Ayam Percik Hutan Percha received a favorable response
ALOR GAJAH: Although it only operates every Friday and Sunday, Hutan Percha’s Percik Chicken shop here has been well received, especially among food lovers from inside and outside Melaka.
The owner of the business, Hassan Saad, 65, who has been working on the sale for the past 15 years, starting at the night market, said his fried chicken can sell up to 300 sticks a day.
He said the business, which was carried out to support his income as a rubber tapper, was now run at his home in Jalan Bunga Raya, Hutan Percha here from 11am to 7pm.
“It’s like I’m doing business for fun… twice a week only. Alhamdulillah this business still survives to this day and we have regular customers, among the dignitaries who often stop by here every time they go to Melaka is the former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob .
“Before this, I did business at the night market, but I hope that there are not many people from the village (buying).
“I received a lot of orders from inside and outside Melaka before but now it is really not suitable to take (a lot of orders),” he said.
He was met by reporters after the Relaxing Meal Program with Exco Perpaduan, Information, Human Resources and Consumer Affairs Ngwe Hee Sem on Sunday.
Hassan said he was assisted by his wife, Rosnani Ali, 55, as well as two assistants while the chicken still made using charcoal.
He said that the specialty of Hutan Percha Percik Chicken is in the sauce and the recipe for the sauce was bought from an acquaintance from Kelantan before being processed according to taste, especially from the spiciness aspect.
According to Hassan, one of the challenges he faced in running the business was the increase in the price of goods, including ingredients for making chicken sauce and raw chicken.
“I’m still trying not to raise the price, which is RM3.50 for a piece of percik chicken. Follow the price of ingredients to make the sauce is more expensive than the price of chicken, but I don’t want to take a lot of profit, I can’t make a fortune by doing business like this,” he said.
Hassan welcomes individuals who want to learn and buy the percik chicken recipe from him, especially those who really want to do business or increase their income.
Meanwhile, Farah Huda Sahiran, 26, from Batu Berendam here said that she is not a fan of percik chicken but the specialty of the sauce and the chicken made her now one of the shop’s customers.
According to Farah Huda, although he only got to know the shop about two months ago, she has been to the premises more than twice to enjoy the food.
“The flavor of this percik chicken gravy is really good… enough flavor and spicy, the important thing is not sweet. The chicken is also not dry and the price is worth it for its size,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ngwe, who is also a member of the Machap Jaya State Legislative Assembly, said the Hutan Percha Percik Chicken will be promoted as one of the iconic products of the village and that the promotion will be carried out in collaboration with the Melaka State Tourism Promotion Division.
“Personally, Hutan Percha Percik Chicken has its own specialty in terms of taste, especially the sauce, besides the price is also cheap even though the prices of most items have gone up, including chicken,” he said.
He said his party is also identifying other products produced by residents in the Machap Jaya area that will be introduced as icons of their respective villages in an effort to attract tourists, add new tourism products in the state and help increase the income of entrepreneurs.
