KOTA KINABALU, July 2 ― After the arrival of Third Wave coffee and hipster cafes, it was only a matter of time before the food truck craze hit this city of young entrepreneurs.

Like at everywhere else, the lure of low overheads and operating costs and the freedom of managing your own business is an alluring option.

"It’s the next big thing here. More and more people are interested because it’s easy enough to own and operate,” said KW Machinery manager and food truck specialist Johnny Wong.

According to him, there are already about 17 food trucks in Sabah; more than half of them in Kota Kinabalu.

Wong, originally in the lorry and heavy machinery business, expanded into food trucks when he realised its potential.

Effardy’s Food Truck attracts followers with its generous portions and greasy goodness. — Picture courtesy of Effardy Ghani

According to him, there have been some 50 bookings for his modified trucks from across Sabah, but not always limited to selling food.

"I spent some 10,000 hours studying the business and exploring the food truck concept. Everything from the custom building of the trucks to the marketing platform. It is gaining momentum and soon they will be all over… and not just selling food,” he said.

Young chefs trading in their ‘corporate aprons’

The attraction of being your own boss was a big plus for several food truck owners like Alexander Chong and his business partner, Jonathan Liew.

The former schoolmates started Loca KK after they left their respective jobs at a five-star hotel in Singapore and a successful café here.

"We were doing well in our careers, but we were looking for something different. I wanted to come home and do something for Sabah. I’ve always loved our food and wanted to contribute to our community,” said Chong.

Meat and Loaf’s three bosses Jaejaye James, Awang Yuzrinizam Yusof and Clovito Supsup Junior. — Picture by Julia Chan

At the time, food trucks were a foreign concept to the streets of KK, save for the "luk-luk” vans that sometimes parked outside the post-party nightlife spots.

Chong and Liew soon gave up their regular jobs and pooled their savings to invest in their food truck, offering made-from-scratch foccacia sandwiches with unique fillings like chicken in salted egg sauce and local sayur manis with cheese and tuhau.

Effardy Ghani, a 30-year-old Sabahan, studied culinary arts abroad and even worked with New Zealand celebrity chef Al Brown during his five-year stint there.

"It’s very inspiring seeing the food trucks in New Zealand… they are all privy to great local produce – from meat to vegetables to dairy. They also go to a lot of effort to ensure their trucks are unique both in menu and appearance.

"The dream of owning one was put on hold when I came back to Sabah and I started my own restaurant instead. But when I saw that a company ― KW machinery ― was producing these trucks, I got on board immediately,” he said.

He has been operating for three months, selling Western street food like burgers, and sandwiches, often loaded with cheese.

"I also love the flexibility of being mobile. You’re not stuck to one place every day. For me, I love travelling and going to different places so it’s been a joy to be able to do that,” said Effardy.

 Another food truck with a following, Meat and Loaf KK, has as part of its crew at least one accomplished pastry chef, and others with a culinary background.

Awang Yuzrinizam Yusof, a pastry chef at a five star hotel in the city, and his best friends Clovito Supsup Junior and Jaejaye James, have always wanted to go into business together so when the opportunity came up, they jumped on it.

They invested RM135,000 in a truck and now get to hang out with each other even more often than before.

"It’s been a good ride. Very different from working at a typical brick and mortar outlet. At first people were unaware of us and hesitant to try but over the year or so we’ve been operational, we have regular customers who seek us out,” said Awang.

"I would say about 40 per cent of customers are repeat or regulars but that number is growing also. Many are just here for takeaway but sometimes, they hang around for a while, so we always have a couple of chairs around,” he said.

Effardy Ghani’s sandwiches like this one made with bananas and peanut butter have won him many fans.

Potholes in the road?

While the mobility is definitely part of the charm, the lack of a permanent address also presents some issues which the young entrepreneurs have to manoeuvre around.

Because the local authorities do not have specific licenses for food trucks, they are restricted in their quest to find a spot with the best foot traffic in public areas.

"I think that remains our biggest problem. Sometimes we find a really good location and run for a few days… then someone complains and we have to leave. We have been shoo-ed away from several spots in the past,” said Awang.

 Wong said that the issue will resolve itself over time as food trucks and mobile businesses become more prominent and guidelines are put in place to manage the budding industry.

"But for now, we can work with certain authorities who are supportive, and there are other opportunities such as private land, night markets and events,” said Wong.

Loca KK tackles their lack of a permanent spot during the day by making lunch deliveries… a move that has been well received by office workers.

"So during the day we concentrate on deliveries and catering but at night, we can do our regular business,” said Chong, who uploads a weekly schedule on their social media for their customers.

The daily Donggongon night market in Penampang is one place where food trucks are welcome, as is the AM/PM open market in Kolombong. Food trucks are also high in demand at local colleges and universities and the myriad events in the city.

"The nature of a food truck means you shouldn’t be anchored to one spot, and be able to move around wherever there is demand,” said Effardy, who added that they have gotten more and more requests for private events recently.

"That is why social media is such an an important tool for us. We really encourage people to follow us  on Facebook and Instagram to keep track of where we are every day,” he said.

It also helps to have "Instagram-worthy” food that can whet appetites and get the crowd clamouring for a taste of their offerings.

Another issue which they face regularly is the pricing of their menu ― Meat and Loaf’s garlic fries go for RM8 and burgers for RM15, Loca’s sandwiches go for RM8 to RM10 while Effardy’s burgers are about RM12.

Loca KK’s sandwiches are made with homemade Focaccia bread and feature a variety of unique fillings like ‘sayur manis’, ‘tuhau’ and cheese.

"People ask why our food is ‘expensive’ compared to some street stalls where burgers are about RM4 to RM5. Of course we can do cheaper burgers ― using frozen patties and store-bought mayonnaise in bulk. But we are trained chefs and the food we make are of a different quality.

"Our hand-made patties are all meat, we make our own mayonnaise and some even make their own bread. We paid thousands of ringgit to get an education and earned our stripes at hotels, and I went abroad to learn from a celebrity chef. The food we make is carefully thought out,” said Effardy.

Also, being trained chefs means they keep things hygienic…  another aspect which is appreciated by customers who have come across food stalls that are less than clean.

"For food trucks, the focus is on good food. I think you get restaurant-quality food for cheaper but not compromise on taste and value, plus there are no distractions like operating issues and service associated with a brick and mortar outlet,” said Awang.

Follow these Kota Kinabalu-based food trucks for updates:

Loca KK FB : https://www.facebook.com/loca.kk/

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/kk.loca/

Effardy’s Food Truck FB  https://www.facebook.com/Effardys-Food-Truck-234065007065681/

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/effardysfoodtruck/

Meat and Loaf KK : https://www.facebook.com/meatandloafkk/

Instagram :  www.instagram.com/meatandloafkk