Whether we admit it or not, Malaysians often get sucked into trying out anything new and viral so we can be part of the hype. Yesterday (Sunday, 13th August), a Twitter user showed the crowd for a shabu-shabu restaurant that went viral, leaving netizens to wonder what contributed to the sudden surge in popularity.
Twitter user @/Chairman_GLC tweeted a photo of the long line for the Japanese chain restaurant, Suki-Ya. Along with it, the user captioned, “Is this a shabu-shabu restaurant or a syabu-syabu (methamphetamine) restaurant? People are queuing in a crazy long line.” In the photo taken of the IOI City Mall branch of the restaurant, a long line of customers was queuing to enter the premise, and the line stretched past three other stores.
Suki-ya is a shabu-shabu buffet restaurant that began operations in Malaysia in the late 2000s. Customers would pick their ingredients, make their sauces and create a custom menu that suits their taste buds. After many TikTok users began sharing their DIY sauce recipes, the restaurant went viral, especially amongst the Malay crowd.
Due to its sudden popularity, many Suki–Ya branches in Malaysia started seeing long lines, like the one at IOI City Mall. Tons of netizens shared their shock at the line of people queuing for the restaurant, wondering why patrons willingly queue for hours. Other mall visitors shared that the line for the restaurant is always long, even during weekdays, leading some to question the restaurant’s sudden popularity. The photo also opened the debate of whether the restaurant – or any restaurant, is worth standing in line for hours.
What do you think about this? Would you be willing to wait hours to dine at a restaurant? Or would you rather eat somewhere that doesn’t have a crowd?
Source: Twitter
Adleena contributed to this article.
