Colourful satay? It may sound a bit strange, however, they taste exactly the same, or probably even better than the original.

The coloured meat on sticks is a new phenomenon in Terengganu, especially in the district of Kemaman, and has been on high demand ahead of Aidilfitri.

Zulhanif Hazman Muhammad, 22, said demand for colourful chicken satay he began producing since March this year, has doubled for this month.

"During the regular months, I received orders for up to 15 thousand sticks of satay, however this month, it has doubled," he said when met by Bernama at his shop, here Sunday.

The satay are made in four colours - red, green, blue and yellow.

Zulhanif said the colourful satay he made were unique, and he used the age old recipe inherited by his grandmother and mother.

"The colourful satay tastes great, and is also served with peanut sauce, onions and cucumbers, just like the other types of satay...what is different is it is soft and succulent...moreover, I do not mix chicken skin in the satay I make," he said.

Zulhanif said despite receiving criticism from the public in the beginning for producing satay which were different from the norm, it did not deter him from continuing to innovate.

"For young people, they say my satay are 'hip', and are a must-try when they come to Kemaman, as it is not available elsewhere.

"I started selling chicken and beef satay five years ago, however the idea to make them colourful was inspired after getting advice from mentors at the Empower Ecer programme under the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) that I joined... they told me to make something different, as people nowadays liked something which was different," he said.

Zulhanif said apart from locals, customers from Kuala Terengganu, and Kuantan, Pahang, also came all the way just to experience the colourful satay.

"We have customers who come from far away to taste this satay which is said to be unique, and we also get orders from companies around the district for buka puasa ceremonies.

"Recently, we received orders from one of the offshore crane companies, and I also prepared the colourful satay for them, it is evident that many people enjoy it," he said.

Zulhanif said his chicken and beef satay were also in high demand for Hari Raya.

"Usually, we sell fewer than 30 thousand sticks in a month, but this month the demand has more than doubled, so this year I've prepared almost 60 thousand sticks, as most customers usually buy at the last minute, and we prepare it in advance, so that no customers are left disappointed.

"Even now, we are still open to orders right up till Hari Raya eve, and we are also prepared to accept orders for open house gatherings," he said.

Zulhanif said he also had to add more staff to cater to orders, due to the high demand.

"Before this, I only employed two workers to prepare the satay sticks, however when the demand increased, I had to add four workers.

"I sell the colourful and (regular) chicken satay at RM0.70 a stick, and it is RM0.90 for the beef satay," he said.

Hazim Husaini, 35, a customer from Dungun said he was willing to travel almost an hour from his home just to purchase the colourful satay made by Zulhanif.

"I really love the colourful satay as it tastes much nicer...I found out about this shop after seeing friends' posts on Facebook about the colourful satay which is said to be in trend now...at first I thought it was a bit strange to have colourful satay, however, once you try it, it tastes great.

"I have ordered colourful satay for this Raya as I want to serve something different, it is rare to find colourful satay, and it could be said that this is the first shop which sells it in this state," said Hazim, who ordered 200
colourful, and 100 beef satay.