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20 years and counting of selling iced tea for RM1

Huri sells thousands of drinks each day, half of which are teh o ais – the crowd favourite.

Djohan Shahrin
2 minute read
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Customers stop their motorcycles in front of Huri Teh Tarik Dangdut in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya, where Huri has been selling iced drinks at rock bottom prices for the past 20 years.
Customers stop their motorcycles in front of Huri Teh Tarik Dangdut in Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya, where Huri has been selling iced drinks at rock bottom prices for the past 20 years.
Inside, Huri’s workers are on the move the entire day, mixing drinks and shovelling ice into plastic bags which are tied at the corner with raffia string – a technique known as ‘ikat tepi’.
One of them pours iced tea – Huri’s specialty – into a bag before tying it at the corner and handing it over to a waiting customer.
More bags of tea are hung at the entrance but the steady stream of customers snap them up before the ice even has time to melt.
Huri reckons that he sells about 1,000 bags of tea per day, all at RM1 per packet.
A customer reaches up for a bag of tea.
A worker hands over another bag of tea, this one made with milk.
Many of the drinks are mixed beforehand, in anticipation of the crowds that come during peak hours.
A variety of drinks are available at Huri Teh Tarik Dangdut, including Milo ais, Nescafe ais and another crowd favourite – teh tarik. These are sold for RM2.60 each.
A customer smiles as he hands over the requisite RM1 for a packet of sweetened iced tea.
Often, customers waste no time in taking a big gulp of the icy cold drink right there and then.
Huri himself makes drinks as well – in fact, he is the stall’s specialist at making teh tarik.
Standing a safe distance away from the counters, he pours the tea from one metal mug into another – ‘pulling’ the drink to give it its trademark froth at the top.
The teh tarik turns out perfect every single time.
A worker pours sugar straight from the bag into a waiting jug. Huri orders about 25kg of sugar every week just for his drinks.
Huri tops up the tea leaves from his special mixture, the recipe for which is a trade secret.
Work continues late into the night, even when the weather is bad.
On rainy evenings, customers sit and chat, happy to spend a few hours together over a good drink.
Meanwhile, the steady stream of customers continues outside.
Huri waves at a child after passing an order of drinks to the customer through the rain.