SIBU: ‘Kompia’, the Foochow pastry with a hole in the centre, is one of the signature foods of Sibu.
Also known as the Foochow bagel which originated from China, the crispy small round bread is made of flour, yeast, and salt with some sesame seeds sprinkled on top of it.
Over the years, the bun that synonymous with Foochow community who were the earliest migrants in Sibu, has become one of the favourite delicacies of locals from different races here.
Recently, New Sarawak Tribune came across a halal version of it; appaently, it has became a delicacy at the Ramadan Bazaar at the Town Square Bazaar here.
According to one of the stall workers, Nurjuwita Joseph, due to the popularity of the kompia and the wish to be different from others serving, their stall has introduced the halal version of the bun.
Little did they knew that the response from the public would be so amazing.
“The response to the kompia was beyond expectations, we are selling up to 800 pieces a day” she said.
The 25-year-old, who was busy preparing the bread when approached also shared that the idea was initiated by her boss.
“The idea came from my boss. However, in the beginning he wanted to sell plain kompia without any filling.
“So, I suggested to him that we should do the same as Chinese kompia but replaced the minced meat with another filling,” she said.
This is how the halal version of kompia filled with chicken and beef rendang came into life.
She shared that the kompia with beef rendang fillings are usually popular among the Chinese community who came to the bazaar.
“Others such as Iban and Malay community usually prefer the kompia with chicken rendang filling,” she said.
She shared that each piece of kompia with chicken filling cost RM2 while the beef rendang version was priced at RM3.
Her stall is among 65 stalls operating at the bazaar which opens from 9.30 am to 10.30 pm.
