Food Culture in Malaysia and Japan

feed Culture in Malaysia and JapanThe growing, rearing and process of intellectual nourishmentstuffs depends to befool held a special fascination since the nineteenth ascorbic acid. Food and crapulence industry has re eachy growth and moving positively if comp ar to the foregoing years, which is from the number of restaurant that opens day by day. in that location is a big variety of restaurants with the distinct types of cuisine in Malaysia that representing different country and tillage by offers an exciting array of sustenance come inlets, from fast forage to hunky-dory dining and everything in mingled with. Local forage al star offers Malay, Cantonese, Szechuan, Indian and Nyonya cuisine while international nutriment c everywheres the gamut from Nipponese to Middle- eastern United Statesern, Italian and Ameri dope. Today, much tribe ar excited to experiment and explore to each one restaurant that beneficial opened. More over, due to the lifestyle and tr ends, more(prenominal) passel ar take in out rather than cook at home. For guinea pig Recently, more and more Nipponese restaurants set closely been opened around Malaysia. any restaurant tries to bring up a new concept and originality to their brand.As the time goes by, people ar more selective nowadays. They would identical to choose a thoroughly character food, with a good shell out, with a good branding, and leave behinding to yield with a reasonable legal injury. there be some students are ordaining to pay high cost for one meal because they pauperization to try a new restaurant or a new cuisine with a good quality of the food. Thus, all restaurants hurt to try their best to neat the nodes expectations. Besides that, they to a fault imbibe to recognize every aspect of their seam has an impact on client helping because involve font to face node contact and the supply in food has growing day by day. Each restaurant has to boost them self to improvin g client service that involves making a commitment to learning what our guests needs and wants are, and underdeveloped action contrives that implement node friendly processes.The writer finds this let go of kindle because nowadays people lots ask the simple question wish well Where are we going to eat? I love Nipponese foods in particular sushi. Where foot I get a yummy sushi with ideal price, good service and good place to hang out? When people resolve to choose a Nipponese restaurant, there are some factors that twine their decision making, such(prenominal) as guests emotion, rapture and brand loyalty. It is very in-chief(postnominal) to know customers behavior in set out to build a immense term relationship. Therefore, the writer has chosen the title An assessment of Sushi Zanmai Malaysia touristyity among university college students.There are 3 different concepts of Japanese restaurant that owe by SuperSushi Sdn Bhd caller-out which are 1st Concept Sushi Zanmai that began since in April, 1997, the genuine conveyer-sushi restaurant. There are several outlets of Sushi Zanmai which are in Sunway Pyramid, The Gardens, One Utama and Low-Yat. 2nd Concept Sushi dosage that began since in September, 2007, a casual kiosk-style Japanese restaurant. 3rd Concept alimentary paste Zanmai that began since in December, 2007, a Japanese Casual Pasta Restaurant.Within this gip extent, this fellowship has developed the restaurant very fast, from one concept into other(prenominal) concept.The purpose of this research isTo identify factors that influence people selecting Sushi Zanmai as a sushi restaurantTo identify current trends of Japanese foodTo recommend measures that could facilitate to improve current conditionPART 1 LITERATURE AND look back1.1 Food Culture in MalaysiaMalaysia has a combined world of over 18 million people. Because of its central location, between the Indian Ocean and the southern nigh China Sea. Malaysia has impostally been a meeting point for traders and travelers from both the East and West, it exchangeablely has produced a close diverse culinary melting pot. As a result, Malaysia has a multicultural and multiracial population consisting of ternion primary(prenominal) group which are Malays, Chinese, Indians and numerous indigenous peoples. With such a vary ethnic composition, it is no surprise that a great diversity of religions is paramount without Malaysia.In Malaysia, eating out is really a gastronomical adventure. A blend ofcultural and ethnic histories which make up Malaysias diverse population is reflected in the broad range of influences and flavours found in Malaysian cuisine. And each bow in Malaysia has something to offer in terms of culinary delights. For instance Penang, the famous in hawker stall haven, where all the most delicious food requires that only be as little as RM 3.50 per dish, such as Penang Char Kway Teow, Fried Oyster, Laksa, etc. Mallaca is also home to Baba Nyonya food, which served in quaint cafes in historical shop houses. Or in Kuala Lumpur, the most diverse offering of foods from all over the world, such as Chinese cuisine, Indian cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Thailand cuisine, Vietnamese cuisine, European cuisine, Arabian cuisine, etc.With compound origins, there are certain ingredients common to numerous dishes in Malaysia. fourfold varieties of rice and noodles, which are from local or imported from Thailand, Japan or India, are often used as a base. The Malays include a lot of seafood in their diet, like fish, squids, p stark(a)ns and crabs that used to show up in Malay dishes. And most of Malaysian dishes use fish behave or fish paste because fish live is around the shores of Malaysias islands. clean herbs and roots are commonly used to cook Malays food. Indian and Thai curry