PETALING JAYA: Living in a different country and learning the culture and language can be daunting for some. But Nurazimah Mohd Karim took the challenge in her stride and for the past 22 years, she has made Paris her home.
Nurazimah, 47, told theSun that living in Paris was not on her mind when she first met her husband Nicolas Moulin.
“The idea of being away from my family did not enter my mind until he proposed. I was 26 years old when I left Malaysia with my parents’ blessings.”
She took up French only after giving birth to their firstborn, Adam Daniel, who is now 20 years old. She then had three more children with Moulin.
“I didn’t speak French at all when I first arrived in France.
“It was initially very difficult as I didn’t know a single word. In between, I had to take care of three other children from my husband’s previous marriage.
“It was a struggle to understand their needs. It was from those experiences that I built the courage to learn French by constantly interacting with them. I guess you could say being a new mother pushed me to learn it.”
In between taking care of the children and learning French, she began to introduce her now famous “Nasi Ayam Paris” to her neighbours. It is a dish made from a recipe she tweaked just for the French and travellers to enjoy.
As she lived in a suburban Paris area called Drevail City, it took her 40 minutes to reach the capital to purchase the essential items for her nasi ayam.
Sharing her story of running her chicken rice business in the French capital, Nurazimah said she got the idea when her husband’s business was affected by an economic slowdown in 2013. She first served the meal to her guests at their homestay, which then gained traction through word of mouth.
Sold at €10 (RM47) per packet, the meal became a hit among travellers from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia, who booked their homestay. It is also being marketed on Instagram via the handle @nasiayamparis. There have been instances where there would be orders for 55 packets at a time.
Nurazimah, a former bank employee, has since expanded her business to include being a tour guide during the holidays.
“During the school holidays in Malaysia and Singapore, I’ll be busy catering to travellers from October to December. Each tour package is customised to the travellers needs and the pricing is tailored accordingly.
“I also get requests for those who wish to stay with us. We’re never short of inquiries as every two weeks, there’ll be people wanting to be with us. It is only in July and August that we’re closed because that is when we go home to Malaysia,” she said, adding that her children are fluent in English, French and Malay, although with a slight Negeri Sembilan accent.
“I suppose they picked up the accent when listening to me speaking Malay with my father, who is from Negeri Sembilan,” said the entrepreneur, who is also a member of the local chamber of commerce.
Her Youtube channel @LightKm, where she shares her triumphs and tribulations, including the fact that her children are seen as very talented due to their multi-lingual fluency, has 157,000 subscribers.
“I am looking forward to taking courses in French pastry and baking. I want to open a restaurant to grow my food service business.”
