Taste of home: (Left) Chua dishing up his signature mee goreng sambal, which is a favourite among his regulars at his restaurant in the Xinzhuang district of Taiwan. (Right) Chua and Tseng preparing ingredients at their restaurant.
TAIPEI: The shop appears ordinary but its brightly lit sign, which says “Malaysia” and “Melaka”, makes it stand out in the narrow streets of Xinzhuang district.
Its owner and cook Joe Chua Jin Soon is a proud Malaysian whose fried rice and fried noodles have become a favourite among his regulars, who are mostly locals of New Taipei City, a municipality about 30 minutes drive from here.
His dishes are known for their “wok hei” (flavour imparted by a hot wok) and are cooked with his homemade spicy sambal sauce.
“I discovered that Taiwanese people generally enjoy fried rice.
“However, there aren’t many places that serve piping hot fried rice after office hours. So all I want to offer is a place where people can enjoy tasty and freshly made meals after work,” said Chua, 42, a chef from Melaka.
Chua came to Taiwan about eight years ago and married Tseng Chen Lan, a Taiwanese, who helps out at the eatery named “My Food Er Er Shi Tang” (which means the hungry canteen).
It is tucked away in a busy and narrow lane of Xinzhuang district’s older commercial area, packed with old shops selling all kinds of stuff from food to clothing. Motorcyclists are everywhere.
The couple has been serving about 20 types of Malaysian favourites like nasi goreng kampung, mee goreng sambal ayam, and drunken fried rice which is infused with shao xing wine (Chinese cooking wine).
At one point during the Covid-19 pandemic, Chua almost threw in the towel.
“Taiwan had never officially declared any lockdowns but the people are disciplined and practised self-control.
“So with almost everyone staying indoors, our business was impacted with sales dropping by up to 80%,” he said when met at his shop recently.
Although they could provide takeaways, it was insufficient to sustain the business such as covering the rental, utilities and other operating expenses.
Furthermore, he had sprained his right wrist, which made it difficult for him to handle the Chinese wok turner.
“It made me so sad. I didn’t want to walk into my shop,” he recalled.
But thanks to his 37-year-old wife and friends, he was motivated to get better.
“I was reminded of how much I wanted to give people here a taste of my kampung and how good I used to be,” he said.
So they began improvising the menu, preparing food that would help avoid straining his wrist further.
He is getting better now, so all the previous fried dishes are gradually making a “comeback” on his menu.
Now, he offers fried rice and noodles, and even ikan bakar on selected days. Since stingray, which is synonymous with ikan bakar, is difficult to come by in Taiwan, Chua substituted it with tilapia, which has since become a big hit with his customers.
Several local media outlets have interviewed the couple about their business venture and romance.
Chua, who also plays the guitar and drums, said he wanted to turn his restaurant into a music cafe where anyone could share their music.
Looking back at his journey, he said: “I would not have gotten this far without the help of my wife and friends.
“Coming from Malaysia and all alone, it had not been an easy time setting up and managing a food business. But I’m glad I persevered and didn’t give up.
“To all the young people, never give up on your dreams. But you have to work hard for it.”
