For Junaidah Ong, 63, opening a hawker stall at Upper Boon Keng Market & Food Centre wasn’t just about making a living.
It was about serving the kind of halal Chinese zi char grub she wished she could find after converting to Islam decades ago.
The couple met while selling electronics
Before becoming hawkers, the couple spent years in the electronics trade.
Junaidah says they first met as teenagers while helping their families at Sungei Road Thieves’ Market, where their stalls were located side by side. She had been assisting her mother in selling cassette tapes there since she was just 10 years old.
After the market closed, Junaidah entered the electronics trade in Chinatown, while Abdul went on to work for electronics company Great Union at Sim Lim Square. Their paths crossed again through work, and what began as casual conversations eventually blossomed into romance.
“We worked side by side and got to know each other, and that’s how we fell in love,” recalls Abdul.
When asked how Abdul managed to win her heart, Junaidah says. “It’s fate. Malays call it jodoh, Chinese say yuan fen.”
The couple would eventually marry and have two children — a daughter, now 39 and son, 38 — as well as three grandchildren.
Despite spending years in the hawker trade, Junaidah says she hopes neither of her children will follow in her footsteps.
“I don’t want them to step into this [F&B world],” she says. “My daughter works as a counsellor at the Ministry of Education, so she doesn’t need to work in this line.”
Secretly converted to Islam aged 23, faced parental opposition
Junaidah says she converted to Islam at the age of 23 without informing her parents.
“When my father found out I was in love with Abdul, I quarrelled with him and he even beat me with a PVC pipe,” she recalls.
Looking back, Junaidah believes her father’s objections stemmed from the traditions of his generation rather than religion alone.
She says her late parents, who were Buddhists, believed strongly in marrying within the same race and religion.
“Last time, Hokkien married Hokkien, Cantonese married Cantonese,” she says. “To my father, my relationship with Abdul wasn’t allowed.”
She recalls running to the neighbourhood police post beneath her block after the fight.
“I still remember the officer’s name — Officer Yap,” she says. “He told me, ‘Just cool down first. Go back upstairs after 10 or 20 minutes and let your father calm down too.'”
Junaidah followed his advice.
“When I went back up, both of us kept quiet as if nothing had happened. That was the end of it.”
Did Abdul confront her father after the altercation?
“He couldn’t do anything because we were very young,” she says. “Now when we think back about it, it feels like a distant, funny memory.”
Relationship with parents eventually improved & they grew to love her hubby
Although her parents attended the couple’s wedding ceremony when she was 24, they skipped the wedding reception the following day by leaving for a holiday in Taiwan, a move Junaidah believes was meant to show that they were still unhappy about the marriage.
Her relationship with her folks slowly improved after the wedding. But she says it wasn’t until she gave birth to her daughter a year later that her father had a complete change of heart.
“When he saw his granddaughter’s face, he became totally okay,” she recalls.
According to Junaidah, her parents eventually grew to adore Abdul.
“They realised he’s a very loyal and kind man,” she says. “What’s the use of marrying someone from the same race if your husband has another woman outside? My husband never did any of that.”
Her father also became one of her biggest supporters in the kitchen.
Recalling her father’s favourite order at her stall, Junaidah reminisces: “He always used to ask me to pack seafood fried rice for him. He said my seafood fried rice is very nice.”
Junaidah says the experience shaped how she would react if her son should one day wish to switch religions for love.
“I’ll tell him, if you want to convert, make sure she’s worth it and it’s for a lifetime,” she shares.
“I’ll understand. I won’t beat him up. I’ve gone through it already, so why should I make him suffer too?”
Opened a stall because she couldn’t find good halal Chinese food
Did Junaidah ever find it difficult to give up certain foods after converting to Islam?
“I was born poor, so I didn’t really enjoy [much variety of] food when I was younger,” she reasons.
“Some people may say, ‘Oh, I cannot give up this [type of] food’. To me, I don’t see it as having lost something.”
Abdul, meanwhile, is grateful. “It’s a blessing to me that she wanted to convert to [being a] Muslim,” he says.
The couple eventually found themselves in the hawker trade, where Junaidah decided to cook the dishes she grew up eating, but halal.
Among Batu Berapi Grill’s offerings are the Rojak Bandung ($7), comprising kang kong and cuttlefish dressed in rojak sauce and served with sambal on the side, and Junaidah’s unique creation of Kway Teow Prawn Omelette ($9).
She says the idea for the latter came to her while she was watching a cooking show demonstrating how to make a prawn omelette.
As she happened to be eating kway teow at the time, she wondered what it would taste like stuffed inside an omelette.
“I thought, ‘Why not put kway teow inside?’ When I tried it, I thought, ‘Wow, it’s unique and quite nice.'”
Her late mother’s cooking still inspires her
Junaidah never received any formal culinary training and learnt to cook by watching her mother in the kitchen.
“My mum loved cooking,” she recalls. “Most of the dishes I cook today were inspired by her.”
One of her signature dishes is the Grilled Sambal Stingray ($13), which she says thanks to her grilling technique, results in moister than usual flesh.
Another dish Junaidah takes pride in is her Seafood Hor Fun ($6.50).
She says she first fries the hor fun over high heat to impart smoky wok’s breath before cooking the gravy separately and pouring it over the noodles. It’s adorned with assorted seafood like cockles, prawns and sotong.
As for her late dad’s favourite Seafood Fried Rice ($6.50)? Yup, it’s still on the menu.
Batu Berapi Grill & Chinese Muslim Food is located at Blk 17 Upp Boon Keng Rd, #01-13, Upp Boon Keng Market & Food Centre, S380017. Open Tue-Sun 2pm-9.30pm. Closed on Mon.
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