GEORGE TOWN, March 22 — Set aide for now the traditional apom balik (sweet pancake turnover, also known as apam balik) filled with plain crushed peanuts and creamed corn— since it now comes in a variety of flavours including pistachio, blueberry, cheesy nutella and red velvet.
These multi-flavoured apom balik, which come in mini sizes, are proving to be a hit at the Arpan Apom Balik stall in the Bayan Baru Ramadan Bazaar.
Stall vendor Muhamad Hanafi Arpan and his wife Anis Nurfitrin Anis Zairin came up with the idea for different flavours of mini apom balik last year and decided to introduce it at the Ramadan bazaar.
“On normal days, we only sell these mini apom balik at two kiosks, one in Bangsawan Cafe in Bayan Lepas and another at Fizzy Cafe in Permatang Pauh,” he said when interviewed at the stall in the Bayan Baru Ramadan Bazaar.
He said they decided to sell 10 different flavours of mini apom balik, that are about palm sized, especially at the Ramadan Bazaar this month.
“We have many different flavours such as pistachio, red velvet, blueberry, strawberry, Nutella, cheesy chocolate, Oreo, cheesy Nutella and Nutella red velvet,” he said.
“I only started selling in this bazaar this week but I did not expect to get such good response,” he added.
The mini Arpan apom balik are small, about palm sized. — Picture by Opalyn Mok
Muhamad Hanafi said he sold about 2,000 mini apom balik in the first three days of opening his stall at the bazaar.
The mini apom balik are sold in sets of four at RM10 or a set of nine at RM20.
“The customers can pick and choose the flavours they like for either sets,” he said.
The 29-year-old inherited the apom balik business from his late father in 2009 after he passed away.
“My father started the business in 1996 and after he passed away, my mother and I took over the business,” he said.
He said he continued using the original recipe handed down from his late father and he only changed the fillings for the apom balik to make it interesting and attract more customers.
Apart from selling the apom balik at the two kiosks, Muhamad Hanafi said he also sells the crispy pancakes at several pasar malams (night markets) on designated days.
Muhamad Hanafi Arpan (left) sells mini multi flavoured apom balik at the Bayan Baru Ramadan Bazaar. — Picture by Opalyn Mok
He would set up stall at the Teluk Kumbar pasar malam (Tuesdays), Pantai Jerejak (Wednesdays), Mahsuri Bayan Baru (Thursdays), Sungai Ara (Fridays) and Bayan Lepas (Saturdays).
“I don’t sell mini apom balik at the pasar malams and I don’t offer as much variety in the fillings,” he said.
He said customers who prefer the mini apom balik can only get it at his kiosks.
“We are also accepting orders for events such as birthdays and weddings,” he said.
Muhamad Hanafi has big plans for his apom balik business as he hopes to set up a factory to make pre-mixed apom balik ingredients.
Muhamad Hanafi Arpan inherited the Arpan Apom Balik business from his late father. — Picture by Opalyn Mok
“It is my dream to set up a factory to produce Arpan Apom Balik brand ingredients mixture,” he said.
Currently, he is in the process of obtaining halal certification for his business so that he could participate in various events nationwide.
“I hope to open more branches throughout the country so that more people can taste our Arpan Apom Balik,” he said.
