GEORGE TOWN: A husband and wife took retrenchment in their stride and, after some hard work, are now whipping up nasi lemak that has become the talk of the town. Hana Batrisya Zainol, 23, was a flight attendant while her husband Muhammad Nur Azizee Roslan, 24, was a flight caterer.

       They lost their jobs in the airline industry last November following travel curbs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

       However, they mastered their parents’ nasi lemak recipe, tweaking the sambal to suit current tastes.

       “We got the sambal recipe from both our parents and improvised it to suit our tastebuds. We had the idea to start a business in January and not just sit at home.

       “Luckily, our parents are supportive and they help us with the cooking and packing, ” said Hana Batrisya.

       It is hard work where the couple and their parents have to wake up at 5.30am to prepare the ingredients.

       “Our nasi lemak is prepared fresh every day. Initially, business was slow but things picked up through word of mouth, ” she said at her stall at a food court in Macalister Road here recently.

       The couple now sell about 1,000 packets of nasi lemak a day, priced between RM1.50 and RM4.50 depending on extra ingredients like chicken, prawn or fish.

       Their standard nasi lemak is the classic Malaysian dish served with half a hard-boiled egg, deep-fried anchovies and groundnuts, and with the gravy-like sambal spilled liberally over the rice.

       Hana Batrisya has an advantage when it comes to building rapport with their customers as she is fluent in Malay, English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Bahasa Indonesia.

       “My father is Chinese. Hokkien is actually my mother tongue.

       “Since my mother’s family is from Indonesia, I picked up Bahasa Indonesia from her, ” she added.

       Business at the stall starts at 8am and there will often be a queue until the nasi lemak is gone, which is usually around 1pm.

       Aquaculturist Bryan Teh, 44, came back for the dish the second time after trying it a few days ago.

       “The nasi lemak is delicious and they are very generous with the sambal. For a person who likes spicy food, the sambal is the ‘bomb’.

       “I’ve tried all of their specialties and decided to come back as the taste is good and the price is reasonable, ” he said.

       Retired teacher Majemin Shafie, 66, said she decided to give the nasi lemak a try after her friend shared pictures of the dish with her.

       “After seeing the photos, I wanted to try it instead of my usual breakfast of noodles. I ordered nasi lemak with fish and the price was reasonable, ” she said.

       Construction site manager Lim Boon Chye, 52, saw the queue of nasi lemak buyers and decided to line up, too.

       “I came to see a doctor nearby and saw the queue. I decided to take away a few packets for my family to try after getting recommendations from my friend, ” he said.