From 2 AM Curry Puffs to Siti Li: 23 Years of F&B Survival

The F&B industry is often romanticised, but for Shareen Ramli, the reality is far grittier. Yet, for 23 years, she has stayed in the game, evolving from making curry puffs at 2 a.m. to running the 105-seater Siti Li Dining & Foodhall.

BFM Open For Business sits down with Shareen to discuss why she compares the trade to being a "stuntwoman", full of invisible bruises, and her mission to preserve the cosmopolitan heritage of Malay cuisine.

We discuss:

• The "Stuntwoman" Reality: Shareen opens up about the resilience needed to survive 23 years, comparing the industry to an action movie where the audience doesn't see the "invisible bruises" of evictions and financial crises.

• The "Lost" Heritage: Why Siti Li focuses on "Cosmopolitan Malay" cuisine, a nod to the 15th-century port cities influenced by Portuguese, Dutch, and Chinese flavors.

• Begging for Sugar: The desperate lengths taken during the pandemic, including pleading with police to allow couriers to source artisan Gula Melaka from Malacca.

• Vertical vs. Horizontal: Instead of opening more outlets, Siti Li is focusing on the supply chain and a "Malay Kitchen Pantry" line (bottled sauces, artisan Keropok, cookies).

• The "Third Space" Vision: Why Shareen wants Siti Li to be more than a restaurant, a community hub where customers bring their parents to share the intimacy of a meal.

• “Comel Cekodok” and Nasi Lemak: The story behind their signature Cekodok dish and Shareen’s criteria for what makes a "good" Nasi Lemak.

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