“I thought it was going to be easy”: This psych major pivoted to sell Mexican fusion in KL

“I was always a bit worried if I were to get interviewed about my past because I don’t have that typical chef childhood where they had their grandparents/parents inspire and teach them about food.”

But what Calle Taco founder Ryan Chung lacks in inspiring childhood stories, he makes up for in his lived experiences and challenges, which he candidly shared with Vulcan Post.

Like many of us, he didn’t know what he wanted to do after SPM, and so took the “generic” route of choosing between studying Psychology or Business.

Ironically, though he chose Psychology, the entrepreneurial bug bit him halfway through his Bachelor’s, and he found himself dabbling in minor odd jobs.

Starting (and failing) his first business—a customisable cocoa drinks brand called Diverico—showed him that he needed experience and discipline, and that’s when he had his first turning point.

From chocolate to Calle Taco

He joined Chocolate Concierge where he learnt how to make bean to bar chocolate from founder Ning, eventually moving to their pastry production side.

But he craved even more culinary knowledge, which was when he went to Chocha Foodstore, albeit with some “brazenness.”

“[I told] Chef Mui that I will only be there for one year maximum because I wanted to start Calle Taco. He definitely would’ve thrown me out on the spot if I said that during any other time, but luckily for me, they were understaffed,” Ryan reflected.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Chocha because I learnt a huge amount—in the eight months I was there I was rotated to almost all the stations, from cold station to fryer, griller, then running the pass (overseeing the final stage of food preparation before it’s sent out).”

At the time, the seeds of Calle Taco were already planted in his head, through his acquaintance with Stephen of Taco King, and his next turning point came when Stephen decided to give him his booth for a month at a “decent deal.”

Ryan chose to sell tacos as there was already a market for them here, and through this, he realised that he had the knack for combining flavours and making them work.

Starting Calle Taco after that was a no-brainer.

It wasn’t as simple as just taking existing taco recipes and selling them, though.

“I started Calle Taco with the intention of providing a proper unique experience, so the recipes are considered a bit ‘atas’ for KL taco standards,” Ryan shared.

“I try to avoid easy direct ‘fusion’ links like Nasi Lemak Taco or Rendang Taco, and the recipe that we come up with has to pay respects to both Mexican standards and values as well as Malaysian flavour punchiness as best as we can.”

Personally, he thinks that their best recipe is their Mixed Beef Carnitas with their Black Garlic Salsa Negra, inspired by his travels with family to Macau, where a hearty stew of beef tendons, stomach, tripe, and brisket in the cold weather is one of his most memorable food experiences. 

Making their food stand out was one thing—finding their crowd was another challenge. 

Working through the challenges

Today, Calle Taco is happily posted at Triptyk in Kampung Attap, KL, but starting out there two years ago was tough.

“Although Triptyk had huge potential, I went in during the early days where it was still unestablished, it was relatively shady even for a hipster area, and was really barebones.”

“The core issue of running in an area like that was the hefty resources needed in marketing and brand awareness, which both sides lacked. So it was relatively quiet in the first year, but I am again eternally grateful to Triptyk for supporting us through the whole year of difficulties,” Ryan reflected.

The lack of sales also snowballed into other issues such as a lack of motivation for Ryan. “And sometimes that is all it takes to derail a person from the correct path, so I did have to endure a minor personal struggle with my own brand,” he added.

At the same time, he learnt about the necessity of proper staff training with intact SOPs, and being picky with what events they joined.

Many smaller brands just starting out may rely heavily on pop-ups or bazaars to get their name out there, but Ryan advises to be wary of events that aren’t as advertised or “historically stable,” mistakes which cost them “hefty losses” in the past.

And the work continues

“I won’t lie in that when I started this, I thought it was going to be easy and take off straight away due to the unique concept. I thought it was just going to be viral and that’s that, an easy game.”

“Not so simple apparently, but it’s still a fun process and I do learn a lot from this,” Ryan shared.

He believes that it’s a chef’s responsibility to educate their customers on the food served so that they can fully appreciate the nuances of the offerings, which is why he still finds himself educating customers on tacos and Mexican cuisine.

But he also acknowledged, “Good food shouldn’t be complicated and I sometimes still struggle with bridging some of those customers. In the future with our menu revamp (in July 2025), we are going to fix this issue hopefully and provide a better experience for everybody.”

Ever the frank interviewee, when asked what he would have done differently if he could redo Calle Taco, Ryan replied:

“I would have tried adopting a more business-over-passion mindset and probably have chosen another place to start which didn’t require such heavy investments/effort in marketing, and made bank before doing more passion-related stuff.”

Passion matters, of course, but he advises to have a balance between that and a business mindset.

My mistake was coming in thinking it was easy enough with a strong enough passion and unique selling point.

“Reality hits hard and fast so learn to stay grounded and be flexible when any problem arises in your journey, and when it does, persevere.”

Currently, their short-term goal is to “make bank” and keep a good reserve of money for their expansion plans so that they don’t repeat their mistakes if said expansions fail.

Whatever it is, though, Ryan will be taking it all in stride, as he has always done. 

“I do not regret what I’ve experienced so far with Calle Taco. We are starting to be in a good place right now and I’m glad that I didn’t risk selling out the essence and core values of Calle Taco on the journey so far.”

Featured Image Credit: Calle Taco