DALAT, Dec 4: When she first moved to Dalat from Sibu thirty years ago, Irene Chen, had no idea she would become an important part of the small town.
Everyone goes to her when they want to get a piece (or more) of her specialty waffles.
Known as the “Waffle Woman of Dalat”, Irene has been selling the honeycomb-shaped pancakes for the past three years from her little shop known as The Waffle House.
“Now I have regular customers who would order in bulk almost on a daily basis, they are staff from the nearby government offices,” she told TVS when met recently.
Starting out selling basic waffles, her menu has since been diversified to cater to local taste buds. The Waffle House offers elaborate choices with a twist from chicken floss and cheezy cheese waffles for those seeking savoury flavours with prices ranging from RM2 to RM8.90 depending of size, toppings and fillings.
“The hot selling item here is my “apom balik waffle” and also the cheesy ham chicken floss waffle,” said Chen who also sells desserts as well as breaded corn dogs.
Not wanting to idle around at home while her husband goes to work, she started selling jelly cakes of various designs and flavours.
as a way to kill time besides making some extra income.
“My children have all grown up so I have a lot of time to do whatever I like.
“I decided to make jelly cake, taking orders from home. It is actually a pass time or hobby that turned into a source of extra income for me.
“I decided to branch out to making waffles as it happens to be my favourite snack plus it was not available here then so I decided to make them to sell.
“Now I have to hire an assistant as orders keep pouring in. I make about three to four kilograms of waffle batter per day,” she said.
Although she hails from the city, Chen says she cannot imagine living elsewhere.
“Dalat may be a quiet small town with a small population but is ideal for family life. Life here is simple yet peaceful and I can’t imagine living elsewhere.
“A lot of changed since then. I moved here in 1991 to settle down- now we have complete amenities and infrastructure even free WiFi.
“It also feels good to be able to to contribute the the local economy here,” she said.- TVS
