‘Jom Kosong’: Are you willing to skip sugar in your ‘teh tarik’ and ‘kopi’ to save 20 sen?

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — Many people consider the Indian masala tea as a dessert drink, but banana leaf restaurant owner G. Jeyacanth said he does not mind taking the drink without sugar in it.

Without sugar, the drink would still contain the fragrance of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and various other spices — but also 20 sen cheaper, under a new campaign promoting sugarless drink called “Jom Kosong”.

“I drink my milk tea or masala tea without sugar, I think it’s absolutely fine,” said the 36-year-old owner of Kavitha Banana Leaf in Petaling Jaya.

“It wouldn’t be a problem introducing ‘kosong’ beverages in the restaurant when the Jom Kosong campaign takes off in this part of town.”

“Kosong” in Malay literally means “zero” or “empty”, but is usually used to refer to drinks made without sugar when ordering.

A “Kopi O kosong”, for example would not only mean with no sugar, but no milk as well — and therefore would be mixed without any sweetened condensed milk or creamer.

Most recently, Putrajaya said that its “Jom Kosong” campaign to reduce sugar intake in beverages would now cover the Indian-Muslim mamak chains, in addition to Thai-Kelantanese tom yam eateries, and Indian restaurants nationwide.

“From my observations, people are more health conscious today. Most of the customers here opt for less sugar or no sugar in their drinks.

“That said, while the initiative is good one, I still feel that consumers themselves must want to change their diet too otherwise it won’t work,” he told Malay Mail.

Drinks stall vendor Gopinand, 47, pulls tea to create a froth at his stall in Putrajaya on March 7, 2024. — Picture by Raymond Manuel

Can all drinks be prepared ‘kosong’?

However, requesting a “kosong” drink is not as simple as it may seem.

Jeyacanth said that most of the drinks can be served sugarless, while milky drinks can be prepared with just evaporated milk or creamer.

“The only drink we cannot make ‘kosong’ would be fruit lassi. Its sweetness comes from the fruits,” he said.

Similarly, at a banana leaf restaurant in Ampang, a restaurant staff who requested anonymity said while more customers are requesting sugarless or less-sugar options, this may not be possible for some drinks.

“Only two drinks we won’t be able to serve ‘kosong’ — serai halia (lemongrass ginger) as it comes as a pre-mixed cordial, and also teh tarik.

“For teh tarik, it can’t be made ‘kosong’ as we noticed that it requires condensed milk create the ‘tarik’ (pull) element of the drink. From our experience, we couldn’t ‘tarik’ the tea when we substituted it with evaporated milk,” he explained.

Literally meaning “pulled tea”, teh tarik is made by using gravity to transfer the milky tea from one container to the other, creating a froth on top of the drink.

The staff explained that the condensed creamer is necessary to achieve the drink’s consistency, and cannot be replicated using just evaporated creamer.

Another popular mamak chain, Q Bistro, said that its restaurants have to follow strict measures while preparing their beverages — and this includes sugarless versions of drinks.

“We have a fixed recipe to follow at all our outlets, and even when our customers order kurang manis (less sweet), we have a specific recipe for that,” said a manager in its Taman Melati branch, who preferred to not be named.

“Although the ‘kosong’ option is not a popular choice here, we’re ready to participate in the campaign.”

A poster promoting sugar reduction in beverages is displayed at a coffee shop in Putrajaya on March 07, 2024 — Photo by Raymond Manuel

But are customers willing to skip sugar to save 20 sen?

Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry Minister Fuziah Salleh had in September announced that the “Jom Kosong” campaign will be expanded nationwide.

Presma (Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Association), Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) and the Sahabat Tom Yam Prihatin Semalaysia are among those who have agreed to hop on the campaign.

Chia Hui Ling, 40, who consumes most of her drinks without sugar said it was a health choice she made on her own.

“I would order a drink without sugar anytime and that includes even milk-based drinks like milk tea or bubble tea.

“Twenty sen may not be much, but for me since I already take ‘kosong’, so I welcome any discount,” Chia said, adding that it is just a matter of acclimatising one’s taste buds.

Amalina Rahmat, 37, who frequents mamak restaurants said RM0.20 is not much of a discount, but it makes a difference when drinks are quite pricey at mamak restaurants these days.

“Did you know that a ‘teh ais’ is more expensive than a ‘roti telur’? Today, we pay RM3.50 for a teh ais, and RM2.50 for roti telur.

“So in a long run the RM0.20 discount could make a difference,”Amalina said..

In contrast, Ray Lee, 30 said this campaign may not work as 20 sen is too little for discount to push a consumer to make a switch.

“The only drinks I’d do ‘kosong’ are tea, Milo and iced lemon tea. If you take away half the price of the drink I think it will be more attractive to push change in a person’s lifestyle,” Lee said.

Luqman Mohammad, 35 said it would only work if sugar is reduced across the board on all food and beverages, like how it is done in Singapore.

“Perhaps we could follow in their footsteps to reduce sugar and sodium intake across the board on all food and beverages type.

“Only then I think we can see significant changes in our sugar and salt intake habit,” he said.

Neighbouring Singapore had in September last year launched the “Siu Dai by default” movement — referring to “less sweet” in coffee shop lingo there, aiming to encourage food and beverage operators to offer beverages with less sugar as a default.

In March this year, its Health Promotion Board announced that the Foochow Coffee Restaurant & Bar Merchants Association and Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar-Owners Association have pledged their support to the movement.