From Noor Bakhtiar Ahmad
CEBU CITY, Feb 28 (Bernama) -- Drawing on his 20 years of experience working in Malaysia, 45-year-old Ban Ismail was inspired to bring Malaysian dishes like mi goreng and nasi lemak to Cebu City, Philippines.
The owner of BJ’s Creamyrice Warung Nasi Lemak at Sugbo Sentro IT Park said his experience in Malaysia helped him understand the flavours and methods of preparing Malaysian cuisine.
“I once lived and worked in Malaysia, and often ate Malaysian food, so I tried to recreate it based on the taste I remembered,” the Filipino said when met by Bernama at his stall recently.
Ban shared that in the early stages, locals were not very interested, as they thought mi goreng was not much different from pancit, a traditional Filipino fried noodle dish with vegetables and meat.
“They said it’s the same as pancit. One person tried it, then brought friends, and now sometimes we can’t keep up with demand,” he said.
Mi goreng has now become the best-selling menu item, with daily sales ranging between 80 and 90 plates.
To ensure the taste closely matches Malaysian recipes, he uses similar ingredients, including the well-known Ayam brand soy sauce from Sabah.
“If I use regular soy sauce here, the taste is different. So I use Ayam brand soy sauce to get the Malaysian flavour,” he explained.
Nasi lemak has also gained popularity among customers, though Ban admitted facing challenges in making the spicy chilli paste (sambal) like the ones in Malaysia.
“Fully ripe large red chillies are hard to get because many are still green, so I have to adjust slightly by adding tomato,” he said.
He sells special mi goreng for 149 pesos (about RM12.70) and regular mi goreng for 65 pesos (around RM5.50).
Nasi lemak with chicken is priced at 130 pesos (around RM11), while nasi lemak with fish is 135 pesos (RM11.50).
For the fried rice selection, seafood fried rice is offered at 110 pesos (RM9.50), while Pattaya fried rice and village-style fried rice are each sold for 99 pesos (around RM8.50).
The stall, which has been operating for over a year at its current location, is open daily from 10 am to 4 am, with two workers assisting in the operations.
“They manage during the day, and I come around 10 pm to do the cooking,” he said.
Although rental and utility costs reach around 20,000 pesos (about RM1,700) per month and profits are modest, Ban said he is content because, as a Muslim, he can provide halal food options to the local community.
Today, mi goreng and nasi lemak, inspired by his experiences in Malaysia, are increasingly favoured by local customers.
-- BERNAMA
