PENANG: A cafe operator has called off its RM5 Rahmah menu due to lukewarm response.

In a TikTok video, Fakrullah Shahran, 30, owner of the Tong Kayu Café, announced that the cafe would discontinue its budget meal after it failed to sell even 100 plates in 20 days.

Fakrullah refuted claims that the food was not delicious but attributed the poor sale to the cafe’s location being not in a business district.

He started selling Rahmah menu offered in two options – soy sauce chicken rice and ginger chicken rice, both selling at RM5 per plate, from February 18 until last Thursday (March 9).

“The profit for each plate is between 10 and 50 sen only,” he said.

Fakrullah said he had surveyed the area and that these two types of food are actually popular among the patrons.

Hence, it was impossible that the food was not good, he insisted.

The Rahmah menu sold only one to ten plates a day while the cafe’s monthly rent is RM5,000. He has also hired eight staff members to man the cafe.

He said his operating cost is between RM28,000 and RM30,000.

“Even if I manage to sell 500 plates a day, my profit will only be RM250. This does not work out for me,” he said.

After releasing the video on TikTok, Fakrullah found the answer from the comments left by netizens why his budget meals had failed.

“If the cafe is located at a commercial area such as Bayan Baru, Bukit Jambul, Queensbay or Batu Maung, I believe the Rahmah menu would sell like hot cakes,” he said.

He found that the cafe is also far from factory area and is surrounded by villages and flats.

Earlier, he spent more than RM300 for six banners to promote the Rahmah menu.

Fakrullah also said he started selling Rahmah menu because of a comment by Bayan Lepas state assemblyman Azrul Mahathir Aziz on his Facebook asking if he was selling Rahmah menu.

He started preparing, and launched the Rahmah menu a week later.

“I have no regrets selling Rahmah menu. At least I have tried, although it fails,” he said.