SERDANG, Oct 26 (Sin Chew Daily) — A Thai chef has shot to fame on Facebook for selling "Great papa fried dough” at a coffee shop in Taman Serdang Perdana.

Netizens posted comments that Johnny's life was challenging as he had to take care of his two young daughters, and they hoped more people would buy his fried dough, or yu tiao.

Johnny's business has been so good that his fried dough will be sold out by ten in the morning in recent days.

The coffee shop has rented him a space with a daily rent of only RM10, and has allowed his daughters to remain at the coffee shop. Workers at the coffee shop are also willing to give him a helping hand.

A father of two, 45-year-old Johnny used to work as a Thai restaurant chef in Malaysia for more than 10 years. His wife is an Indonesian and the daughters are 11 and six years old. Johnny's wife is currently back in Indonesia due to health problems.

After losing his job as a chef in Kuala Lumpur, Johnny rode his motorcycle to Johor Bahru with his daughters in June to make a living. He was selling fried dough there.

However, he decided to return to Klang Valley this month.

He had to relocate from Johor Bahru because his partners had shortchanged him and he was unable to lead a decent life with his two daughters with the meager income.

"Even after I have settled down in Serdang, there are still people from JB willing to help me," he said.

Johnny, who sells fried dough, red bean bun, sesame bun and salty fried bun at RM 1 each from 7am to noon every day, hopes his two daughters can attend school like other children.

It was twist of fate that a social media post about him caught the attention of people in Serdang.

There were netizens who helped promote his fried dough on Facebook. As a result, many local residents have patronized his stall.

People from Subang and other places have also came all the way to support him. Some have even offered him the ingredients for his fried dough. 

Johnny turned down some of the offer, saying he had enough supply.

Johnny learned about making fried dough when he was an apprentice in Singapore.