Sea of colour: A woman posing with some of the decorations put up in conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival at 1st Avenue Mall in George Town, Penang. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: It was the difficulty of getting halal mooncakes that made couple Nur Asyikin Moham Jafar and Ruzaini Azri Rosdi decide to get into the business of baking the Chinese pastry some four years ago.
Today, Nur Asyikin, 30, and her 31-year-old husband owns a business that offers a variety of traditional and innovative flavours.
Sold under the label Mooncake Halal Syikin, they now have the capacity to produce up to 500 mooncakes on a daily basis.
Their mooncakes come in 10 flavours, including pandan, matcha, chocolate with white chocolate, chocolate with dalgona coffee, green tea with caramel, and chocolate with blueberries.
“The difficulty in getting halal mooncakes is the reason that prompted my husband and I to venture into this field,” said Nur Asyikin, who is from Tapah, Perak.
Celebrating tradition: Visitors taking in the colourful lanterns at Taman Armenian in George Town, Penang. — Bernama
She said it was her mother-in-law who gave her the idea.
“She also taught me how to make mooncakes according to the original recipe.
“The most complicated thing in the making of a mooncake is making the skin. To make the skin, we need golden syrup, which is self-made and mixed with flour to form dough.
“I will bake the mooncakes up to three times for 12 minutes each so that the result is beautiful and long-lasting,” said Nur Asyikin.
“The mooncakes that are in high demand by my customers are dark chocolate, chocolate caramel and chocolate chips.”
The traditional flavours for mooncakes, which are usually served or gifted during the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated by the Chinese community, include red bean and green bean, lotus seed, mixed nuts and salted egg yolk. The celebration takes place today.
Nur Asyikin, who holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Office Systems Management from Universiti Teknologi Mara, said the demand for mooncakes is seasonal.
Inclusive treat: Some of Mooncake Halal Syikin’s offerings.
“It is sought only during the mooncake festival, which is from the end of August to September, and during the Chinese New Year celebration,” she said.
Nur Asyikin also accepts orders to make mooncakes as souvenirs for guests at wedding receptions and other events at a price of between RM4 and RM5 a piece.
Currently, her mooncakes retail for between RM33 and RM40 in sets of six different flavours, or RM17 a piece for 100g. They also come in a glass jar, priced at RM28 for 15 mini mooncakes.
