Che Engku Ngah Engku Abdullah, a 55-year-old martabak seller with 30 years of experience, reminisces about the time when the popular Malaysian street food was sold for as low as 40 cents back in 1987.

Despite the affordability of martabak at that time, Che Engku Ngah emphasized that the size of the martabak produced was larger, with a thicker filling.

"I still remember when I first started selling martabak here around 1987 to 1988, we sold it for 40 cents. At that time, the prices for the ingredients were also cheap. It wasn't as expensive as it is now.

"Now, with the rise in prices of goods, we ourselves cannot afford to continue selling at such low prices. For the past three, four years, we maintained selling at RM4, but this year we had to increase it by RM1 because the prices of raw materials have become too expensive.

"Even though we sell it for RM5, the size and quality remain the same," he said when interviewed by Sinar Harian at his stall in Chabang Tiga, here, on Saturday afternoon.

Che Engku Ngah, also known as Man Martabak Legend, mentioned that the price of a sack of red onions weighing 9 kilograms has surged to RM80 compared to RM22 last year.

"All the ingredients for making martabak have increased in price, especially onions. Imagine if we use about two sacks of onions a day. Surely, the cost price would exceed if we were to maintain the old price.

"The same goes for flour. The price of flour has risen to RM70 for a sack weighing 25 kilograms. In short, all the ingredients for making martabak have increased in price, including chicken eggs," he explained.