BY EDWINNIE EINSTEIN UNJI & SAMUEL KARUNIA
KUCHING: Nestled within the Stutong Community Market parking lot, the bustling Ramadan Bazaar organised by the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) continues its vibrant presence, drawing in a plethora of hawkers and enthusiastic customers alike.
Since its relocation to the parking lot in 2021, the bazaar, which runs from March 12 to April 9, currently holds 160 stalls comprising unique food and beverages.
To gain a better insight within the hawkers experiences and products, the New Sarawak Tribune conducted interviews with some hawkers at the bazaar.
AMY KAMILA, 29, HAWKER
“This is my first time having my business here in Stutong. The reason why I chose this spot is because I heard that this area attracts a lot of customers, such as Iban, Malays and Chinese.
“These past three days have been a blast and those who bought our drinks on the first day, came again. The fruit cocktail, which consists of 14 fruits, is our best seller.
“We had to refill the tank four times and each tank is equal to 15 cups, so we sold roughly around 60 cups. It is RM10 per cup. I feel very happy that I can operate my beverage business here in this bazaar.”
LAILA HAMZAH, 40, HAWKER
“This is my second year doing business here in this bazaar. We sell grilled lamb but our lamb here is not dry, our lamb is juicy.
“We also sell clams with soy sauce and grilled squid. One box of soy sauce clams is RM15 and it’s often sold out almost everyday.
“My husband and I are very thankful that we managed to get a spot here because there are a lot of customers coming to this bazaar.”
NELLY USLINDA, 45, HAWKER
“We started selling here since the first day of Ramadan. This is second time joining the MBKS Bazaar. Sales is really good. It is a local based business started by my husband and I in 2016 but we started off by selling our products from our home.
“We sell Churros, it’s a dough stick that is deep fried and coated with sugar and cinnamon. We pair them with a variety of flavours should as Nutella, Matcha Green Tea, and Strawberry.
“The advantages here is that we’re being sponsored by Petros for the whole month; they supply the cooking gas for us vendors. On Day One alone, we managed to sell around 15kg of Churros. It was unexpected and really profitable.”
ASMEELA, 36, HAWKER
“This is our second time selling in this bazaar. Our apam balik is the best seller here and we’ve sold out everyday since the first day we opened here.
“The best seller here is the Cheese Apam Balik and this year we offer our new menu, Nutella Apam Balik. The reason we chose to sell here is because of its strategic location.
“There’s a diverse community here so our customers are not only focused on the Malays but also other races too. So both Muslims and non-Muslims can enjoy the food here during the Ramadan month.
“We managed to sell 20kg of Apam Balik batter and on the weekdays, we usually finish all 20kg while on weekends, we would sell more; around 25-30kg.”
NUR AMEERAH, 28, HAWKER
“This is my second time joining the bazaar. I started selling the Meatball Kawah since 2022. Since 2022, we joined numerous events for our product.
“Our specialty here is our famous Meatball Kawah that has been trending these recent years. The difference is that we cook our meatballs in a giant wok and we stir our meatballs in our homemade sauce.
“The sales for this year is much better compared to last year. It is because of the strategic location and also the numbers of customers here. Also it’s our product that sets the difference between the food offered here and our food.
“For the Meatball, we sell 10 pieces for RM15, and 15 pieces for RM20. Besides our famous Meatball Kawah, we also sell sweet corn, Chocojar, and Kek Lapis.”
