Sunday December 28, 2008

Finger-licking good

Story and photos by STEPHEN NG

The grilled chicken sold by Awang Putra Tamam draws quite a crowd at lunch time.

GRILLED chicken can be found almost anywhere, but what differentiates the 37-year-old Awang Putra Tamam’s stall in Jalan Pantai, Seremban, from the others is his specially concocted sauce.

The recipe is a secret, but the taste of Awang’s secret sauce is known to many who have eaten at his outlet, located just some 500m from the junction between Jalan Ampangan and Jalan Pantai.

Since he moved to this new stall last March, many of his loyal customers have followed him from his old outlet in Rembau – a testimony of how much they love his grilled chicken.

According to Awang, he has been operating his business stall named Ayam Panggang Kenyalang for about six years. The word “Kenyalang” comes from “Bumi Kenyalang”, the colloquial name for Sarawak.

Crowd puller: Awang’s honey chicken is accompanied by a soup and a secret-recipe sauce.

Instead of using the oven, or roasting the chicken over a gas stove, Awang first marinates the chicken whole with honey before slowly grilling over a charcoal fire for 45 minutes.

This, enthused Awang, gives it a beautiful golden texture. “We only use young chickens that are below 3kg,” he said. “The meat of younger birds is usually sweeter.”

Hailing from Miri, Sarawak, the father of three children manages to sell between 40 to 50 birds a day. Prior to the petrol price hike, he used to sell 80 to 100 birds every day.

“Like many other businesses, we have also experienced a slowdown,” he said, but this does not discourage him from pursuing his dream of setting up at least two outlets in Kuala Lumpur by the end of next year.

In the past, his grilled chicken were a big seller in several night markets in Rembau, Seremban Jaya and Seremban Two. “Currently, we also supply our sauce to an outlet in Batu 4, Port Dickson, which sells chicken rice,” added Awang.

“I believe there will be a lot of interest in our grilled chicken in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

Awang’s chicken soup is prepared using black pepper, ginger, onions and some shredded chicken. “We serve the soup together with chicken rice. Many people like the soup because of the way it is prepared,” he said.

His wife, Nurul Shakinah Abdullah, has been the backbone behind the success of his business.

Since he decided to start his own business, after having worked in Peninsular Malaysia since the early 90s, Nurul Shakinah has been helping out in the stall. “My wife is an inspiration to me,” admitted Awang.

Awang sells whole chicken at RM16, while half a chicken is RM8 and a quarter is RM4. If served with chicken rice, it is RM4, but for a quarter of chicken and the rice, it is RM5.50. The bulk of the crowd turns up during lunch time.

Some of his customers even bring back food to office for lunch. Awang said he also caters the chicken for functions.

The stall is open from 10am to 10pm seven days a week.

To get to the stall from Seremban, drive past Ocean shopping centre along Jalan Ampangan. Turn into Jalan Pantai. Contact Awang at 017-2135549 or 012-2848086 for directions.