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such as appearance, taste, smell and texture as well
as cooking methods influence the customer pur-
chase intention.
that there are only five primary taste sensations:
sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami (Nielsen,
2005). But the perceived flavor of a food involves
to a considerable extent there is the sense of smell
along with the taste sensations while texture is the
term used to describe the characteristics of a fin-
ished food product. This is related to the order in
which the ingredients are added, the way of mix-
ing and the method of cooking affect the result-
ing the final products (Kpratishnair, 2007). To
Drewnowski (1997), the taste, smell, and texture of
foods help determine food preferences and eating
habits. In reality, there are multiple links between
taste perceptions, taste preferences, food prefer-
ences, food choices and the amount of food con-
sumed. In terms of cooking technique, there are
some basic methods can be used. Commonly, the
basic cooking method can be divided into two gen-
eral groups; the dry heat methods and moist heat
methods. The dry heat methods usually conducted
without moisture while the moist heat method is
conducted by water or water-based liquids. Differ-
ent cooking methods are suited to different kinds
of foods (Gisslen, 2003). For preparing Asian
foods for example, types of cooking methods are
basically used include stir-frying, deep-frying,
steaming, stewing and blanching (Ramly, Ahmad
& Ahmadin, 2003).
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Malay food
Malay cuisine is a combination of social habits, his-
tory, tradition, climate or a summary of all those
unique things combined based on great products
from all states (Nummedal and Hall, 2006). Histor-
ically, Malay cuisines were strongly influenced by
various ethnic groups including Siamese, Javanese,
Sumatran, Minangkabau and others (Travellers
worldwide.com, 2011). The rich historical heritage
has evidently resulted in its exotic cuisine. Varieties
of ingredients used are often described as spicy and
flavorful as it used a combination of spices, herbs
and roots. Strong, tangy and flavorful ingredients
such as
serai
(lemon grass)
, pandan
(screwpine),
daun
limau purut
(kaffir lime leaves),
kemangi
(a type of
basil),
kesum
(polygonum or laksa leaf),
buah pala
(nutmeg),
kunyit
(turmeric) ketumbar (
coriander
)
buah pelaga
(cardamom),
bunga acengkih
(cloves),
biji sawi
(mustard seeds),
halba
(fenugreek) and
buah pala,
(nutmeg) are often used in Malay dishes.
Santan
(coconut milk) is a basis of many Malay
dishes to create rich and creamy texture. In terms
of cooking methods, it usually takes longer time to
cook as most authentic Malay delicacies cooked on
low heat such as
mereneh
(simmer) and
mengukus
(steaming) (Mohamed, Mohamad & Hussain,
(2010). Depending on the main basic ingredient,
Malay dishes can be more or less, distinguished
into several styles of cooking such as
masak lemak
(coconut)
, masak pedas (
hot chillies),
masak assam
(tamarind)
, masak merah
(tomato sauce)
, masak
hitam
(dark soy sauce),
masak assam pedas
(chillies
and tamarind). These basic styles of cooking can
be applied to a variety of food from meat, poultry,
fish, seafood and vegetables. Normally, these dishes
are served with white rice for lunch and dinner.
Some of other famous and unique Malay foods are
rendang, gulai, laksa, satay, otak-otak, lontong, tem-
poyak, nasi kerabu,
and many others.
2.3
Purchase intention
Intention is the cognitive representation of a per-
son's readiness to perform a given behavior, and
it is considered to be the immediate antecedent
of behavior (Fishbein and Azjen, 1975). Inten-
tion represents one of the most important parts
of human behavior where several cognitive and
behavioral factors can vary sharply between indi-
viduals. It is a difficult task because the customer'
intention or decision depends on many factors that
cannot be directly controlled (Nielsen, 2005). It is
also an individual motivation to engage in a spe-
cific action and is the best predictor of the actual
action (Guido et al., 2009). In line with that, inten-
tion to purchase refers to the general predisposition
of consumers towards the act of purchase (Ajzen
(1991). It is the implied promise to one's self to buy
the product again which depicts the impression of
customer retention. Thus, intention to purchase
could help the food manufacturer and marketer
to predict the purchase behavior of customer and
understand the market. Study by Sirohi (1998)
shown that purchase intention is something that
most food manufacturers and restaurateur focus
on since it help them to identify the behavior and
perception of their customer about the product so
that they can provide and improve their products
to address customer satisfaction and retention.
2.2
Food characteristics
The flavor is an important characteristic of a
food. Actually, the flavor is a blending of taste and
aroma. Sometimes the words flavor and taste are
used synonymously. According to Salleh (2010),
taste is only one part of the flavor. Taste involves
the sensations produced through stimulation of the
taste buds on the tongue. It is generally accepted
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