What challenges did Ong Ai Li face with customer pricing expectations in Malaysia?

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Ong Ai Li faced unusually strong customer price sensitivity in Malaysia, with customers rejecting a RM15 tiramisu as “outrageous” compared with larger, cheaper options from pasar malam.

Some passersby at her earlier stall, Nude Bakery in Kuchai, complained directly about the RM15 price for a tiramisu and even brought proof by showing they could buy a larger tiramisu at pasar malam for about double the size. Ong, who had worked in high-end Singapore kitchens where people paid S$15 for one dessert (about RM47), said she was surprised to be “scolded for RM15.” Her husband and business partner, Josh Chua, also recalled that they had to persuade customers to try the desserts first, offering them for free if the customer was not satisfied.
Customers compared RM15 tiramisu to cheaper, bigger pasar malam options
In Kuchai, customers did not simply express dislike; they went to the pasar malam, bought a tiramisu double the size, and used it to show the difference in value. That comparison put Ong’s RM15 tiramisu in direct competition with night-market pricing and portion sizes. The result was repeated pushback against the price rather than passive indifference.
Ong’s Singapore experience made Malaysia’s price sensitivity feel unexpected
Ong previously worked as the Group Executive Pastry Chef at Saint Pierre, and before that spent 16 years leading pastry teams in Singapore’s top kitchens. In Singapore, she said S$15 was a familiar price point for a dessert and customers would react with appreciation. In Malaysia, she described being challenged at RM15, even though the figure was far lower than the Singapore reference point when converted.
The duo had to actively convince people to taste before paying
Josh Chua said they had to “beg people to come and eat,” reflecting how difficult it was to convert interest into sales at the stated price. Their approach was to let customers take and eat one first, with the message that they would not need to pay if the dessert was not nice. This shows the practical challenge they faced was not only price perception, but getting customers to try the product at all.
The pricing issue shaped how they operated when building the business
The need to persuade customers was linked to how they ran their stall before later closing it and opening Nude as a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Bangsar. While they later expanded into a full restaurant setting, the early Kuchai period still highlighted a market where price expectations were tightly anchored to what people could get elsewhere. In that context, a RM15 tiramisu became a flashpoint that required direct handling through tasting and reassurance.

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What challenges did Ong Ai Li face with customer pricing expectations in Malaysia?

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