BY LILIANA SHERYN
KUCHING: Business has been brisk for those selling lemang, the traditional delicacy commonly consumed at this time of the year.
Saiful Bahari Rosdi, 46, for instance, has been receiving more orders during the month of Ramadan and for the coming Raya.
According to him, Lemang Betawi, a popular dish during Hari Raya, would be incomplete without his delicacy.
He inherited the recipe from his late father-in-law in the 1990s and initially sold it only during the festive season.
However, after receiving encouraging response, he decided to make it his primary source of income.
Following in his father-in-law’s footsteps, Saiful started selling his product in the Satok market.
“Throughout this Ramadan month, our lemang production is approximately 70kg to 100kg per day. The total production can be 350 to 400 sticks per day. From the beginning of this business until now, we have sold almost three tons of glutinous rice,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
Saiful ensures that the quality of his lemang is not compromised and any unsold lemang is sold through auction at RM10 for three sticks, or donated to parties or welfare centres in need of food for breaking the fast.
“We never keep unsold lemang as we prioritise quality, where we produce fresh lemang every day to ensure the lemang sold is fresh,” he explained.
In 2020, during the pandemic, Saiful came up with the idea of frozen lemang to ensure his business continues running smoothly even during the lockdowns.
Frozen lemang can last up to four to five months if stored in the fridge and only need to be steamed before serving and Saiful sells five sticks of frozen lemang in one vacuum pack.
“As for our frozen lemang, we got the idea in 2020 during the pandemic which hindered our sales. So, I thought and researched about frozen lemang and through trial and error eventually made the frozen lemang.
“The frozen lemang ensured our business ran smoothly, even during the pandemic period when we could not open our shop,” he said.
Saiful’s lemang has received a warm reception since he started selling in Medan Niaga Satok.
He has diversified the flavor of his lemang by selling it with peanut sauce, chicken rendang, beef rendang, soy sauce beef, and ketupat rocket.
His customers are not only locals but also foreign tourists interested in trying out his delicious lemang.
“I also started to explore social media where I promote my lemang on Facebook. I also often receive invitations to open stalls at big events such as events involving ministers and so on. There, I take the opportunity to promote my lemang,” Saiful said.
Saiful’s business continues to thrive, even outside of the festive season, attesting to the quality of his product.
“If it is not the festive season, our business still runs as we receive orders for big events and we also supply this lemang to certain shops. We also sell it at our own shop, and the response is good even though it is not as busy as during the festive season,” he added.
Those who want to try Saiful’s lemang, can do so at several locations, including the Satok market, Mydin and Stutong.
