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Food is a big part of life's meaning for us. It is ingrained in our blood. Perhaps, this has been bestowed to us, so that living in Medan become more bearable, despite the many grievances (potholes, jam, trash, boredom, you name it). But food, well, it does more than making a living bearable. It colors it beautifully.
Food probably unites Medan's culture more than anything else. There is a slight smirk whenever you see "kwetiau Medan", or "tahu Medan" in Jakarta or other Indonesian cities. It means two things. First, it is a smirk of pride, knowing that whenever people slap "Medan" on food name, it has to be good! There you go, even these people heard about the legendary Medan food. Second, it is a smirk of scorn, because you know that it will likely be a fake Medan food. After all, no one has successfully implanted Medan outside the city. You have to go to the source directly!
Every food stall and business in Medan has a story. If it doesn't have one, we will make one about it anyway. We will put a little bit of feature like "This curry recipe is handed down directly from a ship direct from Fujian", or "there were two part of the bak kut teh recipe, one was grasped from the jaw of dragon, the other one has been missing for one century.", or "Legend has it that the first portion was floated from the bottom of Lake Toba." Well, the point is, we have as much stories about food as about the lady next door.
Well, I hope that whenever you read such rambles from us, you expect some sort of uber cool announcement. And yes, you are right. We have another great news for you. The truth is, we have had a secret relationship for the some times.
We think it is cool if there is a company that lives and breathes to journal all those vivid stories. And we are honored to participate in the journey of Mana Aktiva, the parent company of Makanmana.net. We have known them for quite some times (in fact, legend has it that the first investment inquiry happens in 2012), and collaborated a couple of times.
So, who and what is Mana Aktiva in our eyes? Mana strives to retell and recover stories in Medan food scene. It recently starts to expand into adjacent business sector as well. It also helps business to expand and improve to the next level. It is a melting pot for designers, content creators, chefs, agencies, and consultants. In other words, it is an army of story tellers.
Eventually, we hope that like other businesses we have been involved with, Mana will be able to impact the people in the industries. We believe that the people in the creative industries deserve more that what they get today. And Mana will solve that by upgrading the value of the services offered.
And interestingly, in 2012, MakanMana was one of the companies that Chris approached for investment. Thankfully they were wise to say no to me back then.
Anyway, here at Mana, for a better city! Welcome to the family.