Jaja’s Baketime: A gyoza recipe for a thriving business
Having the interest to learn new skills and fill her time, youthpreneur Jaja Rai’dah started a home-based food business selling fan-favourite Asian dumplings, gyozas.
Jaja’s Baketime is a business created by the 21-year-old for all her baking to be shared with the people in Brunei and currently their specialty is homemade gyozas.
What separates Jaja’s gyozas from others is that her gyozas are cooked air-fried and pan-fried compared to those found in other restaurants which are steamed and deep-fried.
“I personally enjoy the airfried version because it’s not just healthier, but it’s super crunchy too! Another thing different is the sauces I offer. They’re not the usual chili oil that you use to dip your gyozas. I offer creamy types of sauces which I have learned have become a lot of my customer’s personal favourites,” said the youth entrepreneur.
Jaja’s Baketime sells chicken gyozas which are available in various quantities with a choice of sauce and cooked with the preference of customers, air or pan-fried.
Additionally, there are various choices of sauces that customers can choose from such as homemade garlic sauce, creamy ginger soy sauce and Mom’s Lemon Tang.
“I would say, the best seller would be the pan-fried gyozas with a side of garlic sauce. But then again, it really depends on what your preferences are. The majority of my first-time customers try out the Pan-fried with Garlic sauce and they immediately stick to it,” said the 21-year-old.
The gyozas are ideal for major foodies who like to venture out of the different types of food in Brunei.
The prices for the gyozas vary depending on the quantity - 8 pieces for $5.60, 15 pieces for $10.50 and 30 pieces for $20, which are available for purchase online via their Instagram @jajas. baketime
However, she finds a quick and more efficient way of producing more than 200 gyozas in a day. She is also planning to start supplying frozen gyozas to supermarkets and tuck shops.
From hand-rolling about 100 gyozas a day to buying a pasta machine that helps to produce twice as much in a day as she keeps receiving more and more orders each day.
The business started in August last year and has gained so much attention from the local market with less than 300 followers to 2000 followers in just three months.
Having so much interest in business, the entrepreneur has attempted other businesses as well but with the challenges that it comes with, she had to put them on hiatus.
“I come from a family of entrepreneurs. So I thought, how hard could it be? After a few weeks of starting my business back in 2020, I became extremely unmotivated to continue and decided to put my baking business on hiatus,” said the youth entrepreneur.
Soon after that, the 21-year-old started another business which is a space to run events and the first event she started was for Brunei December Festival which continued until March and hosted one event per month. However, it all came to a halt when the second wave hit.
During quarantine, the owner found a new love for cooking and baking and started searching up recipes which have led her to this day with a striving business.
Jaja has always been fond of starting a business from a young age and with Jaja’s Baketime and by believing in herself, she is able to bring that dream to life.