An Indian eatery in Kuala Lumpur city called McCurry Restaurant has gained international fame after McDonald’s (which claimed the name of the restaurant breached it’s trademark) sued McCurry and lost the eight-year legal battle after Malaysia’s highest court, the Federal Court, ruled on 8th September 2009, in favour of McCurry, that McDonald’s cannot claim an exclusive right to the ‘Mc’ prefix in the country.
Internet news from Al Jazeera, BBC to CNN and newspapers across the globe carried with headlines “McCurry wins row with McDonald’s” and “Malaysia’s McCurry beat McDonald’s in trademark fight” and I knew I just had to try it and decided to check out the place.
The restaurant is situated at the first mile Jalan Ipoh near Jalan Raja Laut, Chow Kit area in Kuala Lumpur. Its ideal location in the business district of Jalan Ipoh makes the place popular with everyone looking for affordable meal from office workers, tourists staying at nearby hotels and to families on weekends.
The restaurant serves a variety of spicy Malaysian Indian curries, including chicken curry, mutton curry, fish head curry, nasi briyani and favourite cuisine like roti canai, thosai, chapatti, murtabak and tandoori naan.
Overall the food is of acceptable quality but can definitely be improved. The price is reasonable without burning a hole in your pocket. The teh tarik drink is kinda cheap here at RM1 a glass. The place is crowded during lunch hour and also on weekends and public holidays.
Business is brisk here, but McCurry Restaurant owner A.M.S.P. Suppiah and his staff are always very friendly.
For Suppiah, 55, a Bachelor of Commerce graduate from New Zealand, his phone had not stopped ringing since winning the case. He has become an instant celebrity of sort and had been receiving lots of local and international calls daily from strangers, people he does not know, who called to congratulate and wish him well. Many others walked into his restaurant to congratulate him personally and to take photos with him. On top of that, he received many inquiries from enterprising people from as far as China about franchising his business restaurant and he has appointed a franchising consultant for advice.
“A 67 years old man called from Ireland after seeing the news from BBC and he said this to me: I thank you so much for pointing out to the world that the prefix “Mc” belongs to the Irish and Scottish people and not exclusive to any single corporation”, said Suppiah who has a friend by the name of Bruce McCurry.
“I also received a call from a Dato’ Yunus Rais from London who said he was a Malaysian and had been staying in London for 30 years. He saw the news on BBC and CNN and had this to say to me: This is the best news I heard from Malaysia this year. You have made Malaysians proud,” said Suppiah.
Yes I am proud that a small Indian restaurant can fight with a fast-food giant and win the battle. McCurry Boleh! Malaysia Boleh!
