The pursuit of happiness, not profit
GEORGE TOWN: As someone who has been selling mee jawa for the past 50 years, Lim Lean Hoe has a trick of the trade.
'Cook the mee with a sincere heart,' he said.
And that explains why he is still serving mee jawa at just RM2.50 a plate despite the surging cost of ingredients.
The portion remains the same and so are the ingredients.
'I don't have the heart to make it pricey,' said Lim, 70.
He recalled the early days in the 1970s when he started his trade.
'It was 80sen those days before I increased it to RM1 per plate. And I have kept it at RM2.50 since.'
Lim said he wanted his customers to have an affordable meal.
'Even though the cost of ingredients, like noodles and other items have gone up, I can still make a profit. It's just that it is a smaller profit now,' he said.
The grandfather of five said the money is enough for him and his wife.
However, he conceded that he had stopped putting prawns in the noodle dish for the past 10 years.
'I decided to stop doing it because prawns are just too expensive,' he said.
Lim's mee jawa is a simple meal with chicken slices, hard-boiled egg, tofu, bean sprouts and a sprinkle of fresh lettuce.
He said he has maintained the same recipe that he learned from his uncle.
Lim, who started his business at Penang Road, now operates from a stall located in a restaurant in Air Itam. It is open every day from 7am until 1.30pm.
He only closes during the Chinese New Year celebrations.
The restaurant is a popular breakfast spot in the high-density working-class area.
'I feel happy every time I see people coming here for a plate of my mee jawa,' he said.
And his customers are delighted, too.
'The portion has always been consistent. One of the best in town,' said pensioner Simon Khor, 65.
Khor, who is a regular at Lim's stall, said the noodles are not only affordable but also tasty.
He said Lim will not even charge extra when customers asked for more noodles.
'He always says it's more important that people leave full and happy than to make extra profit,' he added.
Another regular, Lee Hean Seng, 57, said he has been eating Lim's mee jawa once a week for the past 15 years.
'The price is ideal for people like us who do not earn a lot. And the portion is big, too,' said the security guard.
'It's cheap and good,' he added.
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