Northern putu mayang recipe popular in Kuching
KUCHING: Abu Bakar Rajab who has been travelling on his motorcycle selling putu mayang for the last 20 years has built a loyal following among residents in this city.
According to Abu Bakar, 58, he learned the art of making the traditional Indian cuisine from several putu mayang sellers when he was working in Kedah.
“I received tips on preparing the dish from three different Indian putu mayang vendors and when I became proficient at it, I started my own business in Kedah and continued selling the street food when I came to Kuching.
“I would travel around Jalan Gambier, Lebuh India and Tabuan Melayu selling the sweet savoury treat from a special container placed on my motorcycle,” he told Bernama recently.
“It was difficult to come by this traditional dish when I first started the business over 20 years ago. From the start I had been using rice flour to process the dough into noodles while others used instant vermicelli noodles,” said the father of four.
While being interviewed Abu Bakar, who speaks fluent Hokkien, Melanau, English and Sarawak Malay, kept greeting and calling out to passersby to try his freshly made putu mayang.
“As a food vendor we should exercise our vocal skills and not just sit quietly waiting for people to come,” said Abu Bakar who hails from Permatang Pauh, Penang.
Since starting the business Abu Bakar said response had been encouraging and the income earned was sufficient to support his family and see his children through higher education.
Abu Bakar is proud that from a humble beginning of peddling his ware on a motorcycle his business has grown to enable him to open up four stalls and employ six staff.
“The stalls are located near the Taman Sukma Emart Supermarket; Choice Ria Supermarket in Jalan Astana, MJC Farmers Market and Satok Sunday Market, while I will be rotating at the different venues depending on my mood.
“We operate from Thursday to Sunday and the putu mayang are sold at RM2 for four pieces,” he said adding that 50kg of putu mayang are sold in a day.
“The business requires a small capital and though the profit margin is small, you are assured of making some money at the end of the day,” he said.
When asked how he could survive selling putu mayang for over 20 years, Abu Bakar said in the food business, quality and consistency must be maintained.
“Thanks to our loyal and satisfied customers who come from as far as Serian, Sarikei and Miri we are still in business until today,” he added. — Bernama