JOHOR BARU: When Hussin Md Tap retired as a taxi driver about four years ago, he did not want to just sit idle at home.
The 70-year-old, who still has a yau char kwai (Chinese crullers) recipe that his friend taught him 40 years ago, decided to try his hand at making and selling the deep fried dough sticks in Kampung Dato Sulaiman Menteri, Johor Baru, where he lives.
“I learnt it from my Chinese friend when we were traders at the old Johor Baru market. I was a fishmonger and he sold yau char kwai.
“At the time, I only learnt it for fun and did not expect to turn it into a business after all these years,” he said when met at his stall in Jalan Kemboja.
After his retirement, the father-of-seven tried making the dough sticks twice before achieving the desired taste and texture.
“I was surprised that I could still remember the techniques after so many decades. The toughest part was kneading the dough but I switched to an electric mixer.
“It is a shame that I lost contact with my old friend but I feel that I am keeping our friendship alive through yau char kwai,” he said.
Hussin also sells ham chim peng (Chinese crullers with red bean paste filling) and jemput-jemput or fried fritters.
Business was slow at first as people were sceptical about him selling Chinese crullers in a Malay village.
Slowly but surely, word of mouth got out and some regular customers are willing to travel 25 minutes to buy his deep-fried snacks.
“To me, this is what being a Malaysian is about – embracing each other’s cultures and cuisines.
“We were doing quite well before the pandemic when we sold about 25kg of dough a day.
“However, these days, it is difficult to even sell 12kg of dough throughout our business hours from 12.30pm to 6.30pm,” he said.
Hussin is thankful that with the help of his wife Norhayati Mohamad, 46, they joined an online delivery platform a month ago and are getting some sales from there.
“This shows that we are never too old to start a new venture or learn new skills,” he said.