00:00I see the true spirit of Ramadan. It's not only just restrained from eating and drinking,
00:06but it's also restrained from doing other bad things, like talking bad about people.
00:12And doing maki orang.
00:16Tan Yan Yin and her husband, Azrul Mukri Azizul Effendi, have been whipping up a cultural
00:22fusion through their Instagram page, Soya Belacan, where over 300,000 followers feast
00:28on their unique blend of Chinese and Malay cuisine.
00:33From snow fungus pear tong suey to claypot udang garam, their dishes bridge two rich
00:39culinary traditions.
00:40How long have you guys been together?
00:41Oh, how long have you guys been married?
00:422018.
00:43How many years?
00:44Six?
00:45Seven?
00:46I don't know.
00:47You do the math.
00:48The math is not my thing now.
00:49It's always not your thing.
00:5019, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.
00:51Seven years.
00:53But cooking wasn't part of the plan for Tan when she got married, until a conversation
01:04with her mother-in-law.
01:05Yeah, but my mother-in-law come and talk to me.
01:10She say, oh, you have to learn Malay food.
01:12She say, if one day I'm not around, then you are the one who in charge to cook rendang
01:17for Raya.
01:18And that struck me.
01:19Yeah, I need to learn how to cook Malay food.
01:22Their story started in a Wing Chun class in Ipoh, their birth town, where their conversations
01:27quickly turned from martial arts to life's bigger questions.
01:31He asked me about the purpose of life, and I can't answer to that.
01:39But he has a very good answer to it.
01:41It's Islam.
01:42Then he show me more about Islam, videos.
01:45At first, actually, I feel a bit reluctant.
01:47I'm like, hey, annoying.
01:49This guy always send me Islam videos and everything.
01:52But when I'm free, I start to watch the video that he send me, and I find it makes sense.
02:01One thing I noticed about her, she's not quick to judge.
02:05She's willing to try new things.
02:07That's one thing good.
02:08She don't have that much of defense mechanism.
02:10Any topic she need to defense, no.
02:12She just try to go with the flow.
02:14Even till today, very easy.
02:17Tan eventually embraced Islam, but she still holds on to her Chinese roots, celebrating
02:22Chinese New Year, enjoying pineapple tarts, and laughing at how Azrul still receives ampau
02:28while she doesn't.
02:30At the same time, she cherishes Ramadan and Hari Raya.
02:36Love, respect, and good food can bridge any gap, right?
02:41Like how Allah also stated in Quran, Surah 49, verse 13.
02:47He created different tribes and races to know each other.
02:51So we're doing it by food.
02:56I see the true spirit of Ramadan.
02:59It's not only just restrain from eating and drinking, but it also restrain from doing
03:04other bad things, like talking bad about people.
03:09And don't curse people.
03:14As content creators, their Ramadan is now filled with recipe videos and filming sessions.
03:20And the messages they receive from their followers prove they're doing things right.
03:28Actually, it's one of the heartwarming moments when we receive messages like this.
03:33They say they're worried about how their family will react when they know about their
03:40marriage.
03:42But our posts give them hope.
03:45I can be happy.
03:47My family can accept us.
03:51The couple's next dream is on the horizon.
03:54A halal, affordable kopitiam where their flavors can bring even more people together.
04:00This also means more time spent with their daughter, Tan's biggest wish for Ramadan this year.
04:08I hope we can have more time together, spend family time together, and make better content,
04:17not constantly just thinking about jobs.
04:25Love, respect and good food can bridge any gap.
04:30Divya Raghu and Dinesh Kumar Maganadan, FMT.
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