Hoe Kee is one of the most popular chicken rice ball shops in Melaka and according to Eating Asia, a few decades ago, he was a fisherman who was arrested when pursuing a catch in the Indonesian waters, so his wife had no choice but to be the breadwinner of the family. At first she did laundry but the money she earned was not enough to feed and clothe her children. Hence, she decided to sell Hainanese chicken rice at Melaka’s main jetty to the labourers working at the docks. Official mealtimes were non-existent so food had to be dished up and wolfed down quickly. As the story goes, she thought up and idea to sell her rice by rolling it into tennis-sized balls so that the workers could handle the rice easily and carry it around. Practical, right? The idea caught on like wildfire and the rest is history. It’s also said that Hoe Kee made a slip from his prison guards and he came back home to help out with the business that’s already booming.