spices with functional varieties are often used to create bounteous and spicy curry dishes. A dried spice is also manikin an important compon ent of Malays cooking. Moreover, in a city of Malaysia which is Malacca was one of the great trading centers of the spice in the fifteen century. And Coconut is another favorite ingredient which is also common found in myriad dishes. For instance Santan(the coconut milk), to make creamy curries. It is to add savory redolence of the dishes and to cool the fire of hotter spices.Today, rice is the staple for around half the worlds population, curiously in parts of China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Southeast Asia.According to historians, they believe that is was start domesticated in the area covering the foothills of Eastern Himalayas (Northeastern India), and stretching finished Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Southern China. From here, it spread in all directions and human destination created numerous varieties of rice.According to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), based in Philippines, there are 120.000 varieties of rice worldwide. Over the centuries, ther e are three master(prenominal) types of rice developed in Asia, depends on the content of the element which isAmylase means an enzyme that breaks starch d birth into cultivated cabbageRice has divided into three (3) which are long grain, medium grain and short grained varieties. In this case, different populations, take aimr different varieties of rice.Foods through the day in Malaysia are three meals a day and rice is almost always included, even at breakfast. For instance, Nasi Lemak. A typical meal consists of rice served with soup, curries, and a few vegetable stir-fries and also eaten fruit for dessert. A typical of Malay lunch and dinner was all dishes are placed in the center of the table to be divided up by all the diners and usually the Malay food is often eaten with the hands.There are similar eating pattern within Japanese and Malaysia, which the main staple is rice and it is eaten with almost every meal. The meal features is quite said(prenominal), such as the taste s of sweet, sour, spicy, bitter and salty. Like Chinese style wheat noodles served in meat stock known as Ramen have become super popular over the last century and Malaysian like to consume noodles. Follow by seafood, as Japan is surrounded by sea as same as Malaysias islands. Therefore, When Japanese cuisine comes to Malaysia, the food itself advantageously accepted by Malaysian.1.2 Background of Japanese Food CultureThe rice-centered food culture of Japan evolution follows the introduction of wet rice cultivation from Asia more than 2000 years ago. The cultivation and inspiration of rice has always vie a central role in Japanese food culture. The tradition of Japanese is usually rice served with seasonal vegetables fish and other maritime reapings reached a highly sophisticated form in the Edo period (1600-1868) and remains the vibrant core of native Japanese cuisine. In the century and a half since Japan reopened to the West, Japan has developed an incredibly rich and vari ed food culture which includes not only native Japanese cuisine but also many foreign dishes. Some adequate to Japanese tastes and some imported more or less unchanged.In the 6th century, introduction of Buddhism to Japan became the official religion of the country and the eating of meat and fish were prohibited. The first recorded decision prohibiting the eating of cattle, horses, dogs, mon key outs and red jungle fowl was issued by Emperor Temmu in A.D.675. Laws and emperor eliminate the eating of almost all flesh of animals and fowl because based on Buddhism are prohibiting to killing.In the 15th century, many of the foods and food ingredients eaten by Japanese nowadays, for instance miso, tofu or soy sauce.In the 16th century, the combination of Spanish and Portuguese frying technique with Chinese method for cooking vegetables in petroleum led to the development of tempura, the popular Japanese dish in which seafood and many types of vegetables with deep fried method.In the e arly 19th century, the development in Edo, the introduction of sushi has started. Todays, most of people are familiar with that dishes. It made from vinegar rice top or combined with raw fish and shellfish. And during that time, sushi was interchange from stalls as a snack food, and that stalls were become the crackpot of todays sushi restaurants.In the mid 19th century, many of new cooking and eating customs were introduced where the most important being eating the meat. Consider of Japanese dish, Sukiyaki that consist of beef, vegetables, tofu and other ingredients cook at the table in a soup stock of soy sauce, sweet sake and sugar was first served in Western style restaurants. Another dish that popular during this period is Tonkatsu, means a deep fried bread porc cutlets.In the early 20th century, using Indian curry powder, Japanese curry rice (kareraisu) became very popular dish which consisted vegetables, meat or seafood with a thick curry sauce and served with rice.In gen erally at sushi restaurants, costumers will sit at the counter and call out their order item to a sushi chef. Or sit at Conyever belt where the customers goat grab small plates in front of you, or call a special order if you do not see what you want on the belt. Or customers can sit on tatami mats. And as like Chinese, Japanese also ate with chopsticks to transfer the food. The rice bowl is not held as closely to the mouth. Soups are consumed directly from the bowl and the only dish eaten with a spoon is an unsweetened egg custard which known as chawanmushi.There are several ways to describes the differ of Japan cuisine from other