The Chicken Rice Shop (TCRS), Malaysia 's homegrown "halal" restaurant chain, is exploring the possibility of opening more outlets in east Malaysia in the very near future.

Executive Director of TCRS Restaurants Sdn Bhd, Wong Kah Lin said the east Malaysian market presented immense potential for the brand to expand.

"So far the response is quite encouraging and we are planning to expand our business to all major towns in Sabah like Tawau, Sandakan and the Federal Territory of Labuan.

"We are indeed bullish and excited of the long term economic growth prospects of both Sabah and Sarawak thanks to greater infrastructure and capital investments from both the public and private sectors targetted at these states," she said here today.

She said TCRS had to date invested close to RM2 million for two outlets in East Malaysia including one in Kuching.

Wong said TCRS, established in June 2000, opened its first outlet in Sabah at Warisan Square , here August 2007.

"While it is currently a challenging time for the food industry nationwide, we are upbeat of the opportunities that exist for The Chicken Rice Shop.

"We have grown over the years because we take great pride in delivering on our promise of quality consistency, speedy service, cleanliness and value for money, thus providing a total experience for our customers, be it in Kuala Lumpur or in Kota Kinabalu," she said.

KOTA KINABALU, June 24 (Bernama)