Yeoh packing processed cooling powder pellets into bottles. — Bernama photo
BALIK PULAU: Kampung Kuala Jalan Bharu here is about 100 years old and most of the villagers are fishermen.
However, in the middle of the village there is a shed, which being used to produce ‘bedak sejuk’ (cooling powder) the traditional way since 38 years ago.
Yeoh Siong Huat, 41, said the business was inherited from his late father who was the original resident of the village.
“The villagers here are mostly fishermen … only me and my siblings are making traditional bedak sejuk … using the same ingredients and methods as our late father’s,” he told Bernama when met here.
Yeoh said the bedak sejuk was made only using natural ingredients such as rice and water, without preservatives and sun-dried.
Yeoh said the process of making the bedak sejuk was a bit complicated and it took time because the rice had to be soaked for a month and the water needed to be changed every week to reduce the smell and maintain the cleanliness.
“In rainy season, it’s difficult to even produce one kilogramme of bedak sejuk per month because we are dependent on the sun … but if the weather is good, the most we can produce in a month is 300 kg,” he said.
Apart from being sold nationwide, the Lean Seng brand bedak sejuk is also marketed in Taiwan, China and Singapore. — Bernama