Buying cooked meals more convenient
KUANTAN: Ramadan bazaars here are doing brisk business as most customers prefer to buy rather than spend their time cooking for the breaking of the fast.
Convenience is one of the factors which drive them to buy ready-made meals from the stalls there.
Among the thriving Ramadan bazaars are those located in Jalan Mahkota or popularly known as Taman Kerang, Stadium Darul Makmur’s nearby compound, Indera Mahkota 8, Taman Tas and the housing areas in Indera Mahkota 2.
Stall operator Sumarni Yusof, 42, said she wanted to earn extra income during Ramadan and expected good sales for her homemade curry puffs.
Sumarni and her assistant Mohd Fariz Fahmi, 26, also made two giant curry puffs for display to attract customers.
“I only sell chicken and beef curry puffs as they are the simplest. Thank God, all of them are sold by the end of the day. I hope business will go well until the end of the fasting month.
“Compared to my similar business at the pasar malam, it is quite difficult to finish up 10kg of flour. But during this month, the response from customers is quite encouraging,” she added.
Sumarni, who sells her curry puffs at RM1 each, said her customers were not only Muslims but also non-Muslims, who were among the earliest in line.
For Hafizun Zainun, 33, it is business as usual selling various kinds of traditional kuih.
He said there were 30 types of kuih, most of which were prepared by his suppliers.
“My main product is begedil but because I do not have time to prepare all 30 types of kuih, I sub-contract them to others,” he said.
Other types of kuih sold at his stall in Jalan Mahkota include onde-onde, puteri mandi, badak berendam, kuih tako and belebab.
Hafizun said he had been operating the stall at the same spot during Ramadan for the past 10 years.
“The prices of the kuih are the same as last year despite the cost of raw materials having gone up.
“I do not mind earning less as long as all the kuih are sold by the end of the day,” he added.
Another food seller, Jashila Arnida Ismail, said she had temporarily closed her pasar malam business in Batu 11, Jalan KuantanGambang, Felda Bukit Goh and the Urban Transformation Centre so that she could take part in the Ramadan bazaar.
The 21-year-old sells fried food and uses up 5kg of rice, 4kg of mee, macaroni and 3kg of instant noodles daily. Her stall opens from 4pm until 8pm.
“Most of my customers are married women and students. When it comes to food, I can say that many people are not that stingy about what to buy because they need to break fast,” she said.