KUALA LUMPUR: Ipoh folks are enjoying the popular bean sprouts chicken dish on the cheap, thanks to a hawker.
Shahrizan Azmed, 37, is selling bean sprouts chicken rice at RM1.30 per plate at his stall in a Chinese-styled coffee shop at Taman Ipoh Timur Baru.
It proves a crowd puller, as the price is way lower than the standard restaurant rates.
Sharizan, who operates the stall with help from his wife, admitted that he could make little profit at that price.
However, it is not a money-making exercise.
Rather, he is doing it as a sensible move to provide cheap food with no health concerns for people who struggle financially.
“I hope my initiative will at least allow more people to eat out.
"The vast majority of my customers appreciate the opportunity to make a significant saving on some of their favourite food,” he said.
Among the satisfied customers are Azizi Abdul Rahman, who was skeptical when hearing about it from his friend.
“It is hard to believe that there are people who are still willing to sell food cheaply just to help the poor.
“I’m also surprised that the seller is a Malay as the dish is usually sold by the Chinese,” he said.
Azizi said people have more confidence that the food is halal if it is prepared by Muslims.
One of the delicious food Ipoh is famous for, beans sprouts chicken dish are usually eaten with rice or ho fun (a type of wide Chinese noodle made from rice), served either in soup or dry version.
The dish can easily cost more than RM10 per person - not cut throat expensive but not cheap either - at some of the most famous local food eateries in Ipoh.