Rasa Malaysia
A modern take on the Malaysian street market
Summary
Already running a number of community cafes in east London, and with one of the partners being Malaysian, Grenville and Noor wanted to create an authentic Malaysian dining experience within a high profile location at Westfield Stratford. Having been designed as a pop up concept for a one year duration, the brand went on to secure a long term lease with the landlord and continue to trade from the location using the same design.
Story
The brief was to come up with an identity and environment that would capture the vibrancy of a Malaysian street market in a contemporary and ownable way. Something with energy, not too polished and somewhat playful. Starting with the name "Rasa" (which translates as ‘taste’ in Malaysian), we developed a graphic design foundation based on an abstraction of Pucuk Rebung (a symbol of the bamboo shoot, which can be found in Malaysian culture).
Details
For the interior, we combined familiar elements such as the hawker stalls, imperial architecture and draped lights to create a vibrant, eclectic design. The Great Eastern Market guidelines mean that tenants cannot alter the floor and ceiling designs, so we were limited to creating the most impact for the brand by using the walls and furniture to their fullest effect.