A man from China moved to Singapore for work, and unexpectedly found love on the Little Red Dot.
He married a local Malay woman, and together, the couple started selling halal but authentic traditional Chinese rice dumplings, also known as zongzi, which they make with chicken and beef.
The dumplings were so popular that they saw a spike in orders in the lead-up to the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on Monday (10 June) this year.
To meet the demand, they rushed out about 300 dumplings daily.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Shen Hongjing (transliterated from Mandarin), who hails from Harbin, China’s northernmost province, came to Singapore back in 2009.
He was working for a local bakery when he met his now-wife, whose name is Nur Fazlin Mohd Noor per Berita.
Mr Shen, 40, told Shin Min that they first started learning how to make rice dumplings through video tutorials on YouTube and TikTok as his in-laws were interested in Chinese cuisine.
To refine their own recipe, they also tried more than 100 dumplings in the span of two months.
Relatives who tried their offerings gave the couple rave reviews, and encouraged them to sell the dish.
“Our relatives also urged us to make a living for ourselves and set up our own business,” he said.
Ms Fazlin, 38, revealed that initially, they joined her sister and brother-in-law’s brand, The Han’s Dumplings. The stall at the time mainly sold conventional halal dumplings that has a thin skin around a meat filling, also known as jiaozi.
Source: @thehansdumplings on Instagram
The couple added their halal rice dumplings to the brand’s offerings.
They subsequently took over the company after the sister’s family migrated to Australia.
Their rice dumplings come with chicken or beef fillings. A set of three rice dumplings start from S$12.
When the business first started, most of their customers were Muslim, Ms Fazlin shared.
As time went by, more and more Chinese patrons started buying from them.
The 38-year-old revealed that there have been people who doubted the authenticity and taste of their halal rice dumplings.
Source: @thehansdumplings on Instagram
On one occasion, the couple allowed a customer to purchase just one dumpling to try, and told them they can come back if they want more.
“Sure enough, they came back the next day, and even brought their family members!”
Mr Shen and Ms Fazlin usually sell their rice dumplings through online orders, but they also set up booths in shopping malls and schools from time to time.
They’ve also done large orders for companies.
In the wake of Dragon Boat Festival, they have observed an increase of one- to two-times their usual orders.
“Usually we only prepare around 100 dumplings a day, but now we need to make more because of the high demand. Lately, we have been making about 300 dumplings each day.”
In fact, according to Shin Min, the orders have been so overwhelming that the couple have stopped taking orders temporarily.
Also Read: Orchard Gateway Dumpling Festival cancelled as it had no permit, SFA probing food poisoning reports
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Featured image adapted from @thehansdumplings on Instagram and Instagram.
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