Because of the drizzle, it took him longer than usual to set up his food truck. Just another hitch in the life of a food vendor, no doubt.
He is no ordinary hawker though, as he is Brickfield’s sole Indian lok-lok hawker.
Given that most lok-lok stalls in Malaysia are run by Chinese hawkers, seeing Steven run about with trays of meat, seafood and vegetables on skewers is a refreshing sight.
He has quite the story to tell about his career choice.
“It’s been one year and six months since I started doing this,” he told FMT Lifestyle. “I opened this lok-lok food truck because I wanted to do something different from others.”
Before this, Steven travelled across Southeast Asia training engineers. The job had its perks but Steven said the lack of free time was a major downside.
“I was always travelling, working. I wanted to do something different that was my own. And that’s how the idea began.”
Why lok-lok though instead of any other street food?
Steven pointed out that Indian lok-lok hawkers are rare and he was not fond of the idea of selling the usual vadai and biryani that many Indian hawkers are famous for.
“Also, Indians love lok-lok,” he chuckled. According to him, he himself frequents a certain lok-lok stall in Kuchai Lama.
Still, transitioning from an office job to the food business was hardly a walk in the park. While Steven loved to cook, making a living out of it as a street hawker was a different matter altogether.
“To be honest, it was tough at first. I couldn’t sleep for a few days because I was thinking too much about it and putting too much pressure on myself.”
Luckily for him, he had the support of a loving wife and a loyal sister to keep him going long enough to set the foundation of his business.
Today he sells between 40 to 50 types of lok-lok whether meats, vegetables or seafood.
His lok-lok is also reasonably priced, from RM2.50 to RM5 per skewer. As per tradition, the lok-lok’s price is determined by the colour at the base of the skewer.
He takes particular pride in the stall’s signature masala chicken, a rich and flavourful treat few can resist.
Additionally, he offers four different homemade dipping sauces, namely sweet sauce, chilli sauce, Thai sweet-and-sour sauce and peanut sauce.
Steven’s stall is pork-free, welcoming customers of all creeds to drop by and feast on his offerings.
Needless to say, Steven is something of a night owl now, closing shop at 2am, and heading home to rest before starting the process all over again the next day.
“By 12 o’clock in the afternoon, I start preparing for the day’s work,” said Steven. “And I come here to Brickfields at seven, before opening the shop by 7.30.”
Since starting this food truck business, things have been going relatively well for him, though there are the occasional challenges, such as the current stormy weather.
Despite it all, Steven is hopeful that in the near future, he will be able to operate a fleet of lok-lok food trucks, perhaps three or four.
And for that to happen, he hopes patrons will pay his humble lok-lok stall a visit. “When you are supporting a small business, you are supporting a dream,” he said.
S&J Golden Wheels Lok-Lok
Between 7-11 and Aloft KL Sentral
Jalan Tun Sambanthan
Brickfields
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Business hours: 7.30pm–2am daily