If you were up to date on trends, the ketogenic diet, also known as keto, has skyrocketed in Malaysia.
Keto is a low-carb, high-fat diet– Functionally, it's pretty similar to other low-carb diets. By reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat, the body goes into a metabolic state called ketosis.
Dictionary-time: Ketosis is a metabolic process that occurs when the body burns fat for energy due to the lack of carbohydrates, essentially causing the body to burn fat.
The
Diet supposedly also reduces
Blood sugar and insulin
Levels while lowering diabetes
Risk among other health benefits.
However, with our hectic lifestyle, it is difficult to get keto-friendly food. Chunky Monkeys tries to counter this problem by delivering keto-friendly ready meals directly to the front door.
beginning
Out with chunky monkeys
Chunky Monkeys was founded by Iqa and Saiful in January 2019.
While practicing keto, it was difficult for them to get keto-friendly meals, so they had to cook the dishes themselves.
While Iqa was experimenting with food, he considered opening meals to the market and orders were placed. That's how Chunky Monkeys was born.
They even have desserts, with some chunky keto-friendly chocolate bites / Image Credit: Chunky Monkeys
As inspiration for the name, they stated that "chunky" was created because they were chunky people and the addition of monkeys after the name "just something catchy in the combination".
Keto as a way of life
I originally thought keto was just another diet fad, but the team disagreed with that statement.
“Keto is not a fad and rather a way of life. You can trace the history of the keto back to 1923. It's just that people have known more about the ketos in recent years. The same goes for paleo, atkins, vegetarianism and veganism, ”they said.
They also encourage others to try keto and transform it into a lifestyle by interacting with their followers and even inviting them to community conversations.
Even if the Malaysians do not fully adhere to the keto diet, they believe that their meals could simply be seen as healthy alternatives that have been optimized for local palates.
If you've encountered KetoMall Asia and KetoBento before, you may be wondering what Chunky Monkeys does differently.
For starters, it's safe to say that the other two startups focus more on providing keto-friendly ingredients, where Chunky Monkeys specializes in ready meals.
Chunky Monkeys is currently working with KetoMall Asia to offer customers 5% off a Chunky Monkeys meal.
Work
Get out of the right menu
Most people get bored if they eat the same food over and over again.
In order to prevent this and to get their experimental wishes under control, the team frequently changes the menu. The "Something Special" menu changes every week and the "Back to basics" menu changes every three months.
The team decided on trial and error how to find out which dish to add. However, if a customer has a recommendation, he will try to take it into account.
When looking through their menu, we found that they offer a wide range of dishes from different kitchens, such as: B. Chicken Quesadillas (RM 28.90), Meat Pie (RM 28.90) and Tuscan Butter Salmon (RM 39.90).
No, that's not rice in the picture. Take a closer look. / Photo credit: Chunky Monkeys
Some of the bestsellers they recommend are the NasiCauli Lemak (RM20.90) and the Quattro Formaggi Pizza (RM39.90).
Since they market their meals as keto-friendly, they list the ingredients and nutritional values of each recipe on their website for your safety.
How do chunky monkeys work?
Chunky Monkeys closes their orders on Thursdays and delivers them to you on Sundays or Mondays (you choose the time and date) through Lalamove.
You have the choice to order à la carte with a minimum order of RM 83.60, or you can choose a package with 7 meals (RM160) or 14 meals (RM320), with which you can choose both of your dishes.
The shipping costs are at least RM15 and increase depending on the delivery location. Orders over RM320 may be waived.
Photo credit: christinamegams Instagram
It is recommended that you freeze your orders immediately after delivery and consume them within 2 weeks unless otherwise stated on the label.
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Towards the future
The team stated that 70% of the customers are from the region and the other 30% are expats, all of whom are scattered across the Klang Valley.
Every month they receive a mix of new and returning customers, some of whom have been there from the start.
Some testimonials from satisfied customers on Instagram / Image Credit: Chunky Monkeys
While operations are going as well as possible, they are currently short of manpower to serve more people, as it is not easy to look for chefs or bakers who adapt to keto cooking or baking methods.
Obtaining affordable raw materials that meet keto requirements was also not an easy process, especially with non-local ingredients.
Even so, the duo remains positive and said it intends to deliver daily to deliver fresh meals soon.
They also hope to open a pop-up café when the business is up.
Conclusion
Personally, I wouldn't mind trying chunky monkeys if I ever went for a healthy lifestyle because their meat pie reminded me of the cakes I loved to eat during my time in the UK.
I find their prices a little higher, but maybe that's the price of better ingredients that treat my body well.
The option of a weekly menu that saves the hassle of getting a keto-friendly lunch also sounds like a good idea.
For those who want to play keto for the first time, here is some advice from the founders:
Remember that fat is fuel and fill up your electrolytes!
– Iqa & Saiful, founder of Chunky Monkeys
- Read what we wrote about keto here.
