National Day: Restaurant owner offers cassava-based dishes for free to customers for a week

One such gesture is by a trader who is offering free tapioca or cassava-based dishes to customers at his eatery.

Mahathir Md Daud, 46, said that dishes like "puli ubi kayu," grated cassava or "ubi tonyoh", and boiled cassava are being provided for free to customers at his restaurant, Kedai Makan Abeking Dapur Arang, in Kampung Wakaf Mempelam, for a week from last night.

He said he purposely chose cassava-based dishes to reminisce about the times before independence when people relied on tapioca as a staple food due to the hard situation then.

"In addition to flying the Jalur Gemilang at the restaurant, I provide free food as a unique way to show my love for the country.

"Food is also very close to my heart, as I have been involved in the culinary world as a chef in hotels and on cruise ships from 1997 to 2007," he told Bernama when met at his restaurant.

He said it also aligned well with the traditional food concept promoted at his restaurant, which offers a variety of dishes such as "pulut gaul nyor" (sticky rice mixed with grated coconut), "nasi ulam," and grilled fish.

Mahathir, who was a freelance journalist from 2010 to 2015, said he had been selling the cassava-based dishes, for RM5 and RM6 per plate, at his restaurant since last year

He uses between 40 to 50 kilogrammes of cassava daily to prepare the free dishes for customers.

"This week, we are offering free cassava dishes from 8 pm to midnight. The restaurant is open every day except Monday," said Mahathir, who runs the restaurant with his wife, Sulizawati Sulong, 40, since 2015.

-- BERNAMA