Khairul Aming Deals With Difficult Malaysians After Only Two Weeks Into Restaurant Business

The challenges and high expectations from running Rembayung has been taking a toll on the entrepreneur.

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Starting and running a restaurant is no easy feat. There will be logistics nightmares, financial headaches, operational challenges and unforeseen events that could derail your eatery.

Another major and unavoidable challenge is dealing with difficult customers, and influencer chef-turned-restaurant owner Khairul Aming has been dealing with pain-in-the-posterior netizens after only two weeks since he opened Rembayung.

His highly anticipated and viral restaurant, which serves traditional Malay fare based on his recipes, saw 3,000 bookings just days before it opened its doors on 6 January 2026.

The high traffic even crashed the booking website, sending frustrated Malaysians into a frenzy for not being able to make their table reservations.

Suffice to say, the entrepreneur was left exhausted on the restaurant’s opening night.

Viral photos of Khairul dozing off at a table in his eatery garnered a slew of well wishes online, with many reminding him to take a break after pouring so much energy into his latest venture.

Khairul asks to give him some space and time to resolve online booking issues

Rembayung has only been open for two weeks, and is still in its teething phase. Add to that with Khairul being a first time restaurateur, there is bound to be a few issues before everything goes smoothly.

However, there have been a number of individuals who are putting immense pressure on Khairul regarding the restaurant’s operations.

Recently, a Threads user asked the influencer to hire a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to manage Rembayung’s listing on the booking website (hosted by Umai).

The user asked technical questions and inquired about the contract between Khairul’s business and the booking website.

Khairul, visibly tired in his reply, said: “I’m just running a restaurant, don’t place expectations like I am organising a concert at Bukit Jalil. The restaurant can only handle 200 pax at any one time, but there are 50,000 people who want to book, not forgetting those with seven to eight families or friends who want bring everyone.”

“We use Umai because that is the best option there is to manage a restaurant in Malaysia. But, when the best option cannot handle it, we cannot resolve this in the blink of an eye. The restaurant has only been open for two weeks. Please give me a bit of space,” Khairul added.

Khairul warns of scammers who may sell reservation slots to others

A post by Khairul warned others not to upload screenshots of their Rembayung booking details that includes names, dates, and time as he was concerned that scammers may use the booking details to sell their reservations to others.

“Please censor all details. I’m worried about scammers who will sell your reservation to others using the screenshots,” he said.

“And please don’t trust anyone who leaves comments like ‘PM me sis’ on posts that ask ‘Who has slots at Rembayung?’. There’s a high chance that those are scammers,” Khairul added.

View on Threads

Some people have already asked him to add more “unique” dishes to the menu

Khairul said in a an earlier post on Threads that there are some who suggested a “unique menu” with dishes that can’t be found at other restaurants.

He explained that there have been many dishes that he and his team have put through the research and development (R&D) process, but he had them removed in the restaurant’s early stages as he did not want to put too much pressure on kitchen operations.

“But don’t worry, we have many seasonal menus that we plan to introduce one by one later on.

“As of now our focus is to ensure efficient and clean flow in the kitchen, food gets delivered on time according to SOPs, and good, friendly customer service,” he said.

View on Threads

Sometime in 2021, Khairul gained significant popularity through his consistent and easy-to-follow cooking videos, especially his viral “30 Hari 30 Resipi” series during Ramadan where he featured one recipe per day throughout the fasting month up until Aidilfitri.

He later launched his highly popular homemade sambal series, Sambal Nyet, which sold out quickly and each time it was sold in batches, establishing him as a commercial success.

His consistent authenticity, as well as philanthropic practices throughout the years since he became an online food sensation, is what made Khairul a beloved and trusted culinary personality in Malaysia.

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