By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Oct 3: The popular noodle dish “Kampua Mee” is synonymous with the Sarawak Foochow community and hence, Foochow food operators who usually prepare and serve it to customers.
However, at an eatery in Kuching City, this quintessential Foochow staple is prepared by an Iban woman who has charmed many customers who patronise the cafe with not only her ability to serve tasty Kampua Mee, but also converse in Mandarin.
For 29-year-old Rina Gansol, her culinary journey began after she completed her secondary school studies and came to Kuching to look for employment in 2012.
Rina revealed to the DayakDaily that she was introduced to an eatery named The Little Cafe by her friend, who had quit from her job as a waitress there.
She added she had taken up the waitressing job without hesitation, as she was waiting for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results and needed the money while living in Kuching.
“It was an employment opportunity as I came from a small Iban village called Kampung Bua Engkilili, and the job was an opportunity to give me options if I could not further my studies.”
She said she stopped working for a while at the cafe after her results were released but had decided to return to work after the owner sought her out again.
Rina said returning to her waitressing job was a turning point and she could continue from where she had left off.
“I didn’t expect that the owner of the cafe would take me as her daughter-in-law and that I would marry one of her sons. She is a very nice person, diligent and hard-working,” she said.
“I’m happy to share that I got married in 2023 to the owner’s son, Jason Huang. After courting for about nine years, we finally tied the knot.”
Rina revealed she got involved in making kampua noodles after the stall’s previous owner left the cafe.
“While I was waitressing, I helped the stall owner. That is where I learned how to prepare noodle dishes from him. But credit to (my mother-in-law) who honed my skills better.
“So, when he left, the cafe owner (Rina’s mother-in-law) asked me to take over,” she reiterated.
“From 2014 onward, I helmed the stall for almost a decade until today.”
Rina’s in-laws are Sarikei Foochows who had been in the food and beverage (F&B) business for a while.
“The family is good at making Foochow dishes. The cafe also serves ‘mee sua’, ‘ding bian hu’, ‘kompiah’ (Foochow bun with mince meat filling), etc. The food we serve here at the cafe is mostly Foochow delicacies.”
Rina opined that Kampua Mee is best enjoyed when served with slices of barbequed pork, spring onions, chilli sauce, and a bowl of soup.
“That is how we like to serve our customers at the cafe,” she explained.
Rina, who speaks Mandarin with customers, explained that she learnt the language after attending a Chinese primary school for six years in Engkilili.
“It does help me help my in-laws to talk to customers and get their orders. They (customers) probably think I’m Chinese,” she chuckled.
Rina thanked her in-laws for giving her the opportunity to elevate her livelihood and welcoming her into the family and their business.
“I am the youngest of four siblings and my parents are farmers. They did enough for me and my elder siblings to be independent. We have our own lives and professions but we often meet. Engkilili is not far, what with the highways these days,” she added.
Rina shared that she, her husband, and her younger brother-in-law are responsible for managing the cafe.
She added that her mother-in-law helps her sister-in-law at another F&B outlet.
“They are all hard-working, honest people, and I am lucky I could learn the skills in preparing Kampua Mee and continue to learn.
“I don’t have children yet. I am happy serving customers and managing the cafe with my husband and brother-in-law,” she said.
The Little Cafe is located along Jalan Kempas. It operates daily from 5.30am to 1pm, except on Wednesday. For more information, call 011 251 8191. — DayakDaily
