As a result of this, 42-year-old hotel chef Raja Romzi Haji Ishak, better known as Chef Abang Ujie, found himself with a lot of time on his hands during the Conditional Movement Control Order.
With working hours reduced and his culinary talents barely put to good use, a serendipitous opportunity came to him at the right time. His colleague and good friend Muhammad Shahrizan, 30, who was working with the hotel’s safety and security team, encouraged him to open a food stall with him in Cheras.
“We have been good friends for about five years and when the news came that we were reduced to working three days a week at the hotel, I suggested he join me in opening a food stall,” said Shahrizan. Without further ado, Abang Ujie agreed and the two immediately set up shop.
The stall, Dapoor Cik Da, is named after Abang Ujie’s wife and sells three types of noodles – mee, kway teow and mee hoon – which come with two broth options of soup and curry.
“I wanted to start with these soup and curry-based dishes because they are the types of simple dishes that customers often go for,” said Abang Ujie.
At just RM5.50 a bowl, there is a generous assortment of toppings ranging from tender sliced beef to juicy meatballs – a clear bang for your buck.
After slurping down the dishes by Abang Ujie, you might be thinking of balancing out the carbs with some protein. Look no further than just next door, where Shahrizan’s stall is located.
Hungry customers and fried chicken lovers can tuck into Shahrizan’s recipes, which have exciting flavours such as mango chicken, spicy Korean fried chicken and cheesy chicken.
The mango chicken is a colourful dish with its sweet, diced mango and colourful chilli toppings – perfect for those looking for a sweet-spicy taste.
For those who prefer a stronger burn, try the spicy Korean fried chicken, which is generously coated in a spicy and highly addictive sauce. According to Shahrizan, these two chicken dishes are the customer favourites.
Three pieces of this delicious chicken are priced at just RM5, so you can get a bowl of noodles and a plate of fried chicken for just RM10.50! If that still isn’t enough to satiate your hunger, plain and juicy fried chicken is also on the menu for RM1 apiece.
“Before we set up the stall, we surveyed the neighbourhood. We wanted to sell something the other stalls aren’t offering. That’s how the idea to sell noodles and unique fried chicken flavours came about.
“We have established a community here among the neighbouring stalls. If the customer eating at our stall wants char kway teow from the next stall, we get it delivered to ours. We want to support each other’s businesses,” Abang Ujie told FMT.
He also added that while the business was slow at the start, it has recently picked up with 40 to 50 orders a day.
Despite having worked as a chef for the past 23 years, Abang Ujie confesses that running a stall and working in a professional kitchen are two very different things and his very first customer order was quite messy.
“There is also the challenge of the heavy rain. Our tents were nearly blown away one day. Opening a stall is definitely a whole new learning experience for me,” said Abang Ujie with a smile.
If you would like to head on over to Cheras to support Abang Ujie and Shahrizan’s businesses and try their soup or curry dishes and fried chicken, you are welcome to do so but please be safe and SOP-compliant.
Otherwise, you can stay at home and order some curry mee or spicy Korean fried chicken as Dapoor Cik Da also delivers. Check out its Instagram for more information.
Address: Jalan Damai Perdana 5/1c,
Bandar Damai Perdana,
56000 Cheras, Selangor.
Opening hours: 3pm to 10 pm
Thursday to Sunday.
Contact: (019) 342 1489