A popular shopping mall in Kuching has conceded that their record-setting attempt at making a giant bowl of Sarawak laksa was a "mistake" and thanked the public for their feedback.

"We (will) improve from (our) mistake. If we start to ignore the mistake, we cannot improve. Our philosophy is make sure (we) do the right thing, rather than do the thing right. It is a very simple fact," said Plaza Merdeka general manager Cheah Kheng Mun.

According to Borneo Post, Cheah said this to reporters yesterday during the distribution of 1,500 bowls of Sarawak laksa to mall goers.

On Friday, Plaza Merdeka made it to the Malaysian Book of Records by making the giant noodle dish involving 600kg of ingredients which translated to 1,500 servings.

But after it was revealed that the entire dish was thrown away after the event, Sarawakian netizens expressed outrage over the wastefulness of the stunt, moreso because it involved Sarawak's signature noodle dish.

Coconut milk gone bad

Cheah said that the decision to discard the food was due to safety reasons.

"After the display or mock-up, we cannot simply give away (the laksa) because our advisors said the gravy, which is santan-based (coconut milk), needs to be maintained at a certain temperature," said Cheah.

By 7pm on Friday, the coconut milk had gone bad, said Cheah and thus the food had to be disposed of.

"We really thank the public who are discussing the issue on social media. For us (management), we have no comments and are not disappointed as we welcome this valuable feedback," he said.

Cheah said the mall had decided to give another 1,500 bowls of Sarawak laksa yesterday as a continuation of event on Friday.

"We hope that the Sarawak Laksa can be promoted outside locally and abroad to attract tourists such as those from Hong Kong, Indonesia and Taiwan who can be seen to favour the dish," he said.