cuisine, First, portion of the dish are small because it is to capture the diners attention with the freshness, natural black rockweed, the hit of each dish, the atmosphere and the whole meal. Second, the food for a meal is served at once, so diners receive their own portions on individual plates and bowls preferably of serving family style from large bowls in the middle of table. Third, Japanese use less oil which to emphasize the light and natural flavor of the food.And now, development of Japanese restaurant that opened more and more in Malaysia. It can be cause of the trends between among the Malaysia. There is similarity between Malaysia cuisine and Japanese cuisine that makes Malaysia is easier to accept. Other reason is Malaysian are quite open minded with those culture.1.3 Food affecting consumers towards selection of foodThere are numerous factors that affect consumers towards selection of food, whether it is made by individuals or other parties. Food choices are influenced by many interacting factors which are income, culture, the concern about health, values, religion or even genetic.Many visible(prenominal) models have been developed to describe these influences that including The Lifestyle Model of dietary habits (Pelto, 1981), which attempts to relieve how these factors interact to result in specific food behavio rs.Societal FactorsFood Production and Distribution System is responsible for the availability of foods which differs from region to region and country to country. Food availability influences and in turn is influenced by the socio-economic and semipolitical systems. These serve to control the convergenceion and dispersion of food in culture. politics policy whitethorn also be involved with the purchasing antecedent of consumers through programs such as the oversight of food quality through safety standards, nutrition labeling requirements and other resultion programs (JoslingRitson, 1986)Lifestyle FactorsIncome (limits what foods can be purchased) Occupation (influences food habits in several ways, for instance the location of the parentage also influence meal patterns) Education (the status and self-realization descriptor of food use are usually, through not always open on higher levels of education) Nutrition Knowledge (may or may not translate into knowledge based beh avior, and greater influence over what individual eats than what the person knows about nutrition) Ethnic identity (a distant heritage that has been modified or lost over the generations through acculturation) Rural-Urban (place of residence may affect which foods people eat) Religious Beliefs (depends on what religion, may have a great impact on food habits or may have no influence at all) Health (specific foods are often credit with health promoting qualities, such as ginseng in Asia) Physiological (age,gender,body image, and state of health)All of influence lifestyle factors are affects food habits.1.4 Factors affecting popularity of Japanese food towards university college studentThe marketing mix is the set of marketing tools which often summarized as the four Ps that the firm uses to achieve its objectives in target markets (McCarthy, 2001). And most marketing professionals would say that the right marketing mix is the one that maximizes customers satisfaction and resul ts in the highest sales or market share.ProductIt is defined as anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might fill a need or a want. footfall one this return emerges will come from an analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats.There are twain classifications of productTangible product GoodsIntangible product ServicesFor a restaurant, the goods are food and beverage outlets offered and the service is the customer service. Consequently, it is logically to include services within the definition of the product. (David Jobber)Step two is a detailed analysis of the target market to assess the reputation of the opportunity, what is its size and capablenessity? How strong is the competition and how is it likely to evolve in the future?Step three is research into the needs of prospective customers, what is it that customers truly want?According to Hamel and Prahalad, 1991, today, this goes beyond merely asking cu stomers, what are the customer looking for, but creatively seeking to discover needs that customers cannot phonate because the customers are unaware of the possibilities offered by new technologies and the changing environment.People will always seek a restaurant that offering excellent food, especially when the restaurant have a good service, value and ambiance. People satisfy their needs and wants with products. Thus, the product is the main thing for a order because without products there is nothing to market or sell. And when a customer decides to buy a product, the customer will look for certain characteristics. The customer will want to know how many different products that offered by restaurant, which one provides a more interesting savings and what is included in the product. Product must have the power to leave a good impression and interest so the customer will not hesitate to visit the restaurant for the randomness time.PriceIt is defined as what the product or service costs to the customer or the amount that customers are willing to pay for a product and service. In order hand, price is the only element in the marketing mix that produces revenue. And setting a price for a product is very important.Price has a very strong impact on sales volume and market share empirical studies (reviewed in Tellis, 1988 and Sethuraman and Tellis, 1991) have shown that, for most products, price elasticity is substantially higher than advertising elasticity.The company will need to set a price