Hey guys! It’s Day 20 of the Enhanced Movement Control Order in Malaysia, with about eight more days to go. There’ll be an announcement on April10th to see if it’ll be extended again. I hope not because my cravings are so bad, I actually dreamt of eating fried chicken – but this is a critical time and we might have no choice but to weather the storm.
Speaking of fried chicken, I’ve been watching videos of Keith from The Try Guys, where he eats everything on the menu of a fast food chain, like Wendy’s. We no longer have Wendy’s in Malaysia, so it was nostalgic to see some of the items they serve. It got me thinking about some of the other fast food chains that were here before, but are now long gone.
So without further ado:
White Castle
White Castle was founded in Wichita in 1928, wayyy before KFC or McDonalds. It is known for its small, square burgers – called ‘sliders – which has been listed by Time as one of the world’s most influential burgers. I don’t remember it, but apparently my parents brought me here once when I was very little. They didn’t last very long in Malaysia, so by the time I was old enough to remember eating fast food, they were already gone.
Long John Silver’s
Back when I was younger, fast food was a luxury. My family was not well off, and my parents weren’t big fans of what they call ‘junk’ (they still aren’t, but now I can afford to grab a burger every now and then, lol). Perhaps it’s because these moments are so few and far between that I recall eating at Long John Silver’s so vividly. This American seafood chain was named after the pirate character from Treasure Island. Their fish and chips might just be the reason why I’m still a big fan of the dish today.
Shakey’s Pizza
Shakey’s made its debut in the late 90s to early 2000s – I remember there was an outlet at my neighbourhood mall In Puchong, and we dined there a couple of times. Unfortunately the brand was unable to compete with more popular chains like Domino’s and Pizza Hut (both are still going strong today), and eventually shuttered. The last time I had Shakey’s was in Manila – not the pizza, but their potato mojos.
Papa John’s
Another one that people my age might remember quite well is Papa John’s, an American pizza chain. Again, it did not survive too long and officially exited the Malaysian market in 2016. I was actually sad to see it go, as I really liked their cheese pizza, which was just plain pizza with different types of cheese. The crust was not as thick as Pizza Hut’s, but not as thin as Dominos.
Popeye’s
Popeye’s was one of my favourite places for fried chicken – whenever my friends and I hit up Sunway Pyramid (that was the outlet closest to my place), we would stop by Popeye’s for their crispy, juicy Louisiana-style fried chicken. Of course, you can’t miss the honey butter biscuits and mashed potato.
Wendy’s
Wendy’s was quite a recent exit, as Berjaya group did not renew their franchise last year. People laud them for their square-patty beef burgers, but personally, I prefer their fried chicken (no surprise!) . They had a shrimp burger on the menu once, which was excellent as well.
What are some of the nostalgic fast food chains in your country that have exited the market?
Eris Goes To 
You guys had Shakey’s, Papa John’s, and Wendys and yet they closed down?! That’s odd. :O In Manila, those two pizza joints have pretty much equal footing with a few established ones: Pizza Hut, Domino’s, homegrown brand Yellow Cab, etc.
Interestingly, Popeyes is making a resurgence here in the Philippines! It used to have a restaurant here around 2006 (which closed down), but they returned after more than a decade of absence. No wonder the lunch queues are still long!
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I guess its because Malaysians are quite brand loyal – once a brand is established its very hard to “dethrone” them, haha. McD and KFC are the leading fast food chains here, and Pizza Hut and Domino’s dominate the pizza market. We have brands like Burger King and Church’s (we call it Texas Chicken) but it seems like they’re forever playing catch up, lol. Even Subway isnt doing well.
We also have a local chain called Marrybrown which does okay. Definitely not as big as Jollibee is in the Phils.
We had Yellow Cab in KL years ago, but they couldnt compete either.
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Ah, Texas Chicken! They tried to expand here in the Philippines, but they sadly failed to gain a foothold. 😦
And Subway too! I was surprised that they shuttered all their outlets here in Manila. 😦
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Oh my… White Castle?! It is real then. I thought it was just a thing conjured by the scriptwriter of Harold and Kumar.
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Haha yes! Apparently they’re one of the oldest fast food chains in the US.
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Oh… where have I been?! 😀
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I actually like Shakeys (Manila) and Popeyes (Abu Dhabi) and Wendy’s (NZ) I seldom eat fast foods but after this lockdown I will surely order haha!
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Hi Vinneve, thanks for reading and commenting! Lucky you that you ‘re still able to enjoy those brands 😉
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I am now in NZ and no Popeyes here. It’s my son’s fave.
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Jollibee also once closed down in Malaysia. Luckily, they returned. Also, no more domino’s and A&W in Malaysia.
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Hi ! Thanks for stopping by. Domino’s and A&W are still operating here in Peninsular Malaysia though!
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Wendy’s is still in Malaysia! According to Google, Wendy’s current branches are in Sunway Pyramid, Berjaya Times Square and Paradigm Johor Bahru.
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Hi, thanks for commenting! I believe the Google listings aren’t up to date — news outlets have reported that Wendy’s has exited Malaysia (it was owned by Berjaya Group and they did not renew the franchise).
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I remember eating Long John Silver’s at Berjaya Times Square and Mid Valley MegaMall. The fish & chips were so delicious.
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I remember eating at Long John Silver’s at Mid Valley MegaMall and Berjaya Times Square. Are there any more branches in Malaysia back at that time?
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Oh no! I found this information here:
https://twitter.com/FFacts392/status/1380385568672997378?s=19
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I remember Taza chicken. The food tastes bad. Yuck 🤢! Also, the service was rude. I even fought with one of the employees. Anyways, some of the Shakey’s Pizza restaurants opened 24 Hours. Like the one at Petaling Jaya (if I’m not mistaken).
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Oh yes, Popeyes at Sunway Pyramid has better food than Popeyes at Mid Valley MegaMall.
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