SHAH ALAM, July 30 -- - Mention Peranakan food and the debates can go on and on, whether a place serves authentic food fit for a fussy matriarch.

I often feel food evolves with time and place to fit people's needs and economic situation as that's the only way to survive in this harsh F&B industry.

Penang Gulai is a prime example of how to stay long and prosper since 1979 -a lesson many new start-ups should learn-by reading the moment, giving people what they want.

The name may suggest a focus solely on Peranakan food but that's just the tip of the iceberg as the pork-free menu also includes Chinese classics like yam ring, butter fried prawns, shark's fin stir fry with eggs and even tomyam soup appears next to shark's fin soup.

Reality...