Amazin’ Graze is the healthy snack company that is taking the shelves of big grocery stores by storm! This is the story of how three corporate Asian women’s idea of creating healthy granola and snack products in their home kitchen blossomed into an international brand: now satisfying the daytime and late-night munchies of consumers across Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and the US. Co-founder and CEO of Amazin’ Graze, Amy Zheng, drops some tips on the best way to find your business partners, opens up about the brand’s failure story and gives us a sneak peek into the process behind creating products for people’s moods and desires.

“It’s not about doing, it’s about thinking about what you’re doing.” - Amy Zheng

Timestamps:

00:00 - From working with prison reform and anti-human trafficking efforts to building her own start-up

3:00 - Changing the way we eat

4:57 - Best ways to find business partners: Friends of friends

6:40 - The first BIG break

9:00 - Rise of Amazin’ Graze’s popularity

11:14 - “You’ll get tired of this zero sugar, zero carb life.”

13:03 - Creating a product for people's moods and desires

14:30 - Creative process at Amazin’ Graze

16:17 - “We are a big bakery”

17:42 - Our failure story: Glow Smoothie Bar

18:53 - Things to look out for before going into a new market

21:00 - Values: Profit OR People

23:12 - Open Communication: Running a company with 90% female in the management team

25:46 - Day in the life of a CEO: Setting the right mindset

28:14 - What’s next for Amazin’ Graze

29:40 - “You have to raise a lot of money” is a common misconception

31:56 - “Don’t live in the future.”

As the year comes to a close, we brought on two of Kessyl’s girlfriends to reflect and re-evaluate 2021. The things we struggle with and laugh about in our mid-20s: The fear of falling behind, stepping into uncertainty and celebrating growths along the way. Is this a trap? Is this freedom? But honestly, if we were to sum up this episode into a song, it has to be Adele’s “I Drink Wine.” And hey, if you’re in this quarter-life crisis, know that you are NOT ALONE.

“Just because you can’t imagine it, doesn’t mean better don't exist.” - Quin Ooi, 2021

00:00 - Soul fulfilling project: Project ME

5:51 - “Everyone is always changing and becoming.”

12:28 - Deriving our values from work

26:26 - Early 20s vs. Mid 20s: Hustling and learning to slow down

35:00 - The “What-Ifs” and the feeling of “You’re not enough”

50:41 - Live your truth: Being open to making mistakes and filtering out people in life

1:00:14 - Making space for the new in uncertainty

The Recess Podcast brings you short interviews of how inspiring creators in Southeast Asia do it all. New episodes every Wednesday at 6PM. Hosted by Kessyl and SueLyn, content producer and editor at Good Foodie Media.

Since the pandemic, it's safe to say that we've become more conscious about our health. FYI, 1 in 5 Malaysians have diabetes and over 50% of Malaysian adults are overweight. Jia Yi has always been an advocate for the people, a passion that drove her pursuit of a legal career. However, when she discovered kombucha and experienced its magic first-hand, she ditched the heels and blazers to stand for hours on end by the kitchen counter neutering her SCOBY that would eventually give rise to this bottled healthy luxury: Kombucha.

“I had the courage to walk out of my corporate career, start my passion project which translated into a business.” - Jia Yi Low

Timestamps:

00:00 - Being the voice for others: Studying law

2:56 - Corporate lawyer life vs. entrepreneurial life

4:56 - “Chugging away my heels and blazers”

6:45 - How she first discovered kombucha and how it healed her skin condition 

9:28 - What is kombucha?

11:02 - Why is kombucha getting more popular?

12:39 - Why is kombucha so expensive?

15:43 - Biggest challenge: “Why do I need to spend x amount of $ on this “Teh Ais”?

18:50 - Lessons learned in her first year of entrepreneurship

21:04 - The process of brewing Kombucha

24:30 - Meeting the in-between: healthy luxury and everyday necessity

Natasha Shazana Evans is the co-founder of Soko, an innerwear brand created to celebrate women in Malaysia and bring bra shopping to the next level! During the pod, she shares her views on the over-sexualisation of lingerie in the media, how she approaches marketing an innerwear brand in a Muslim country and... if the perfect bra actually exists.

Follow Soko's journey here!

The Recess Podcast brings you short interviews of how inspiring creators in Southeast Asia do it all. New episodes every Wednesday at 6PM. Hosted by Kessyl and SueLyn, content producer and editor at Good Foodie Media.

être Patisserie was named after the phrase Raison d’ete, where être means “purpose”, the perfect name for the pastry shop that embodies its founder’s calling. Ann Lee is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Paris with a truly start-studded résumé, having worked in multiple award-winning Michelin star restaurants including Alain Ducasse Paris and Joel Robuchon. She eventually decided to return to her hometown of Ipoh with the goal of sharing French pastries and viennoiserie with her fellow Malaysians. Located in a gorgeous glasshouse, Ann’s bakery is more than just the home of Malaysia’s finest baked goods, but is also a platform for young people to discover their être and awaken their inner lion too.

“Be dare to dream: having that ability to dream is very important because that’s how you will envision things. ” - Ann Lee

Timestamps:

00:00 - The birth of Ann’s Wonderbar during her education downtime

4:15 - Ending up in Paris: From pursuing a business degree to Le Cordon Bleu Paris

8:35 - Working with Michelin star restaurants: “If you’re not doing your best, you’re out of the game.”

