Married eight months ago, Nur Farahanah Abd Rahman, 23, a clerk, and her husband Mohd Nhazrhill Tahar, 27, a factory engineer, initially started small, marketing their milk doughnuts online.
That was in July last year, but just five months ago, they decided to go big. So, both gave up their jobs in the same factory and now operate a bustling stall along Jalan Tenggiri in Seberang Jaya.
The couple explain that they learnt to make the doughnuts from his mother, Rosemah Patuok, 50, from Bintulu, Sarawak who once ran a food business there.
“We brought mama here in June 2020 and took a month to learn this milk doughnut recipe. It’s not easy to make as the recipe is unlike that of regular doughnuts.
“Our well-guarded recipe does not use wheat flour and our doughnuts remain soft and fluffy all day. Our doughnuts are also not too sweet, and that’s probably why people like them,” Nur Farahanah tells Bernama when met at her stall recently.
She says they make a fresh batch of dough every morning and operate the stall from noon to 5pm, selling out the entire 32 kg of doughnuts they bring for the day. The stall is open from Monday to Saturday.
The milk doughnuts cost only RM1 for four pieces.
At the stall, the couple and their helpers work at a frenetic pace, kneading, deep-frying, then coating the doughnuts in a mixture of powdered milk and castor sugar.
Nur Farahanah says she has no regrets starting the business despite the unpredictability of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing movement control orders that could have negatively impacted their doughnut sales.
She said that because of the overwhelming support of the locals in the area, she and her husband were able to hire three employees to help manage the orders.
Their income has also increased three-fold since leaving their factory jobs.
“My husband and I quit our jobs because we felt it was too risky working in a factory, especially during the pandemic. We also found the work environment unsafe.
“For those who have quit or lost their jobs, don’t despair. Don’t just accept your fate. Believe me, if you put in the effort to try something new, you will be rewarded,” she says.
Nur Farahanah is a graduate of Universiti institut Teknologi Mara (UiTM) majoring in Office Management while Mohd Nhazrhill graduated from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) in Engineering.