Damansara Kim’s “The Oriental Cravings” Brings Back Favourites But Raises Trademark Question
Patrons of Oriental Cravings in 1 Utama were excited that the restaurant made a “comeback” in Damansara Kim but it has changed hands.
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A new restaurant in Damansara Kim named The Oriental Cravings has generated quite a buzz. This was partly because fans of Oriental Cravings in 1 Utama Shopping Centre were sad when it closed in 2021.
However, former patrons soon discovered that it was not exactly the same restaurant and was only the same in name.
The Oriental Cravings restaurant in 1 Utama is not affiliated with the Chew family or their group of restaurants, which currently runs The Oriental Cravings in Damansara Kim.
Nevertheless, those fond of Oriental Cravings in 1 Utama can revisit their favourite homestyle dishes at The Oriental Cravings in Damansara Kim.
In an Instagram post, the original Oriental Cravings team shared they received congratulatory messages about their reopening from former patrons and felt it was important to clarify that they did not make a return.
What’s new in The Oriental Cravings in Damansara Kim?
According to Malay Mail, the new The Oriental Cravings in Damansara Kim is owned by 23-year-old Kimberly Chew.
Chew shared that she used to dine in the original Oriental Cravings with her late grandmother, Madam Ong Kit Ching. Chew said she did not return to the restaurant after her grandmother passed. However, she’s starting to miss the food and the nostalgic moments.
As luck would have it, the staff from the original Oriental Cravings restaurant were absorbed into Chew’s family restaurants like Farm to Plate, Le Sense, and Mera.
With their combined expertise, they brought back the classic favourite dishes with some flavourful tweaks to the new outlet.
Some of these dishes are the beloved Claypot Loh Shi Fun with piping hot rice noodles, salted fish, minced meat with egg served with more chee yau char, Crackling Pork Curry Laksa, Ah Ma Rice Wine Chicken Mee Suah, and fried yam cake.
Soups like salted mustard green soup (ham choi) and bitter gourd and seaweed soup are part of the menu too, including popular drinks like ice-blended cucumber with lime.
The menu is further rounded up by dishes from the other Chew family restaurants like Nam Yu Pork Belly, Salt and Pepper Chicken Wingettes, Thai Basil Clams, Chilli Prawn, Crispy Salmon Skin and the Loh Hon Cai.
Aside from the high rental cost in the mall, Chew shared that the shop did not reopen in 1 Utama partly to keep it accessible to old folks like her grandfather.
Questions about trademark and IP issues
Fans of Oriental Cravings were happy the familiar dishes were back but the “relaunch” drew questions about copyright and intellectual property (IP) in Malaysia.
A Facebook user shared that the Chew family allegedly asked the original Oriental Cravings partner if the name could be used. They were apparently refused but still went with it two months later.
Some felt it was a non-issue because permission was sought and believed the restaurant’s name hadn’t been trademarked nor the recipes registered as IPs or patented.
While this matter is best left to lawyers and seasoned business owners, netizens agreed that the Chew family was gutsy to pull it off with some seeing it as an homage to the original restaurant.
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