11:42 - The truth behind landing jobs at Michelin star restaurants without connections

15:29 - “Spirit of Excellence”

16:42 - Introducing French pastries to Ipohrians

19:02 - Creating a platform for the next generation to grow and find their purpose

21:15 - Being humiliated and pushed out of the community

24:50 - Choosing Malaysia over Paris

27:57  - The creative process at être Patisserie

32:06 - New project: Ferment Boulangerie

32:46 - “Dare to Dream”

Jin Lim better known as Jinnyboy is one of the pioneers of Malaysia’s YouTube scene. During RECESS, he tells us how he “accidentally” got into radio, build a mass following and go on to create a company without his name and face. Jin shared his thoughts on finding a passion that can also make you the money, peaking in life, feeling lost and losing out opportunities to others. Yes, we covered A LOT in this episode. Go on and listen in, while you scrub the dishes.  

Check out Jin Lim on Instagram. 

The Recess Podcast brings you short interviews of how inspiring creators in Southeast Asia do it all. New episodes every Wednesday at 6PM. Hosted by Kessyl and SueLyn, content producer and editor at Good Foodie Media.

Most grandmas have a few things in common: they’re sweet, great cooks and have amazing stories to tell. 68-year-old Melba Nunis is no exception. The “simpler” times she spent as a young girl in her mother’s kitchen sparked her love for Kristang cuisine, a culinary culture that wholesomely represents Malaysia’s diverse history. Consisting of Indian flavours, made with Malay spices, cooked with Chinese techniques and inspired by Portuguese, Dutch and British influences, WHY isn’t it more well known in Malaysia? Melba had the same question, and so made it her life’s mission to share the vivid colours of Kristang Cuisine. On the pod, she also recommends a great beginner-friendly Kristang dish to colour your holiday season!

“For me, my kind of food will always be old-fashioned: the way I remember eating it from young.” - Melba Nunis

Timestamps:

0:00 -  Life as a Eurasian growing up on Kristang Cuisine

1:45 - What is Kristang cuisine?

2:56 - “I like to keep it the old-fashioned way.”

3:52 - Idea behind the award-winning cookbook: A Kristang Family Cookbook

5:09 - Melba at the Mansion: Why The Majestic Malacca renamed their restaurant after her

6:12 - The “Chicken Feet Experience” #markettrips

8:12 - Dine with Mel Supper Club: The home dining experience hosted by Chef Melba

9:45 - How she feels about people entering her private space

10:46 - How the pandemic affected Dine With Mel and kept her busy

12:35 - The challenges of going digital for Chef Melba

13:27 - Dine with Mel’s future plans and goals - Collaborations

14:00 - The secret ingredients to Kristang cuisine

14:48 - “I don’t know when I’ll stop, but cooking keeps me going.”

16:30 - Sharing: We can’t take it with us anyway later on, might as well leave it around for others to enjoy.

17:45 - A beginner-friendly Kristang dish: Portuguese Chicken Stew (perf for the holiday SZN)

27-year-old Penang film director Rubendra Ganeish Ravi recently won the White Unicorn International Film Festival (WUIFF) award with his short film, "This Too Shall Pass," a story focusing on a family tragedy during the pandemic. In this episode, he spoke with us from the UK (where he's pursuing a PhD in Film Studies) about his inspiration behind the short film, the reality of gathering funds to produce a film in Malaysia and his thoughts on traditional Asian parents supporting their children to pursue arts as a career.

Watch the short film here: https://bit.ly/2ZhDVFQ

The Recess Podcast brings you short interviews of how inspiring creators in Southeast Asia do it all. New episodes every Wednesday at 6PM. Hosted by Kessyl and SueLyn, content producer and editor at Good Foodie Media.

At some point in our lives, we all find ourselves at a crossroads. While most of us crave stability and certainty, Basira Yeusuff is an adventure-hungry chef who finds comfort in the awkward and uncomfortable. From hosting pop-ups in Malaysia to opening a 28-diner restaurant in Seoul, South Korea, she lives her life by this motto: Rational YOLO. In this episode, we talked about making the right decisions in life, how Agak Agak Seoul is not your stereotypical Southeast Asian restaurant and did you know that lemongrass and fresh pandan is the caviar of South Korea?

“Rational YOLO: I think things through, but also to a certain extent I know that life is short.” - Basira Yeusuff

Timestamps:

0:00 - Narration: “You should always go into something with a healthy dose of fear.”

1:35 - Growing up as an introvert in a big family

2:58 - Cooking makes sense to me: A+B =C

3:59 - Learning the kitchen culture in Switzerland and Germany

5:15 - Running a one-woman show for Root Cellar

7:39 - Rational Yolo: “I like the uncertainty and being uncomfortable.”

9:21 - From a one-week stint in Seoul, South Korea to opening her own restaurant “Agak Agak Seoul”

18:17 - How to know if you’ve made the right decision at a crossroads

21:53 - Fighting Stereotypes: Bringing Malaysian culture to South Korea without bending over backwards

27:44 - Galangal, lemongrass and fresh pandan is the caviar of South Korea

30:52 - Basira’s favourite part about Korean culture: Humanity x Technology

31:49 - Advice: “Rational YOLO over the fear of rejection.”

34:06 - “Agak Agak is now on cruise control.”

Britney Pang was only 15 when she competed in ‘Girls Fighting’ 2016 under the mentorship of Seungri, former BigBang singer (now retired from the show business). During RECESS, she shared with us what it’s like to be a mentee under Seungri, the lessons she has learned and balancing life as she turns 20!

Check out some of Britney's song covers @britneypang12!

The Recess Podcast brings you short interviews of how inspiring creators in Southeast Asia do it all. New episodes every Wednesday at 6PM. Hosted by Kessyl and SueLyn, content producer and editor at Good Foodie Media.