that the customer can afford and willing to pay and at the same it will economic aid the company to achieve a good level of profits. When a customer asks about the price of a product, the customer also interested in knowing is there any discounts or special promotions.Therefore, no exit how good the product, how creative the promotion or how efficient the place or distribution, unless price covers costs the company will make a loss. (David Jobber, 2004)For instance, if the price is expensive, regular students will not be able to afford it and will think to have their meals in other restaurant. Nowadays, customers are concern about the price of their food and tend to compare the price to another restaurant. The customer will evaluate whether the value of the product is worth the amount that the customer are paying, because customers are always strongly influenced by price.Price often fulfills two functions simultaneously it reflects the sacrifice that the buyer must make in order to acquire the product or service involved and it also acts as a signal of the quality of the product (Monroe, 1990)Another esteem is where pricing have the relationship between price and perceived quality, because many people use price as an indicator of quality.According to David Jobber, the more value a product gives compared to that of the competition, the higher the price that can be charged. Price should accurately key to the value to the customer. The sacrifices that made by the customer is in order to experience the benefits of a product, thus from the restaurant itself have to give the best for the customer.PlaceIt is defined as place or distribution as a set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product available for use or consumption by customers. Or the company activities that make the product available to target customers.The dimensions of place are channels, assortment, location, inventory and transport. (Borden, 1984) For instance Location, where customer can obtain the product so distribution channels are the key to this area. And in fact, many restaurant companies believe that location has become the most important factor to success.Warnaby and Dominic, 2004 highlight the advantages of shopping in town centers. Thus, the company will need to find ways to bring the products to customers and make the product easy to access to the customers. For instance Convenience that is also important issue in food outle t patronage which the time and speed service is required, in order to satisfied the customers need and want.Place or distribution considerations play a major role in influencing customer motives. In the marketing of consumer goods, the role is to ensure that the product is available to the consumer when and where it is needed and in sufficient variety and quantity.PromotionIt is defined as the activities that communicate the merits of the products and bias target customers to buy or use the products. Company need to plan promotional activities properly in order to create awareness of potential customers. It is where advertising and communications are used to encourage customers uptake of the product or service.Promotion has several types of tools which are Advertising, Sales promotion (discounts, coupons), Publicity, contrive of Mouth, Personal Selling, Merchandising, Sponsorship and etc.The main reason why promotion is so important is to communicate with individuals, groups or or ganizations. Through promotion, the message like data about products or services can be communicated to existing and potential customers.Promotions can strengthen brand positioning. A 1985 study by Frankel and Co. and learning Research Services found that, following exposure to adverts featuring promotions for a brand, consumers aspect of the brand( issues like quality, value and caring about customers ) improved by over 8 percentage compared to those exposed to only brand sell adverts.In other words, it must have the right facilities and services (product) and make them easily accessible to guests (place) with the proper amount of promotion and the right price. (David Abbey, 2003)Japanese food-Korean foodJapanese and Korean foods are popular and are made of similar ingredients. However, the foods have their own taste, recipe and way of eating. Even though Korean food and Japanese food seems to be similar, both of them have their specialties.Japanese food and Korean food seems t o be similar because they use same ingredient. For example, both of them use onions, green onions, red peppers, raw fish, and rice. Koreans and Japanese get it on eating raw shredded fish, which are sushi and sashimi. Sushis ingredients are boiled rice, and raw sliced fish and sashimis ingredient is still as raw sliced fish. In addition, Korean and Japanese rice is the same.However, Korean and Japanese food is not totally same. Koreans tend to make food spicier and saltier than Japanese food. The price of Japanese food is higher than that Korean food. When people eat a meal at a Japanese restaurant, they should pay lots of bills for their meal. For example, the basic foods like rice, sashimi, and some sea food cost thirty-five dollars per person. However, Korean basic foods, rice, main stew, and lots of side dishes cost just ten dollars per person. Japanese fresh seafood has high valuable, so most people prefer going to a Japanese restaurant like Benihana. Nevertheless, it is e xpensive.Every person has his/her own appetite, someone want to eat Japanese food and the other want to eat Korean food. Both foods may seem to be similar, because they are made of almost same ingredients. However, each of them has their own recipe, taste, and style of eating. Even though Japanese food is expensive, people like to eat Japanese food.