business and engineering graduates from The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus have created such a successful new formula for Malaysian dining they have got customers queuing up the street every evening before the doors open at five o’clock.

MyBurgerLab, in Petaling Jaya, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur has generated something of a cult following since it opened on 10 July 2012. The restaurant is open for just five hours a day and in that time it caters for up to 600 customers.

Wee Kiat Teoh, who graduated in Finance Accounting and Management in 2010, is one of the three co-founders of myBurgerLab. Entrepreneurial spirit is just part of their success he said: “To be honest, the E word is just a term. It’s your actions in the end that counts. Of course you will feel afraid, fear, uncertain, with all the what-ifs flocking into your head whenever you feel like doing/creating something.”

Boosted by rave reviews in Time Out KL the team see no let-up in the demand for their fast food formula. The burgers are made fresh every day to a special recipe. The restaurant is staffed by college and university students — some from the University on Nottingham Malaysia Campus — who are given four hours intensive training to ensure a high level of service.

With signature dishes from Popeye the Sailorman and Hangover to Beautiful Mess and Chicken and Egg Dilemma they are attracting a cliental of young dinners keen to experience something different from traditional Malaysian street food.

Co-Founder Ren Yi Chin said: “I was working and travelling in the States and saw the growing demand for fast food burgers cooked to order and I thought someone should do this in Malaysia. Because none of us are cooks we had a lot of experimenting to do — hence the name myBurgerLab. We wanted to give our customers a sense of ownership so we called the restaurant myBurgerLab.”

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