‘A turkey a day’ plan fails to fly for eatery owner

GEORGE TOWN: Desperate for Christmas turkey to sell, a restaurant owner here came up with a rather laborious idea.

He wanted to buy the birds in Singapore’s retail market and drive them over – one bird at a time.

“The plan was to get the help of friends who work in Singapore and live in Johor Baru. We persuaded them to buy a turkey a day after work and bring it over.

“Then, we would store them in a cold room in Johor Baru and transport them to Penang when we had enough,” he revealed.

Alas, it did not work because his friends in Singapore had trouble finding turkey too.

“We only managed to buy two. Where is all the turkey?” he said, adding that last year, he sold a few hundred turkeys for Christmas.

Another restaurateur here, Warren Tan, 34, said he had been pestering his suppliers for turkey for over a month.

One supplier told him that it was easier to strike the lottery than to buy a whole turkey in Penang now.

“I give up. I’ll think of something else to cook for my patrons for Christmas,” Tan said.